West Midlands Liberal Democrats

A new £2m scheme has been launched by the coalition government to help boost childcare businesses and help women back into work.

From May, people who want to set up a nursery can apply for grants of up to £500 to help cover things like legal and insurance costs, training, equipment and adaptations to buildings. The scheme is aimed to launch up to 6,000 new childcare businesses across England.

Solihull Liberal Democrat MP Lorely Burt has welcomed news that the Marks & Spencer Simply Food Store on Stratford Road has been saved - for now.

Mrs Burt had previously written to the council to express concerns about Marks & Spencer's plans to close the store and relocate to a retail park out of town. Marks & Spencer bosses now say they expect the Stratford Road store to remain open for "the foreseeable future", though plans for a new store will go ahead as well.

Lorely Burt, Liberal Democrat MP for Solihull, has called on local schools to teach pupils about money and personal finance, as part of this year's My Money Week.

My Money Week aims to improve young people's financial skills, knowledge and confidence through special lessons, activities and debates in schools and other settings across the UK.

Ten-year-old Max Penney from Solihull Junior School was so determined to win his School's mock general election that he called on the borough's MP for her support.

Standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate on the day of the national local elections, Max came top in the poll with 89 votes after being given tips on his speech and manifesto by Lorely Burt.

LIB DEM CLEAN SWEEP IN WEST

Liberal Democrats along the Shropshire Border were returned in Bishops Castle, Clun and Chirbury and Worthen Divisions including a record breaking 81% of the poll in the latter.

Lib Dem Group Leader and Clun Councillor Nigel Hartin said " This is a great result for us. We have all increased our majorities significantly since the last elections. The three of us have worked very hard for our areas since our election and will continue to do so for the next four years."

Liberal Democrats in Ludlow scored a major triumph in Ludlow on Thursday's Shropshire Council Elections capturing a seat from the Tories and coming within 85 votes of taking a second. They also comfortably held to their two existing seats.

In Ludlow South Vivienne Parry took the seat from Conservative Cabinet member Martin Taylor Smith with a majority of 224.

Today is pay day for many people in Solihull and for nearly 80,000 Silhillians there will be a little bit extra in their payslip this month. Thanks to tax changes introduced by the Liberal Democrats, low and middle earners across Solihull will see up to £50 more in their monthly payslip than they did in 2010.

Solihull Liberal Democrat MP Lorely Burt is calling on parents to check for warning signs of heart problems in their children.

The Solihull MP is supporting 'Think HEART' - the Children's Heart Federation's campaign to increase early diagnosis of children's heart conditions.

Think HEART spells out five easy signs to help parents spot a heart problem early: Heart rate; Energy; Appearance; Respiration (breathing); and Temperature. Parents recognizing any of these signs in their children should contact a doctor immediately.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have condemned cuts of up to 40% in Children's Centre budgets planned for next year by the current Conservative administration - not only the severity of the cuts themselves, but also the way the news of them has been handled. After the planned cuts were reported in a local newspaper this week, the Conservative Leader of the Council issued a hurried briefing note on the matter to all elected members late on Friday afternoon.