South Lakes MP Tim Farron has praised the move by the local Lib Dem district council to put the climate emergency at the heart of its decision making.

The council has created the role of cabinet member for climate emergency and localism which will be taken up by Windermere councillor Dyan Jones.

Earlier this year, SLDC became the first council in Cumbria to declare a climate emergency.

In the House of Commons this afternoon, local MP Tim Farron urged ministers to raise the minimum wage to tackle rising poverty in the South Lakes.

Speaking during Treasury Questions, Tim said: "While there are only 300 people registered unemployed in my constituency, there are nearly two and a half thousand children living below the poverty line which tells us that living in a workless household is not the principle cause of poverty, but low wages are.

Local MP Tim Farron is lobbying the Government to give towns in Cumbria a fair share of a new funding initiative.

Earlier this Spring, the Government announced the introduction a Stronger Towns Fund - £1bn for towns across England to help create jobs and boost growth.

However, the Government say that this money will only be available for towns with a population of over 30,000 meaning that everywhere in the county apart from Carlisle and Barrow will miss out.

South Lakes MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming Tim Farron is backing calls from the National Farmers' Union (NFU) to rethink plans to farmers' incomes.

The Government's Agriculture Bill would see direct payments cut over a seven-year 'agricultural transition', which is due to begin in 2021 and end in 2027.

Commenting on the news that University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as 'Requires Improvement' by the Care Quality Commission, local MP Tim Farron said:

"It's of course very disappointing that our local hospitals trust has gone from being rated Good to being rated as Requires Improvement.