Bath Place Community Centre Fire

I have just heard there has been a fire at Bath Place Community Centre in Leamington this afternoon. This is a real shame as the centre provided a fantastic space for a wide and diverse range of community events in that part of town. I have attended a number of musical and artistic events there over the years.

I hope this does not spell the end of this valuable facility and something of equal value can be created in its place.

http://leamingtonobserver.co.uk/news83315.html

Britain needs to invest in our Digital Economy to remain a world leader in the 21st Century Knowledge Based Economy

Yesterday I chaired a fringe event at the Lib-Dem conference on the Digital Economy.

Investing in the Digital Economy is vital to Warwick & Leamington where there are a significant number of Jobs, from global corporations such as IBM and Accenture to the computer games industry and high tech automotive research.

There is a lot talk about cuts in expenditure, yet at the same time investment in infrastructure, skills and enterprise is vitally needed in areas of our economy. Whatever comes out of the current economic crisis it is clear that information technology will play a large part. Britain is currently a world leader in IT. Yet Britain risks falling behind if we do not make investment, part of a clear strategy for economic recovery.

Fellow Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates took part in a Dragon’s Den to grill industry representatives on information society topics. The workshop addressed important issues such as child protection, jobs of the future and delivering public services at lower cost.

Philip Virgo, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Group on the information Society organising the event said, that most other issues would be irrelevant unless the UK can create, attract and retain the wealth-creating jobs of the future.

Shameless Fringe Plug - IT and the Internet

I am posting a shameless plug for a conference fringe I am involved with as this event will be of particular interest to our on-line community.

IT and the Internet - Turning challenges into opportunities

Westbourne Suite Bournemouth International Centre Mon 21st Sept 1300-1400

Following the recent publication of the Governments ‘Digital Britain Report’, a Dragon's Den of Parliamentary Candidates grilling industry representatives on political priorities for the on-line world.

A hot buffet lunch and drinks will be provided.

As the UK becomes increasingly reliant on computers and the internet, the Parliamentary cross party alliance on the information society, EURIM brings together a panel of prospective parliamentary candidates to assess the importance of information society issues to their target voters.

Society is critically dependent on services delivered over the Internet. Those without good access risk becoming a new underclass. At the same time there are issues of child protection, fraud and other abuse.

Politicians need to look towards delivering better public services at less cost by reducing waste. Can a more practical approach to online systems help them achieve this goal?

Representatives from Nominet, who look after the .uk domain and run the UK "Internet Governance Best Practice" awards; global technology corporation IBM; and engineering and design consultants Atkins will present key information society issues including internet governance, employer mobility and delivering value for money in public services.

The panel will then assess importance of the issues raised for their own upcoming election campaigns.