"Instead of making it easier for developers to press ahead with new housing estates without needing planning permission, what is actually needed is more thought, better planning and joined-up thinking. I fear that today's announcement will mean even less scrutiny and accountability to local councils and communities.
Reacting to today's announcement that the Government are reviewing the roles, powers and responsibilities of elected Police and Crime Commissioners, Sunderland Liberal Democrats have called for the positions to be scrapped entirely.
Opposition Lib Dems on Wearside say the cost of holding elections as well as the money associated with paying the Commissioner, their office, support staff and their expenses would be better spent on frontline policing instead.
Councillor George Smith is demanding that bus company Go North East does a U-turn on its policy of refusing to give passengers change when they pay their bus fare in cash - or let older people use the buses for free before 9.30am.
Bus company Go North East are facing calls to scrap their "exact fare only" policy which means if passengers pay with cash they don't receive any change.
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed he is considering moving the House of Commons to York whilst the Palace of Westminster undergoes renovations, opposition Lib Dems in Sunderland have renewed calls for Parliament to be moved to Wearside instead.
The Government had previously suggested moving the House of Lords to York, as part of an effort to reconnect politics with voters outside of London.
Lib Dem councillors on Wearside have written to the Government to ask them to ditch their plans to move Government jobs to York - and choose Sunderland instead.
Senior Cabinet Office minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove has confirmed that the Government are looking to move civil service jobs out of central London.
