Don Foster MP is supporting the launch of Chance to be Chancellor 2012 and is calling on schools and young people in Bath to take up in the challenge to learn about, and share their opinions on, Budget 2012. Run by the Citizenship Foundation, in partnership with Aviva, Chance to be Chancellor is open to all 14-18 year olds across the UK.

Running until the 20^th February, participants can enter into a national competition to win great prizes and visit HM Treasury in London.

Don Foster MP joined a host of South West MPs and housing experts from across the region to discuss the role shared ownership can play in boosting the local housing market.

Over the last 10 years house prices have risen three times faster than incomes in the South West region and now stand at almost 12 times local incomes. With reduced mortgage availability and the need for huge deposits, more and more average and lower income earners are being priced out of the market.

Information released today for the first time shows that secondary schools in Bath and North East Somerset Learning Authority need extra support to help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their full potential. Nationally, children on free school meals or in local authority care for at least six months are half as likely to achieve five A*-C grade GCSEs including English and maths compared to their more well-off classmates.

Post Offices in Bath have been saved by Liberal Democrat Business Minister, Ed Davey.

After ending Labour's Post Office closure programme, which saw more than 7100 Post Offices disappear in their 13 years in office, Ed Davey has announced a ten-year deal between the Post Office and the Royal Mail has been reached.

In a letter to British Olympic Association honorary chairman Lord Colin Moynihan, Bath MP Don Foster has thrown his support behind Great Britain's rhythmic gymnastics team's bid to compete at the London 2012 Olympics.

The team, who train at the University of Bath failed to meet an arbitrary qualifying standard set by the sport's UK governing body at a London Prepares test event. The team missed out on their target of 45.223 points by just half a per cent.

Commenting on Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten's speech at the Oxford Media Convention, Bath MP and Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Don Foster said:

"Lord Patten gets the final word and with it he says what we've all been thinking.

The Daylight Saving Bill was derailed by a small group of MPs on Friday but pressure is growing on the government to give the bill a fair hearing. Bath MP, Don Foster has joined scores of other politicians and organisations calling for more parliamentary time to see it through.

The Bill would mandate the government to conduct a comprehensive review of the costs and benefits of putting clocks forward an hour throughout the UK, resulting in lighter evenings every day of the year. If this concludes that a change would be beneficial, the government will run a three-year trial of the new system, subject to consent from the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Even with huge support from over 140 MPs at Friday's debate, a couple of politicians were able to block the bill by simply running down the clock and "talking out" the Bill.

Legislation which will make it easier for small venues to host live music has been cleared in the House of Commons.

The private member's bill, introduced by Liberal Democrat Don Foster, will lift some of the bureaucracy imposed on gigs by the 2003 Licensing Act.

It means many venues will no longer need to pay for a licence to host live music between 08:00 and 23:00.

The Live Music Bill is within touching distance of becoming law as it successfully passed through its final stage in the House of Commons today.

Having been approved in its Third Reading, the Bill will now go back to the House of Lords to have the final Commons amendments approved. With the biggest hurdles now overcome, the Bill will reduce the crippling effect that red tape and bureaucracy has on small venues in Bath and across the country. By removing unnecessary licensing restrictions it will help struggling pubs and clubs and boost the UK's grassroots music scene.

Speaking in the House of Commons on January 16, Don Foster strongly voiced his concerns that preserving arts and creative education in schools.

Questioning John Hayes, Minister of State at the Department for Education, Don Foster asked:

"What steps he is taking to promote arts and creative education in schools."