Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson and MP for Bristol West, Stephen Williams, today urged constituents to sign the e-petition which calls on the Chancellor to adopt plans that would fast track the introduction of the Lib Dem £10,000 income tax personal allowance.

Commenting on the e-petition, Stephen said: 'I would ask all those in favour of a fairer tax system to sign this e-petition. Liberal Democrat plans would save working people £700 a year -that's an extra £60 in your wages every month - and more than 3.5million older and low-paid people will be freed from paying any income tax altogether.

New figures reveal that 570 young people in Bristol West benefited from the Government's apprenticeship scheme last year, an increase of more than 122% on the year before. Numbers were also up across the rest of Bristol. This news comes during National Apprenticeships Week, which seeks to build on last year's success with events in schools and businesses.

Lib Dem MP for Bristol West, Stephen Williams has put his support behind a campaign to make Bristol city centre more pedestrian and cyclist friendly.

The Living Heart for Bristol Campaign has been launched by a coaltion of Bristol based campaigns groups including Sustrans, Bristol Friends of the Earth, and the Bristol Cycling Campaign.

Do you fancy the chance to be Chancellor for the day?

Chance to be Chancellor is a competition open to all 14-18 year olds across the UK run by the Citizenship Foundation. It's aim is to get young people to take up in the challenge to learn about, and share their opinions on, Budget 2012.

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

Stephen Williams MP has welcomed the announcement by Business Secretary, Vince Cable, that new measures are to be introduced to help rein in the rocketing levels of executive pay in Britain's boardrooms.

Yesterday, Stephen also raised the issue of restraining high pay in the public sector, asking Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, what steps are being taken to curb excessive pay rises among top public sector employees.

This week Bristol West MP, Stephen Williams, signed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, in doing so pledging his commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day and honouring those who died during the Holocaust.

Friday January 27th will mark the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration and extermination camp which is the site of the largest mass murder in history - and in the weeks running up to the day, the Holocaust Educational Trust placed a Book of Commitment in the House of Commons, giving MPs the chance to honour those who were persecuted and killed during their Holocaust and encouraging constituents to actively speak out against prejudice and bigotry today.

Earlier this week, Bristol West MP, Stephen Williams addressed the House of Commons on the future of the British high street.

Stephen used his speech to warn of the danger to independent high street traders posed by the proliferation of supermarkets and chain stores. He is calling for changes to the planning system in order to allow local authorities to show a preference for smaller traders over supermarkets, and for councils to be given the power to vary business rates in order to attract a wider variety of traders.

Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, has joined public health professionals from around the UK to launch a campaign to raise awareness about the harmful influence of tobacco packaging.

Stephen has welcomed the news that, from April, the Coalition Government will ban the open display of tobacco products at supermarket kiosks, where they act as a temptation to existing smokers and impressionable teenagers alike. Now Stephen wants the Government to go further, by banning the use of the colourful packaging that tobacco companies use to entice new smokers.

Bristol West MP, Stephen Williams has warmly welcomed the news that local group, Bristol Green Doors, are to receive £78,000 of funding from the Government's Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF).

Bristol Green Doors works to highlight ways in which Bristol households can reduce their carbon footprint while saving money off their energy bills at the same time. The LEAF funding was announced on Monday by Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, as part of a £10 million pound fund for similar organisations across the country.

Commenting on the report into tax settlements negotiated by HMRC, Co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee, Stephen Williams said:

"We all know that times are tough for Government finances. In order to sort out Labour's mess there has to be a mixture of increasing tax revenue and restricting the growth of spending. At the same time the taxman must collect all the tax that is due. Special treatment or even the perception of special treatment for big corporations is simply unacceptable.

"It is sometimes understandable in highly complex tax disputes that HMRC settles out of court. But when it comes to public money being lost through vast tax settlements, the taxman needs to be more transparent. The public must be able to see they how they are negotiating with big companies so they can see if special treatment is being given."

Stephen Williams has tabled an Early Day Motion calling for a general anti-avoidance rule within the next Finance Bill. It has been sponsored by David Laws, Simon Hughes, Tim Farron, Lorely Burt and Tom Brake.