The Conservative Party appear to be tearing up their own policy on UK aid spending following comments made by the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on a trip to Sierra Leone.

The policy to enshrine in law the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of the UK's national income on overseas aid was promised in both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats 2010 general election manifestos and formed part of the Coalition Agreement.

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today (12 November) met with apprentices at a factory in Eastleigh to celebrate a 90 per cent increase in the number of people starting apprenticeships in the South East.

Records show that in the four years to 2009/2010 around 133,000 people began an apprenticeship programme in the South East, compared to 261,000 under the this government.

Following his call to the government to make freeing up as much as £1.5bn to invest in the NHS in 2015/2016 an Autumn Statement priority, Liberal Democrat Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb has written the article below.

"For too long mental health has been seen as a second-class issue in the NHS and I am determined to change that.

Conservative opposition to onshore wind farms risks undermining the creation of British jobs, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey has warned.

Research by RenewableUK shows that 15,400 people are now employed in Britain's wind power industry, an increase of 70 per cent since 2010.

A record number of people are now in work, according to latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There are now 30.79m people in work and from July to September, unemployment fell by 115,000.

In the same period, the number of people in work grew by 112,000.

Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said:

Liberal Democrat health minister Norman Lamb is calling for the government to free up as much as £1.5bn to invest in the NHS in 2015/2016.

Norman wants to see the government make NHS funding a priority in next month's Autumn Statement.

He is also calling for extra funding to focus on improving mental health care, particularly for children and young people, which is a key priority for the Liberal Democrats.

Communities across England have joined together to protect pubs, libraries and leisure centres against being sold off under the government's community rights programme.

The total number of uses of rights has now reached 3,000 with more than 1,500 much loved buildings, assets and green spaces listed for protection and 1,200 now underway.

Primary schools in England are to be handed an extra £22.5 million next year to help close the gap between the poorest pupils and their richer classmates, thanks to the Liberal Democrats.

The Pupil premium, which was successfully delivered by the Lib Dems in Government, helps support disadvantaged youngsters from the time they start school, and stop them falling behind.

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

"As part of this year's centenary to mark the outbreak of World War One, hundreds of thousands of ceramic poppies now surround the Tower of London.

"It is an incredible sight, with each poppy planted to represent a British soldier who lost their life during this conflict.

Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder has called for an EU Action Plan to stamp out the illegal wildlife trade in a joint campaign with the Sunday Mirror.

Every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed in order to supply the global ivory trade. Rhinos, lions, tigers and dozens of other species are all being pushed to the brink of extinction by poaching and a rising demand for illegal wildlife products.