Last week’s economic growth figures were another welcome sign that our economy is now moving in the right direction.

According to official figures, the UK economy grew by 0.8% over the last quarter, taking it back to the same level it was before the banking crisis in 2008 and the economic mess that Labour left the country in.

This is welcome news not just for the country as a whole, but also for the thousands of people who have been feeling the effects locally.

Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central is encouraging all local A Level and AS Level students in Cardiff Central to take part in the Political Studies Association's (PSA) Student Short Video Competition.

The PSA exists to develop and promote the study of politics. As part of their programme of activities to engage young people, the PSA hold an annual short film competition.

This year's competition asks students to explore the question: "Europe - in or out?" Groups of students are invited to submit short videos on this subject. Shortlisted groups will be invited to Westminster to discuss the ideas raised in their video with a panel of politicians and journalists. The winning group will receive their award at the PSA's Annual Awards Dinner in London on 25^thNovember, broadcast on BBC Parliament, with accommodation provided for them and their teacher in a central London hotel.

Local residents have reacted with anger at new plans unveiled by Labour-run Cardiff Council that could see a decrease in the amount of leisure facilities in Splott and Adamsdown.

Originally the Council had promised to build a new state-of-the-art Community Hub in Splott Park that would have included a new swimming pool and increased leisure services.

But now they appear to be cutting back on their plans, with a smaller building with less leisure facilities.

A petition has been set up by local residents to keep the existing facilities as they are and the first tranche of this, containing over 500 signatures, was presented today to South Wales Central Assembly Member Eluned Parrott and Adamsdown Councillor Nigel Howells.

Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, has welcomed Liberal Democrat manifesto plans which would make it a legal requirement for companies to publish what they pay men and women.

Under the proposals companies employing more than 250 people would have to publish the difference in pay rates between men and women or face a £5,000 fine. Currently leading employers are encouraged to publish pay gap information on a voluntary basis. Only 140 out of 7,000 big firms have done so.

In 2013, the average woman earned 19.7% less than the average man. The average hourly wage for women was £10.33 while men were paid £12.97.

The Liberal Democrats are the first major party to commit to enforcing gender pay transparency by law.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed the announcement today by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg that £154 million will be invested in aerospace research projects, benefiting companies in Wales.

Nick Clegg made the announcement during a visit to Farnborough International Airshow on Thursday, with the aim to keep the UK as a world leader in aerospace innovation.

Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central has welcomed the announcement by British Gas that they are recruiting 87 new people to work in their Cardiff Contact Centre as the number of unemployed claimants in Cardiff Central falls.

The new jobs are part of British Gas' investment in 300 new positions across the UK. In Cardiff, 77 customer service roles have been created and 10 apprenticeships have been offered to young people, aged 18 to 24, from across South and East Wales.

Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, has welcomed the news that the Liberal Democrat's flagship Pupil Premium policy is helping children from less well-off backgrounds to achieve more at school.

A report by Ofsted shows that the achievement gap between children who receive free school meals and their classmates was closing in all schools in England judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding for overall effectiveness.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have successfully negotiated a Welsh equivalent to the Pupil Premium, the Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG) in successive budget negotiations with the Welsh Government. As a result, this year schools have received £918 per pupil on free school meals, to help improve achievement levels.

The Welsh Government has not yet confirmed whether PDG funding will continue at the current level, which is leaving schools unable to plan ahead.

Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, has met girls in Parliament from Lakeside Primary School in Cardiff, who were taking part in Girls Get Coding.

Girls Get Coding is the UK-wide campaign to encourage girls aged 9 to 12 to learn the basics of computer programming.

Jenny Willott MP was taught by the girls how to do simple programming tasks such as change features on a game and was presented with a certificate.

Jenny Willott, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP, for Cardiff Central has welcomed the news

Announced by Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrats will guarantee in law that in each year pensions will rise by the highest of wages, prices or 2.5%. These changes would mean the state pension will be worth at least £131-a-week by 2020, up from just £97.65 four years ago. that under Liberal Democrat manifesto plans for the General Election, pensioners would be guaranteed to earn at least an extra £790 per year by the end of the next parliament.