Website of Penny Rivers, Surrey County Councillor
The SCC Budget debate got heated today with all the opposition groups voting against huge cuts at a time of growing need and punishing inflation.
The vote was 41 for, 31 against and 1 abstention.
Lib Dems call for more spending on roads in Surrey budget
The Fund is designed to give financial backing to projects submitted by residents and community groups that will enhance their local area,
Projects that meet the criteria and prove that they will deliver a positive benefit for local people will be taken through an application process and the first funding will be administered in Spring 2021.
The fund aims to empower communities by:
Your Fund Surrey can be accessed for:
Details at www.surreycc.gov.uk/yourfund
What a privilege to have been able to nominate Graham Hodgson for this award. It was a real pleasure to accompany him and his wife, Lynne, to County Hall on 10th April 2019. His citation reads:
Graham has been an integral part of the Godalming community for nearly 40 years. He has been a Governor and the Chair of Governors of Godalming Junior School and Broadwater School, Committee Member of Godalming District Scout Executive, Water Advisor for River Wey British Canoeing and Assistant to the Royal British Legion Area Organiser to name but a few.
Most would recognise Graham as Major Hodgson, the Parade Marshal of the Town’s annual Remembrance Day parade, a role he has proudly carried out for the last 28 years, however his commitment to community life has not been limited to just one cause or purpose.
Graham has used his skills and knowledge to benefit a wide spectrum of our society. He has been a positive influence to the generations of young Godhelmians, especially in his capacity as a school governor and his active role as a canoeing coach with Godalming District Scout Canoe Club.
Graham and his wife, Lynne, with Chairman Tony Samuels, and Vice Chair Helyn Clack
At the last moment, immediately before today’s Full Council meeting, Cllr Goodman (Con) proposed an amendment to Cllr Essex’s (Green) motion, heavily watering it down. Deleted items are shown crossed through and additions are in bold italic.
Every Tory Councillor voted for the amendment and not in favour of declaring a climate emergency.
Full Council believes that:
Surrey County Council and all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty should seek to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, and local governments that recognise this should not wait for their national governments to change their policies.
The Council recognises the work that has already been done to tackle Surrey’s carbon footprint and it is important for the residents of Surrey to commit to carbon neutrality work towards reducing their carbon footprint as quickly as possible.
Bold climate change action can deliver economic benefits to Surrey in terms of valuable new jobs, essential economic savings and much needed market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide).
The UK has a world-first Climate Change Act with a legally-binding target of an 80 per cent emissions cut by 2050, and shorter-term national carbon budgets ensuring vear-on-vear emissions cuts.
The Government has made a commitment to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it and we welcome the Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill, the first in over twenty years, which will be an essential step towards this goal. The Government has pledged to support increased biodiversity and thriving plants and wildlife and to continue to clean up our air and our water, creating a healthier environment.
Full Council to therefore resolves that:
1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ in Surrey;
2. Pledge to make Surrey carbon-neutral by 2030 and strive to work with Surrey’s borough and district Councils in taking a leadership role, taking into account both production and consumption emissions;
1. It will continue to work with Boroughs and Districts to reduce the Surrey-wide carbon footprint to meet the Government’s targets:
3. Call on the Government to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;
2.. It will continue to work with the Government on environmental issues and to agree any new powers to assist delivery of the carbon targets:
3. It will be proactive in contributing to the many consultations that have been launched on reducing carbon emissions.
4. Report to County Council within six months with the actions the Council will take to address this.
Full Council also notes that the Cabinet will receive the updated SCC Carbon and Energy Policy for 2020-2025 in December 2019, replacing the current 2015/19 policy.
Dear Prime Minister,
Thank you for your letter.
I remain unconvinced by your approach and with your deal. Until and unless you and your Government tell us that this country and every citizen will be better off economically than we are now, then in my opinion there is no way that anyone could support your way forward, let alone unite behind you.
As a Surrey County Councillor, will I be able to reassure residents that potholes will be filled and that, for instance, libraries and Sure Start centres will stay open? Surely the way to renew and reconcile the whole country is to invest in and massively improve public services.
You wrote to us which must mean that you want to hear what we think. If you are sincere in this, then please give us a People’s Vote on the terms of your deal.
Yours sincerely,
Penny Rivers
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/have-your-say/consultations
As you will read in this link, the Conservative Government has cut the core grant to the Conservative-led Surrey County Council by £200million since 2010. SCC has already made £500million reduction in expenditure on vital services and now it seeks to “save” a further £85million expenditure over the next year and has launched a public consultation on this range of services:
Have your say online and/or at:
| Wednesday 12 December | 10am – 12pm | Wilfrid Noyce Community Centre (Wyatt Room) Crown Court car park, Godalming GU7 1DY |
Lib Dems, Labour and Green Party and some members of the Residents Association have consistently voted against cuts. But even combined and numbering 17 we are massively out-voted
It was the meeting of the Planning and Regulatory Committee – 10:30am on 8th August 2018.
The agenda alone was 253 pages in length! And there were many more pages to read from local residents about the proposal for:
MINERALS AND WASTE APPLICATION MO/2018/0444 – Brockham Wellsite, Felton’s Farm. The application is for retrospective and on-going permission to drill for oil and gas for three years.
As well as concerns about traffic, air and noise pollution and the industrialisation of the Green Belt, there are real worries about the recent cluster of earthquakes in Surrey. I am no geologist and accept that earthquakes have natural causes but the fact that 12 earthquakes have been recorded in 6 months while drilling was happening, while no earthquakes had been recorded in the previous two centuries, should make all of us ask searching questions about risk and safety. In my opinion, unless this company can prove that their works did not cause the earthquakes, then permission should be deferred.
Both Lib Dem councillors – Stephen Cooksey and I – voted to defer, two Tory councillors, Mary Angell and Edward Hawkins joining with us, but we were out-voted and permission was granted. The vote was 7:4 to grant permission (with conditions) to drill.
There are more applications pending to drill for gas in the Surrey Hills.
Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey have heavily criticised the Conservative-administration at County Hall after Conservative Councillors awarded themselves thousands of pounds of extra allowances in a vote at Council yesterday. The vote means that 4 new Deputy Cabinet positions will be created, at a cost of £40K a year, as well as extra allowances for committee vice-chairs.
Liberal Democrat County Councillors opposed these increases and voted against them at County Hall.
Cllr Chris Botten, Leader of the Liberal Democrats at Surrey County Council, said:
“At a time when residents are looking to Surrey County Council to increase its cost effectiveness, and at a time when severe cuts in services are proposed, the Conservatives should not be looking to award themselves a pay rise. Many of our residents have had no real increase in their income for ten years and they will be appalled to see these increases voted through. The overall cost of allowances for members should be capped for three years and any adjustments made by moving money within the existing budget.”
Cllr Fiona White, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats at Surrey County Council, added:
“I told the Leader of the Council yesterday how I disappointed I was with his proposals to pay thousands of pounds of additional allowances to Conservative Councillors, whilst at the same time proposing huge cuts to essential services. The County Council is telling residents that difficult decisions need to be made on spending but at the same time is able to find extra money to keep backbench Conservative councillors happy. I am calling for the Conservative-administration to reverse this decision and instead put this money into front line services.”
NOTES
A webcast of the meeting can be found here (with the Item on allowances starting at 1:39:00):
https://surreycc.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/352601
A copy of the Leader’s response to the Independent Remuneration Panel report can be found here:
The Council papers for this item can be found here (Item 15):
https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5841&Ver=4
May 1, 2018 12:02 PM
Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed their concern after it was revealed that Surrey County Council is planning to reduce spending on services by nearly £200m by the end of 2019/20. The figures were released in a report to the Council’s Cabinet earlier this week, alongside the Conservative-administration’s decision to hire consultants, at an undisclosed sum, to assist with the County Council’s “programme management and change capacity” project.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats. said:
“I am deeply concerned about the adverse impact on vital council services that would result from a spending reduction of almost £200m over the next two years. Surrey residents rely on the County Council for well-maintained roads, recycling centres, libraries, children’s centres and youth services. These services are already underfunded and further cuts and spending reductions are on the way.
“The Conservative-administration failed to act upon the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) report “Financial Resilience Review – Surrey County Council (Dec 2016)”, which it commissioned, stating that the County Council lacked a “credible cost reduction plan” and highlighted the County Council’s “rapidly declining reserves”. The County Council’s belated realisation that it is facing a financial crisis means that even more drastic cuts are being proposed than would have otherwise been necessary, which will reduce essential services for Surrey residents.
“Consultants have been hired for an undisclosed sum by the Conservative-administration to assist with the County Council’s “programme management and change capacity” project. This is a sign of desperation by the Conservative-administration to help them solve the County Council’s severe financial problems but it remains to be seen whether this will be value for money.
“The Leader of the Council blames poor financial settlements from the government for the financial position of his administration, yet every Conservative MP in Surrey voted for the most recent settlement. Furthermore, the administration has wasted money on maintaining dozens of empty county council-owned buildings across the county, as well as spending hundreds of millions on investing in commercial properties outside of Surrey – money which could have been used to resurface Surrey’s crumbling roads and footways. Investing in road resurfacing would save money on expensive pot hole repairs and claims by residents for damaged vehicles.
“The County Council wasted over £1m on its deeply unpopular free “Surrey Matters” magazine over a number of years and still spends £2m a year on “communications”. It has failed to use new digital technology to transform services to improve efficiency, and instead finds itself raiding ever-dwindling reserves each year in order to balance the budget.
“I am calling for the Conservative-administration to protect services for Surrey residents by using, selling or renting its empty buildings, stopping spending millions of pounds on commercial properties outside Surrey and by improving the efficency of the Council through the use of IT and new digital technology.”
NOTES
A copy of the CIPFA report can be found here:
http://scc.lib.dm/d9Nk
The County Council’s latest budget report can be found here:
https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/documents/b19522/Supplementary%20Agenda%20-%20Budget%20Tuesday%2024-Apr-2018%2014.00%20Cabinet.pdf?T=9
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed concern that proposed changes to the arrangements for drug and alcohol detoxification will make it more difficult for those trying to beat addiction.
Surrey County Council is currently consulting on proposals that include the closure of the in-patient facility at Windmill House in Chertsey, leaving only one in-patient bed for the whole of the county – which will be located outside of Surrey. Other patients will be required to attend day centres in either Guildford or Redhill, and will have to return to their homes in the evenings and at weekends in a programme called “ambulatory detoxification.”
The consultation, which ends on 20th May 2018, follows a reduction in the Public Health budget for adult substance misuse treatment services of 24% from April 2018, following cuts approved by Conservative councillors at the Budget meeting in February.
Cllr Angela Goodwin, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health & Social Care, said today:
“These cuts will directly impact on some of the most vulnerable people in our community. It is simply incredible to think that a county the size of Surrey will be left with only one in-patient bed to cover a population of 1.1 million – and it won’t even be in Surrey! We urge all those affected to respond to the current public consultation to make clear that these proposals are not acceptable”.
Cllr Chris Botten, Liberal Democrat county councillor for Caterham Hill, added:
“Our concern is that patients who have made the huge decision to submit themselves to a detox programme need to be away from the locations and situations which they associate with their drinking or drug use and that is why in-patient detox beds are so important. We feel that the clinical outcomes will be poorer and patients will find their lives have got even harder. That’s why all service users and patients should make their voices heard as part of the consultation to make sure that Surrey County Council listens and then changes these plans”.
NOTES
A copy of the consultation can be found here:
https://www.surreysays.co.uk/deputy-ceo/changes-to-detoxifcation-services/