Surrey County Council's Conservative administration has recently decided to allow members of the public to submit petitions at meetings of the whole Council, not just at committee meetings. This is something that the Liberal Democrat Group at County Hall have requested many times in order to open up the Council, but which until now has always been refused by the Conservative administration, even as recently as March this year.
The Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have for many years regularly suggested that the County Council could make significant savings by reducing its reliance on costly agency staff by reducing the number of agency staff and using its own directly-employed staff instead. At last someone has listened.
Improving services for disabled children was one of the requirements of the Improvement Notice issued to Surrey County Council in 2008, after inspectors said Surrey services for vulnerable children and young people were 'inadequate'. Yet Ruth House, the residential facility for respite care attached to Freemantles School for autistic children, is reducing the number of beds offered from twenty to ten, whilst the opening of Applewood, the new children's home at Banstead built to provide respite care for disabled children with complex needs, has been deferred, even though it has recently been approved by Ofsted as ready for use.
For years services for young people such as the Youth Development Service have been Surrey's Cinderella. Budgets have been cut, with staff posts left unfilled and then frozen.This year a re-organisation at the top takes away the Youth Development Officers who lead the work in each Borough and District and further managers, replacing all thirteen posts with just four operations managers to run youth work for the whole county.
Proposals to cut "school special" bus services, in some cases from this September, brought such strong public opposition from parents and schools that none of them will be removed before September 2011. However, this is just a reprieve. All "school special" bus services across the county are still being considered for closure, with the Cabinet expected to come to a decision on 13 July.
The Borough Council is embarking upon widespread consultation concerning proposals to charge Blue Badge holders for parking in its car parks. The survey has been sent to 52 local groups via the Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) and to several other local stakeholders. It is available on the council's website until 17th May and will be sent to the council's own Citizens Panel. More consultation via Focus groups will take place on 27th May.
BBC Coverage of some of the comings and goings at County Hall, including an interview with Hazel Watson, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition:
Below is a table of how Surrey Councillors voted on the 2.99% Council Tax rise at this morning's budget meeting.
I request a recorded vote on the administration's budget for 2012/13.
Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for action not words in repairing Surrey's roads.
Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for county councillors from all parties to support them in voting against the excessive 2.99% Council Tax rise being proposed by the Conservative Leader and Cabinet to the County Council budget setting meeting on Tuesday.
Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for the Conservative administration to show restraint in increasing Council Tax in the 2012/13 Budget.