Cllr Jonathan Lees, leader of the Liberal Democrat group of councillors, comments on the Audit Commission's annual audit and inspection letter for 2006/7 and says it is no surprise that the Audit Commission has highlighted the borough council's financial strategy and recycling performance.
Lib Dem councillors are having to be vigilant in order to keep the borough council's proposals on track.
The borough council is to hold a Public Meeting on Monday 14th April (starting at 7.30 pm at the Town Hall) to try and solve many of the issues surrounding the Stones Road area of Epsom. The green space at the end of Stones Road contains allotments and a pond which is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because it contains great crested newts.
Residents from Rosebank, Lib Dem councillors and activists all turned up to quiz the Local Committee at its meeting on 10th March. During the half hour public question time, Rosebank residents told the Committee about their parking problems and how they have to compete with shoppers, workers and commuters every day.
Surrey County Council's governing Executive Committee is set to meet at 2.30 pm on Tuesday 25 March 2008 to finally decide whether or not to lease Nonsuch Park and its Mansion House to the Epsom & Sutton councils whose joint management committee (JMC) has run the park for them for the last 70 years. Campaigners, including Sutton's Lib Dem MP, are encouraging those concerned about the future of Nonsuch to attend this meeting to demonstrate the strength of public feeling locally on this issue when D-Day (Decision Day) finally arrives
Lib Dem councillors and FOCUS teams throughout the borough are taking action to get a better deal on parking, parking enforcement, traffic and road safety.
The Liberal Democrat Group on Surrey County Council is calling on the Conservative-run Executive to reconsider its plans to close six of Surrey's libraries. Diana Smith, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Schools and Communities, said that over the years a lack of investment by the Tories in one of the county's key resources had left it unable to grow to meet modern needs, with the number of people using libraries falling. "In an increasingly 24 hour society it's no wonder people aren't using the libraries, when opening hours are so limited. And when they get there, often the choice of books is restricted and there isn't room for the range of computers that a modern information centre needs."
Conservative-run Surrey County Council today refused to maintain current funding to the county's voluntary sector, choosing instead to oppose a Liberal Democrat motion which had called for an end to the proposed £838,000 cut in funding. Fiona White, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Adults and Community Care, said after the meeting that the Tory amendment to the motion was "woolly" and had no funding substance to it on which the voluntary organisations could rely.
This Motion to Council is not an attempt to ignore the financial situation in which we find ourselves. Rather, it is a recognition of that situation and the need to get the best possible returns for the investment of the Council's money. Let me ask councillors a question. What sort of return do you think we get for every one pound given in grant to a voluntary organisation? Is it three pounds, six pounds, ten pounds? The information which I have gleaned leads me to believe that it is ten pounds or above; if so, the effect of the cuts will be more than £8 million in service provision. I think that any business would be delighted to have such a return on their investment and within a very short space of time.
Following pressure from the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, proposals to abandon the Student Fare Card Scheme have been withdrawn. The cards allow Surrey students up to 18 to travel at the under-16 rate. They remove a barrier to youngsters travelling to the course that suits them best, keeping them in the education system.
Dear Editor.
The Tory budget is proposing to cut grants to voluntary organisations in Surrey by £838,000. This means a significant reduction in the money available to organisations that have a fundamental role in supporting Surrey residents and will cause an already fragile sector to fail in key areas.
