As well as Libraries and Youth Clubs, other Surrey County Council services threatened by the Tory BDR proposals include the Surrey History Centre, where the reduction in funding may seriously affect the quality of the service, and Surrey County Arts, which currently provides 278,000 music lessons annually. Proposals include increased tuition fees, even though tuition fees in Surrey are already 30% higher than the national average whereas some 42% of local authorities do not charge any tuition fees.
Tory plans to sell off part of the site of two local schools, The Mead Infant and Auriol Junior, have been stopped by the Department for Education. Conservative-controlled Surrey County Council had intended to help fund renovations and new buildings needed at the schools to replace old temporary classrooms by selling part of the playground at The Mead and part of the school field at Auriol for housing development.
The old "tunnel" or "subway" alongside the railway footbridge linking Stones Road to the Longmead Estate and Miles Road has been saved for future use when the footbridge reaches the end of its safe life. The railway arch forming the subway, which was installed in 1859 when the railway line was built, has been closed since 1911 and was about to be filled in permanently by Network Rail. However SCC's local committee in Epsom & Ewell has accepted the recommendation from SCC's structural engineers to strengthen it instead.
Residents threatened by the proposed closure of Ewell Court Library turned out in force to lobby the recent meeting of SCC's Epsom & Ewell Local Committee. The were not disappointed, for the committee unanimously passed a motion proposed by the Mayor and seconded by Cllr Colin Taylor calling upon SCC's Executive not to confirm their Business Delivery Review's proposal to close Ewell Court Library.
The threat to the 467 bus route was discussed at the recent meeting of SCC's Epsom & Ewell Local Committee. They unanimously passed a motion proposed by Cllr Colin Taylor calling upon SCC's Executive to ensure that local residents in the West Ewell and Ruxley areas can continue to access the various essential services in Ewell village and Epsom town by public transport.
Moves for Epsom & Ewell council to join with other local councils in challenging the Government decision to build the proposed new Critical Care Hospital at St Helier were blocked by the ruling Residents Party at the recent meeting of the Borough Council. Despite various attempts by Lib Dem Councillors Lionel Blackman and Jonathan Lees to debate the issue, rules of procedure were used to prevent the matter being discussed.
The Lib Dems at Surrey County Council have persuaded the Tory administration to set up an in depth review into the way that the County's contracts are set up and monitored. The County Council is contracting out more and more of its services including such things as school transport but it was revealed last week that the council has inadequate information regarding the performance of that and other contracts.
Surrey County Council has inadequate information on the performance of the contract to provide school transport in Surrey; Surrey County Council's Corporate Management Select Committee has been informed. It was admitted that the contract to provide school transport was not set up in a way that allows the County Council to check whether what the contractors are doing is the most efficient and cost effective way of providing the service.
Auditors KPMG have warned in their annual audit inspection that £26 million, already given to the County Council for its waste disposal scheme, might have to be returned to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). If this happened there would be extremely grave consequences for the Council's financial position. So at next Tuesday's meeting of Surrey County Council, Lib Dem County Councillor Tom Sharp will ask what steps the Tory administration are taking to ensure that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not reclaim £26m already given to the County Council for its waste disposal scheme.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on the 10th of December a £340 million increase in this year's provisional grant for county councils, of which Surrey's share is £7.3 million, according to the Council's figures. The Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, Cllr Janet Maines says: "This is good news for Surrey residents who have been hit hard by Conservative Council Tax rises. The Liberal Democrats will put pressure on the Conservative Administration on Surrey County Council to use this money to keep Council Tax as low as possible, while making sure local services are protected. The Liberal Democrats have also recommended to the Conservative administration that they should put some funding into preventative measures that would keep the budget under control for future years."
Following a motion tabled by Lib Dem County Councillor David Timms, Surrey County Council has now publicly acknowledged its concern over a number of serious weaknesses in its Children's Services that were identified in a recent report by the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate. The Council has also committed itself to monitor progress towards overcoming these weaknesses.
At Surrey County Council's meeting on 21st October, Lib Dem Councillor David Timms challenged a statement made by the Conservative administration strongly suggesting that Surrey's Children's Services were a model to be emulated nationally. He asked why the Tories had not awaited publication of the results of a joint review of Surrey's social service department by the Social Services Inspectorate and the Audit Commission, before making this kind of boast.
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