Surrey County Council Lib Dems

Councillor Hazel Watson, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition on Surrey County Council, has tabled the following four written questions to the Leader of the Council for the Annual General Meeting on 8 May 2012.

Dead parrot

Since the original announcement of the Community Partnered Libraries proposals for the County's libraries to be run by volunteers we have seen Molesey Library withdrawn from the plan, part time paid staff allocated to libraries and the threat of ongoing staff training costs all meaning that the plan can no longer be saving the County Council money. In other words the often-stated reason that the County Council is pushing ahead with the plans to save them from closure no longer adds up. Will the Leader agree with me that the only reason that the plans are still being pursued is dogma, that he does not want to see himself tainted like his predecessor by a failed ill-conceived proposal, and that the plans like the famous Monty Python sketch, are a dead parrot nailed to the perch to give an impression of still being alive?

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have called on the Conservative-run administration to abandon it's ill-conceived and unpopular plans for 10 of the County's libraries to be run by "volunteers" instead of professional librarians.

In a response to a written question to the Conservative-run Cabinet from Cllr Hazel Watson, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition, the administration stated that it will "take the decision again" at the 19 June Cabinet meeting.

Lib Dems welcome High Court libraries judgment, and call on Conservative-run County Council to put the plans back on the bookshelf

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have welcomed the judgment by Mr Justice Wilkie in the High court today.

Commenting on the judgment, Liberal Democrat Communities Spokesperson John Orrick said: "Liberal Democrats have repeatedly raised our concerns regarding the equalities impact of the County Council's library plans.

Over 20 million working people will be better off next year after Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivered the biggest ever increase in the income tax personal allowance in the Budget.

The massive £3.5bn tax cut for working people delivers:

• The biggest ever single uplift in the tax threshold
• A personal allowance of £9,205 in April 2013
• 21 million working people getting an extra £220 tax cut
• Brings the total tax cut for basic rate tax payers to £550
• Brings the total number of people lifted out of tax to 2 million.

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have condemned the County's Conservative administration for refusing to accept that a safety net of adult care homes for Surrey's most vulnerable should continue to be run by the County Council.

In the debate today in full council on a motion proposed by Liberal Democrat County Councillors John Orrick and Hazel Watson, the Conservatives pushed through an amendment that laid the County Council open to putting all of its adult care homes out to be privately run.

Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council are calling for the County's elderly with the highest or most complex needs to be cared for in residential homes run by the County Council as well as private sector care and home care for people with lower needs.

In a motion to the meeting of the full County Council today the Lib Dems will call for an open public debate about provision of care homes, following recent discussions behind closed doors at County Hall.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg used his speech to the Party's Spring conference in NewcastleGateshead to call for the forthcoming budget to be a "budget for fairness" and pledged that it would help working familes.

The Deputy Prime Minister pledged that by 2015 Britain would have seen an end to control orders, the first gay marriages and the first elections to the House of Lords.

Fairer taxes, promoting green jobs, protecting your civil liberties - these are just some of the achievements of the Liberal Democrats in government.

We're building a freer, greener and more liberal country - and stopping some of the worst excesses of the Conservatives. Find out more in this infographic.

BBC Coverage of some of the comings and goings at County Hall, including an interview with Hazel Watson, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition:

© BBC with permission

Below is a table of how Surrey Councillors voted on the 2.99% Council Tax rise at this morning's budget meeting.

The main points are:

All Liberal Democrat members were present and voted against the 2.99% increase.

All Resident/Independent members were present and either abstained or voted against the increase.