Liberal Democrats oppose “half-baked and unrealistic” County Council budget

Surrey County Council's Liberal Democrats are opposing the County's Conservative administration's budget at tomorrow's Council meeting as it is "half baked and unrealistic".

Hazel Watson, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Surrey County Council will say: "Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats support the level of council tax proposed, although we oppose the administration's budget as a whole, as it is half-baked and unrealistic. For example, it includes a £19 million saving in the Family, Friends and Community programme which cannot be achieved. This leaves a massive hole in the budget. Despite savings of over £14 million for this programme not being achieved this year, the administration has buried its head in the sand and is over optimistically planning to make yet more savings.

In view of this, the budget needs to be radically reshaped with money put where it is most needed to protect services such as adult social care.

The administration should be doing much more to raise income and funding from sources other than government grant or Council Tax, such as from the EU or subletting under occupied properties. This would help to protect services to Surrey residents. A recent County Council report has highlighted Surrey County Council's failure to apply for EU funds, which clearly needs to be addressed.

However, Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats are pleased that the administration has finally done some of the things we have recommended over several years, including spending money on resurfacing roads and therefore saving the ongoing costs of pothole repairs and insurance claims; providing more school places; proposals for a solar farm to generate income; and using reserves rather than allowing them to pile up.

Despite this the budget could be much improved for the benefit of Surrey residents."Liberal Democrat proposals for the budget include, in addition to the administration's budget:

"£5 million from the unused contingency towards the shortfall in funding for adult social care, pending a detailed review of the service. This would help prevent unacceptable cuts to services for vulnerable adults and their carers.

£250,000 additional money for flooding and drainage to speed up the schemes to tackle flooding on Surrey's roads. The County Council has a long list of schemes to stop flooding on Surrey's roads, the delay in progressing these schemes is unacceptable, with roads and properties flooded as a result.

£100,000 to improve road safety, such as implementing reduced speed limits. Many Surrey residents are concerned about the speed of traffic on our roads and about road safety. This money would enable more road safety schemes and lower speed limits, including 20mph speed limits near schools to be implemented sooner.

Both of these would be funded from the Budget Equalisation Reserve.

£500,000 to improve the energy efficiency of the County Council's buildings to reduce the council's high energy bills of over £15 million a year. This would be funded from the investment renewals reserve.

£100,000 to the citizen's advice bureaux to advise Surrey residents on coping with debt, which would help prevent residents falling prey to loan sharks. This would be funded from reductions to the £1.8 million communications budget for spin and glossy publications.

The administration should stop wasting money, such as on allowances for unnecessary Cabinet Associate posts totalling £20,000. This would make more money available for services for Surrey residents.

Less than half of Surrey's residents think that they get value for money from the County Council, I agree with them that there is considerable room for improvement on that score.

All in all the administration's budget is just more of the same and makes little attempt at tackling the problems facing Surrey and its residents."