Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey have today voted against proposals put forward by the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP). The report published by the IRP recommended that a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) of £10,000 be allocated to Deputy Cabinet Members, a set of roles only introduced to Surrey County Council in May this year.
"Things fall apart- the centre cannot hold
Parking charges of £1.30 per hour, with a maximum charge of £5.00 per day, were introduced in the car parks on Surrey County Council's Countryside Estate, including those at Norbury Park, on 6 August 2018 despite significant opposition from local residents. Previously there was no charge.
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have criticised the ruling Conservative administration for recruiting a new "Business Manager" post, on a salary of more than £43,000, when at the same time planning hundreds of staff redundancies and millions of pounds of cuts to front line services.
Liberal Democrat county councillors are calling for Surrey County Council to make urgent financial preparations following a recent judgement in Bristol in which a group of parents successfully challenged Bristol City Council's decision to make deep cuts in special educational needs (SEND) provision. Parents in Surrey have launched a similar judicial review challenging the County Council on cuts to its SEND budget of £21m, which will be heard in October this year.
Surrey County Council has commissioned a second report from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) to review its financial resilience. This follows a report commissioned in December 2016, costing nearly £25,000, which warned that the financial position of the County Council was "extremely worrying" and that "it is risk of becoming financially unsustainable".