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STATEMENT FROM CLLR HAZEL WATSON ON TODAY’S BUDGET

STATEMENT FROM CLLR HAZEL WATSON ON TORY COUNCIL "GENTLEMAN'S" AGREEMENT

Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said: "I am horrified that despite huge public opposition the Leader of the Council is talking about a referendum and a large council tax rise next year - he has clearly not listened to local residents.

LIB DEMS CALL FOR RELEASE OF £25K “INVISIBLE” FINANCIAL REPORT FOR SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL

Liberal Democrat county councillors are calling for the release of an "invisible" report, for which the Conservative administration at County Hall paid nearly £25,000. The report was quoted in the papers for the council's budget meeting on 7th February and relates to a "financial resilience review" which was carried out in November 2016 by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) at the request of the Leader of the Council, and cost £24,500.

Library resources face £346K of cuts as Surrey Conservatives are forced to reveal the facts

Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed their anger as the Conservative County Council was forced to reveal cuts of £346K to library resources over the next two years.

Lib Dems call for “secret” list of council owned properties and land in Surrey to be released

Liberal Democrat Councillors on Surrey County Council have called for the release of a list of 103 properties and parcels of land owned by the County Council and described as "assets" but details of which the council is refusing to share with councillors and residents. The 103 assets are "not in operational use" and were first referred to in council papers in December 2016 and despite repeated assurances from the county council that the information would be provided, the list has still not been shared with councillors. Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, then tabled a question at a meeting of the Cabinet on 31st January 2017 requesting more information but a list of the 103 assets was still not provided. Furthermore, the minutes of the meeting state that "to provide a full list was not an efficient use of time". Cllr Watson said today:

REVEALED: Only 39% of residents agree that Surrey County Council provides value for money

Liberal Democrat County Councillors have expressed their concern as new figures were released that reveal poor levels of public satisfaction with Conservative-run Surrey County Council.