A Liberal Democrat county councillor in Surrey has written to a government minister asking him to scrap Surrey County Council's unpopular charges for taking household waste to Community Recycling Centres (CRCs).
Liberal Democrat County Councillors are calling for the Leader of Surrey County Council to release a secret letter he has written to Surrey MPs regarding the county council's finances. The letter, referred to as "certain communications from me on behalf of all of you" by the Leader of the Council at the council meeting on 6th December 2016, is believed to spell out in stark terms the financial position of the authority but has not been shared with elected members. It follows council meetings held in October and December 2016 where councillors of all parties agreed that the Leader of the Council should lobby central government for more funding for the council to help meet increased demand for services. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is a Surrey MP, should also have been sent a copy of the letter. Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Councillors on Surrey County Council, said today: "Making representations to MPs is a crucial step to help obtain the extra money that the county council need
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have expressed their dismay at Conservative plans to hike council tax by a massive 16% in the county. According to a report in the well respected Municipal Journal magazine, which covers local government issues, the county council is seriously considering a proposal to hold a county-wide referendum with the intention of raising council tax by 16%. Under the current rules, the county council can only raise the tax by an extra 4.99% a year, 3% of which is ring-fenced for adult social care, and must hold a referendum if it wishes to raise a larger amount. Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrat councillors on Surrey County Council, said today: "Liberal Democrat councillors on Surrey County Council oppose a proposal to increase the council tax above the threshold to trigger a referendum of Surrey residents. Firstly, there is a national crisis in the funding of adult social care, which needs a long-term solution from the government not a temporary stickin
Surrey County Council has announced today that it has failed to meet its target to deliver a Superfast Broadband service to almost 100% of residential properties in Surrey. Furthermore it is planning to drop this target following a county council report which has revealed that 15,300 Surrey properties in the Intervention Area are unable to access Superfast Broadband. The county council's plans to increase the number of premises able to receive Superfast Broadband will not achieve 100% coverage and will take two years to deliver.
It will come as no surprise to head teachers and many parents that provision for children with Special Educational Needs (SEND) in Surrey has been heavily criticised by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.
Commenting on the Ofsted SEND inspection findings in the letter sent to Surrey County Council, Cllr David Goodwin, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Schools, said:
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