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This year I managed to get the County and District Councils to finally sort out the difficulties that were preventing the placing of a tarmac surface on the Cock Lane path to the back of Bramford Primary. However I wondered if the time for this improvement had passed. Yesterday I was very pleased to meet a large group of mums and children using the path. Not a waste of money but a useful job well done.
We Lib Dems today revealed that the Park and Ride service has seen a huge fall in passenger numbers since the Bury Road site was closed at the beginning of 2011. The County originally predicted that when they closed the Bury Road site around half of the passengers would transfer to either London Road or Martlesham. Prior to the closure at the beginning of 2011, a total of 1,000,000 passengers were using one of the three services every year. There were 300,000 passengers using the Bury Road site in the final year of its operation. The total number of passengers has now dropped to 500,000 per year. In 2011, not only did the Conservatives close the Bury Road Park and Ride site, but they introduced a charge for over 60s, and made them wait until 9.30am before they could use their bus passes. The Ipswich Park and Ride service was introduced when we ran the council in coalition with Labour. It has always been highly valued, but the Conservatives seem determined to destroy it. We fought a campaign to keep the Bury Road site open. We carried out a survey of passengers, organised a petition and made the Cabinet reconsider its decision. They would not change their minds and they failed to look at the full implications of the closure. This dramatic fall in passenger numbers has major implications for Ipswich. We have no way of measuring how many people now drive into Ipswich, or avoid it altogether. In this difficult economic climate, and with the advent of online shopping, town centres need all the help they can get.” In detail, figures for the London Road and Martlesham Park and Ride sites are: Total passengers 03 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 - 557,665 Total passengers 04 April 2010 to 02 April 2011 – 749,176 Total passengers 05 April 2009 to 03 April 2010 – 769,666 The figures also include those travelling on concessionary passes which gave free travel until 1 April 2011 & half price travel after this date. Bury Road was still operational until January 2011. Its all tickets breakdown was: For 2007/08 192,000 For 2008/09 245,000 For 2009/10 306,000 This meant that in the year 2009 – 2010, there were a total of 1,075,666 users of the Park and Ride service in Ipswich You will have all received a Focus leaflet covering my achievements over the past four years, the concerns I have about the Conservative administrations focus on externalising services and cutting services in a way that damages the economy and the things I would like to see done differently. Pointing out the mistaken policies unfortunately sounds negative but can’t be avoided. Suffolk deserves better. The leaflets Conservative candidates are distributing explains quite clearly their need to take urgent action on education after 8 years in control and U-turns a on travel card and rural bus services. The claimed investment in Care I can’t find in their last budget. Is it another last minute move or something I just don’t recognise as investment? At the moment most candidates will be working hard to get round to as many people as possible meeting you face to face and answering your questions. An important one is just why you should vote for me as a Liberal Democrat rather than the other candidates. Part of the answer is my skill set and past record of achievement that I have put in the Focus leaflets but putting the why Liberal Democrat part very briefly: Liberal Democrats are for a stronger economy and a fairer society The Conservatives won’t deliver a fairer society; Labour can’t deliver a stronger economy; only the Liberal Democrats can deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society, enabling everyone to get on in life We promise that across all County responsibilities we will deliver:
Our more detailed policy document is available on the pull down list above. It aims to be brief so as not to demand too much of your time to read. Of course the severe economic problems left behind by the last government mean that money is in short supply and services will only expand if we make savings elsewhere. But that not unreasonable and it is always the case that we must continually drive up efficiency. We must do that and deploy wisely the resources given to us by government and those we gain through business rates and council tax. The question of Europe and our reaction to its present difficulties and the impact they have on the UK’s prosperity is really a matter for the Liberal Democrats in government. However, I believe that we should understand that that vast numbers of UK jobs depend on Europe and recognise that the UK is the English speaking gateway to Europe for companies from the USA, Japan, Korea, India etc. If we leave Europe and they go taking many jobs with them. The issue of the impact we are having on the world environment and the climate change that is underway has slipped from public view as we all struggle with austerity and the need to stay in work and feed and clothe ourselves and our families. However it is still an important issue which we must not ignore until it is too late to take avoiding action and limit the adverse impacts. We must do this in a pragmatic way gaining from the many actions we can take without seriously damaging our economy. I hope you take this opportunity to question us all, consider the issues carefully and make a wise decision, not just make a protest that damages your livelihood. John Field You will recall that in previous Parish Reports I stated that the County Council had agreed a contract with Balfour Beatty to provide the highways services across Suffolk but that there had been a last minute problem. The County Council has now provided an update. “In December 2012, Suffolk County Council announced Balfour Beatty Living Places as the Preferred Bidder for the contract to maintain and improve Suffolk’s highways from 1st April 2013. Following a period of extensive and constructive discussion with Balfour Beatty Living Places, Suffolk County Council has not been able to confirm and clarify commitments made to the point where it can provisionally award the contract. It has therefore been decided that the procurement process will revert to the previous stage where Suffolk County Council can liaise with any, or all, of the bidders who submitted final tenders (including Balfour Beatty Living Places), before again identifying a preferred bidder. This does not affect the county council’s ambition to identify a private sector company that will be responsible for the design and implementation of highway maintenance and improvement works, winter gritting, street lighting, traffic signals and bridge works throughout the county. A key objective to achieve £2 million of recurring revenue savings in year 2013/14, helping the council’s transport department to achieve efficiency savings of 1.5% per year remains in place.” The Suffolk Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy is a requirement under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It has been produced by the new division of the council working with the National Health who up to now have been responsible for this activity. It will focus on four strategic themes:
The next stage will be an action plan Budgets: The County budget was passed on 14th Feb. The headline announcement was a promise to freeze council tax for four years. In a time of austerity we don’t want demands on our income to rise but this looks like a pre-election give away. Who will suffer and will other changes make it possible? In summary, estimates of cost increases on a £511m net budget are Inflation £7.7m, Demand and Demography £12.4m and “other Changes” £21.3m lifting the total to £552.4m. Government grants and council taxes total £527.4m, so the county must save £24.9m of which £20.1m is “saving” of estimated increases. Headline “savings” include: improve efficiency and remove unnecessary processes £9.7m, target resources in children’s services £2.5m, adult care in depth review £7m. Obviously the efficiency improvements and removal of unnecessary processes are long overdue. My biggest concerns are the care review and targeting in children’s services. These can be disguised cuts that increase the problems suffered by vulnerable people. I proposed a small addition to the budget to provide some focused immediate action to help schools improve pupil progress and attainment. After eight years the administration has moved us from the top third to third from bottom in national league tables. It was rejected and Suffolk children must wait for action. GCSE rankings: Suffolk has now dropped to 141 out of 152 authorities for GCSE results. The County Council claims that this is down to exams boards changing grade boundaries, but it simply isn’t good enough. It is extremely concerning how low Suffolk is ranked nationally for education, and this is something which clearly has not been addressed by the administration. Road Safety: The first phase of improvements to road markings at the Pound Lane accident spot are now in place but the police are still resisting a reduction in the speed limit. Improved centre markings and movement of the 50mph markers towards Bramford are yet to come. You will have seen work progressing on Bramford Road by the incinerator, as the road signs for the 40mph limit and the urban clearway are put in place. This should give the police additional tools to control the lorry parking that is making life difficult. Councillors Guy McGregor and Lisa Chambers who are responsible for highways and waste will meet with local businesses to try to find a cooperative solution to the problems that protects both our environment and jobs. District Council: Councillors are still defining “priorities” for the future. However, a balanced budget with a zero council tax rise will be possible that adds slightly to reserves. There will be no new dramatic cuts but there are still redundancies to come as the transformation programme is completed. This year there will be changes in council tax rebates and housing benefits, reductions for excess rooms and movement towards a single payment instead of a range of benefits. The effect of the caps involved in these will make finance even more challenging for many families. The impact on local councils will not be trivial as small amounts of council tax will be difficult and expensive to collect. The final agreement to outsource highways services to Balfour Beatty in a £200m contract lasting five years was made at cabinet. The company was to be responsible for the design and implementation of highways maintenance and improvement works, winter gritting, street lighting, traffic signals and bridge work throughout the county. However they have pulled out at the last minute for reasons that are far from clear but which I believe relate to additional risk associated with the transfer of staff.
We had been assured that some £2 million would be saved per year and that the level of service would be maintained. This must now be at risk although the County view is that they are essentially returning to an earlier stage in the negotiations and the overall projectr is not compromised.
It is important that whatever changes occur you continue to enjoy high standards of routine maintenance, a rapid response to problems and winter gritting that keeps the county moving. When councilors need to intervene we will still hope to get rapid action. The initial analysis by officers indicates that a balanced budget will be possible adding slightly to reserves without moving from the position defined during the current year. Savings from redundancies already determined but not yet all implemented should be sufficient.
There are to be major changes this year in council tax rebates and housing benefits, reductions for excess rooms and teh Government are moving towards a single payment instead of a range of benefits. The effect of the caps involved in these will remove some significant anomalies but also make finance even more challenging for many families. The impact on local councils will not be trivial. Small amounts of council tax will be difficult and expensive to collect from people without money, for instance. We now all know the content of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in outline and the details of the settlement for the County and District Councils were released the 19th of December. The financial officer’s analysis of the impact on Suffolk has been completed and the budget proposals will be considered at Cabinet tomorrow then at full council.
In summary, Estimates of cost increases on a £511M net budget are Inflation £7.7M, Demand and Demography £12.4M and “other Changes” £-4.1M. Specific grants are £17M against £18.7 last year so we lose another £1.7M there. That makes £17.7M in total. There is also a new responsibility for public health which will cost £25.6M and is covered by a £25.6M grant. Headline “savings” are Improve efficiency and remove unnecessary processes £9.7M, reduce management costs £0.5M rationalise office accommodation £1.3M, target resources in children’s services £2.5M, adult care in depth review £7M, re-let the highway contract £2M, reduce costs of waste services £0.8M and misc £1.1M for a total of £24.9M Government formula grant £235.4M and Council Tax were £256.9M last year (adjusted for changes that have been made) Total £492M and for this year Revenue Support Grant £134.9M, Business Rates £90.5M (including top up and Council Tax £258.6 a total of £485.6M, £6.4M less. Obviously the efficiency improvements and accommodation moves are long overdue but the care review and targeting in children’s services has the potential to increase the problems suffered by vulnerable people. Road Safety is always an issue but my “Quality of Life” road improvement budget is very limited. However this year we have surfaced Cock Lane and placed “no parking” markings to make it easier to exit the St John’s Ambulance premises in Bramford. We will be installing “Halo” rings round the heads of the Belisha Beacons at the “Co-Op” zebra crossing in Claydon to make it more visible. The most important work will be at Pound Lane on the B1113 where there have been several serious accidents. I hope to see road markings to make the location of the junction more obvious, the speed limit reduced to 40mph and the bus stops moved away from the junction. Until that happens, I have asked the police, via the Chief Constable, to enforce the present limit. If you would like to see the details click on Pound Lane proposals to download the plan |
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