According to an article in the Times the Tories nationally are planning a shake-up of local government, with clusters of councils merging their frontline services and chief executives on the highest pay losing their jobs. Many chief executive posts could disappear, with the remainder running larger ‘economic areas’ covering several council areas that would take over extra responsibilities, such as Primary Care Trusts.

But the Tories locally in West Sussex could do this now! They control the County Council and all the district/borough councils in the County, and so they should be working on merging both frontline and backroom functions of all the councils, with the tremendous savings that would bring.

As a member of the County Fundamental Services Review Task Force I am continually making the point that the County Council should be working with all the districts/boroughs to bring about these organisational savings. But up to now they are not interested – it seems that Tory County/District/Borough Councillors are more concerned about retaining their own power bases than bringing their organisations together to improve services and at the same time considerably reduce the cost of Council Tax to local people.  

The current location of the Register Office for the District at the Horsham Old Town Hall has been less than ideal, not least because of the very poor access arrangements and there had been a proposal to move the facility to Park House in Horsham. However there is now a much cheaper option as the County Council has purchased the former Insurance Office building ‘Parkside’ which it is now renovating to become ‘County Hall North’ to re-house the County Offices in the area in one building.

Despite this option, instead of relocating the Register Office to the new ‘County Hall North’, which already provides impressive accommodation, including the banqueting suite, which may be made available for wedding receptions by a future restaurant franchisee, the Tories are sticking to their original plans to move the Office to Park House!

Lib Dem Morwen Millson, Leader of the Opposition on the County Council, has asked the Tory Cabinet Member making the decision how much will be paid to Horsham District Council for the accommodation at Park House, and what arrangements will be made for reserving parking for weddings. She pointed out that the adjacent District Council car park is a public pay and display car park.

The County Council has a modern Registrar’s Office at Centenary House Worthing for the Worthing area, why not a similar Office in Horsham? And, since ‘County Hall North’ is just a short step away from Park House the excellent planted and maintained gardens there could still be used for post wedding ceremony photographs.  

It will be a disgrace if the Tories press ahead with renting office facilities at Park House instead of using the excellent facilities which will be available at ‘County Hall North’ - at a time of considerable financial pressure on the County Council budget and Council Tax every opportunity should be taken to save money, not waste it!

LIBERAL Democrats in Arundel & South Downs have thrown down the gauntlet to the Conservatives on the eve of their conference by demanding answers to questions about the economy.

Leading the charge for the local Liberal Democrats is County Councillor Derek Deedman. He said that with the credit crunch biting hard, residents in Arundel & South Downs have a right to know what the Conservatives would do to restore the economy to health.

“The credit crunch started last year but so far, the Conservatives have said a lot about how badly the economy is going, and very little about how they want the economy restored to health,” said Derek.

“If the Conservatives want people in this  area to vote for them, they should tell them what they are letting themselves in for. It seems to me that the Conservatives are either clueless about how to solve the economic problems or have policies that they want to keep hidden.

“I am therefore challenging the Conservatives in Arundel & South Downs to tell us where they stand on the big issues facing local residents.”

Derek is calling for answers to the following:

Will the Conservatives make the richest pay their fair share of tax?

The only tax proposals announced by the Conservatives are to cut Inheritance Tax for millionaires, abolish Stamp Duty on shares and introduce a marriage-based tax system which would penalise widows, those escaping domestic violence and anyone else who is not married.

Will the Conservatives continue to defend the behaviour of City fat-cat speculators?

The Conservatives have refused to criticise the City hedge funds, which have significantly worsened the recent financial crisis.

What do the Conservatives mean by sharing the proceeds of growth, and how will they do it in a recession?

Why have the Conservatives nothing to say about council and other social housing?

The Conservatives brought council house building effectively to an end when they were last in government. Now council housing is badly needed but the Conservatives have been silent about this.

Do the Conservatives now admit they got it wrong on Northern Rock?

The Conservatives failed to see the Northern Rock fiasco coming. When it did arrive they kept changing their position on how to deal with it. Now that other banks are facing difficulties will they continue to oppose state ownership on ideological grounds?

Why did the Conservatives ignore the dangerous boom in lending and house prices?

Whilst the Government let the boom in credit get out of control, the Conservatives sat idly by. Now that the housing bubble has burst, the Conservatives are happy to make political capital. Their frontbencher Andrew Mitchell MP said that the economic problems besetting the country have created ‘an incredibly good moment’ for the Conservatives.  How can taxpayers believe they will do anything to tackle the problem were they in government? (Source: ePolitix.com 26/9/08)

What is their view of house prices?

High house prices mean many people are unable to get their foot on the first rung of the property ladder. However, the Conservatives have so far failed to accept that prices needs to be more realistic. They were the first to propose a Stamp Duty holiday to get first time buyers into the market. Yet that same policy completely failed when they introduced it the last time they were in office. People did not want to buy homes which a few months later would be worth a great deal less than they paid for it.

Why do the Conservatives still support Council Tax?

The last Conservative Government introduced the unfair Council Tax in the wake of the disastrous Poll Tax. 15 years on and after it has doubled under the current Government, the Tories have still failed to tackle this flawed tax, which disproportionately hits pensioners and poor families. Indeed in West Sussex the Conservatives have increased Council Tax by 123% since they regained control of the County Council in 1997.

Derek Deedman said, “So far the Conservatives have failed to tackle any of the big issues facing families today.

“Their empty words have got them through until now, but they are no substitute for actual proposals when it comes to tackling the serious problems facing our economy. The Conservatives must stop dodging the tough choices if he really wants to establish any economic credibility with voters.”

The Lib Dem Conference in Bournemouth was the best yet, with a record attendance and great speeches - especially from Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and Chris Huhne. Go to the link to the Liberal Democrats and click on the conference section for more details.

Nick’s speech was the highlight of the Conference. The key points from his speech were: -

‘Labour cannot help people – they are a ‘zombie government’, stumbling around with no idea what to do.

The Conservatives won’t help people - they are a say everything, do nothing party, avoiding any tough policy decisions.

Nick announced the Liberal Democrat Fairer Future economic recovery plan – four steps to a better economic future -

1) Action to stop unjust repossessions

2) New approach to regulating the City - limiting the excesses of the market

3) Put in place the building blocks for future economic stability - interest rates that take house price changes into account, and independent monitoring of our fiscal rules
4) Tax cuts for families who are struggling

The Liberal Democrats are now the only party that can deliver social justice, and the only choice for anyone who wants a fairer Britain.

We will put money back in the pockets of ordinary families - tax is a means to an end and government should not take a penny more than it needs

We will make Britain the first truly green economy in the world - a huge expansion of renewable energy, and energy independence within the EU

We will change politics so that every person counts - with fair votes, an end to big donations and a stronger Parliament

We will make government ‘people shaped’, with benefits shaped around the needs of people and families, not bureaucrats.

Patients should have far more control over the care they get. So people with long term conditions get to be part of designing the care they need.

Children struggling, or falling behind, should be helped with extra support – one-to-one tuition or catch up classes, funded by a “pupil premium” which targets extra cash at deprived children.’

The latest opinion polls show that most people think the Lib Dems are now the Party in tune with ordinary people (Populus for the Times), and is reflected in the immediate change in support for the Party (YouGov for the Daily Telegraph): -

Tory down to 44%,

Labour down to 24%

Liberal Democrats up to 20%.

LIBERAL Democrats in Arundel & South Downs are making their final preparations to attend the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September.

A number of members from the Chanctonbury area will be heading for the conference which will be held from Saturday 13^th to Wednesday 17^th September.

Debates taking place will include pensions, crime, eco-towns, the housing and mortgage crisis, transport and health.

“We are looking forward to a good conference and some lively debates,” said Councillor Derek Deedman, Local Party Chairman.   “We are also looking forward to speeches from leading figures in the Liberal Democrats, particularly Nick Clegg’s Leader’s speech on the final day.

“People in this area are feeling the pinch with rising unemployment, rising prices for food and energy and a collapsing housing market. So there will be a great deal of interest in the debate about the housing and mortgage crisis and in the speech of Vince Cable MP, our Shadow Chancellor.

“I am also particularly interested in the debate on our visions and values paper, Making it Happen, and on two of our proposed policies - Building a Transport System for the 21^st Century and Shaping Our World Through a Strong Europe. On Making it Happen I especially support the priorities to deliver big tax cuts for those who are struggling and to end the unfair Council Tax, to invest in clean energy instead of nuclear, and getting people out of their cars and into quality public transport. I want to see how our Transport policy will lead to improved public transport for our area, and the way Lib Dem policies will lead to the UK playing a constructive part in Europe to protect and promote our national interests, protect our citizens and further our influence in the world.

“It should be a great few days in Bournemouth which will enable the Liberal Democrats to set out our vision for Britain.”

Lib Dems on West Sussex County Council have yet again been dismayed by the ruling Tory administration’s refusal to allow proper scrutiny of decisions made by the Cabinet. 

Morwen Millson, Lib Dem group leader on WSCC, has criticised the Tory council for once again rejecting a request to scrutinise spending of £1 million of taxpayers’ money. 

“There do not seem to be any criteria that determine how one-off, windfall revenue is spent or what consultation should be undertaken. The total amount is just under £1 million, which is a large sum. The public have a right to expect the Opposition to analyse this sort of spending, but as usual the Tories don’t want to be held accountable to voters. Simply putting a decision paper on the county council’s web site is not good enough.” says Morwen. 

“We need to know what other items were considered to use this money and the business cases for these items, when there are families desperate for more help with their disabled children whose plight is ignored, public transport routes that are being axed due to the county’s failure to invest in modern technology to keep buses moving in our towns and buildings that are not fit for purpose in which our children are being taught.” 

This is the second time in less than a year that a request to call-in a decision has been turned down by the scrutiny chairman. Haywards Heath councillor Brian Hall says, “It is a grave departure from what is ethically and morally correct, to permit such a distortion of the scrutiny process. This is especially scandalous when the Tories have a built in majority on the committee in any case!”

Deputy Group leader Dr James Walsh from Littlehampton adds, “It is not as though we abuse the system at all. We are very selective and sparing in our call-in requests!”

Independent inspectors have put West Sussex County Council in the top five of all English county local authorities.

Earlier this year, West Sussex was told by the Audit Commission that it had retained its top four-star status for the quality of key services.

Now the Commission has published the second element of the annual Comprehensive Performance Assessment, which all councils face.

This is known as ‘the direction of travel’ and West Sussex has been ranked as ‘performing strongly’ – the highest possible rating.

Only Kent, Leicestershire, Shropshire and Somerset County Councils have been awarded the same top-notch status.

Last year, West Sussex had four stars but was classified as ‘performing well’.

“This is very good news, but are local residents as impressed with County Council services?” Derek Deedman said.

“Although the fact that West Sussex is now independently rated as a cutting edge authority is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all county staff, but it is the views of residents who pay the council tax bills that are more important.”

It is claimed, for instance, that the 2008/09 county budget provides for much needed growth in some services and that there are no cuts in other services. But the Lib Dem opposition on the County Council know that there will be cuts in highway services because an inadequate provision has been made for the high level of inflation that impacts on those services, so reducing the amount of highway work which can be carried out during the year. In addition some services for the elderly will be cut because the County Council will not replace the previous funding from Government, and, of course Chanctonbury residents face a cut in the Mobile Waste Service. There are probably many other smaller service cuts which have not been identified – but the people relying on those services will find out soon enough!  

Finally, whilst West Sussex may be performing strongly, is it doing so on the services people actually want?  What do local people think? Let us know.

A webcast of the County Council meeting on 15 February is available to be seen on the County Council website (see link on left).

Once on the West Sussex Home site, click on ‘Meetings & Decisions’ , then, from the list click on ‘webcasts’,  then from the list click on ‘archive of webcasts’, then finally click ‘Full meeting of County Council, 15 February 2008′.

The site gives the agenda and the list of speakers under each item.

The broadcast enables viewers to watch the debate on the various items on the agenda, especially on the Budget and the Council Tax decision for 2008/09.

The abolition of the 10% income tax rate, without a corresponding increase in the tax allowance from April, means that low income earners will pay the new standard rate of 20% on a greater proportion of their income from that month.

For those only paying 10% currently this will mean a big reduction in their income in addition to the 4.5% increase in council tax most have to pay.

It is appalling that those on low incomes will lose, whilst those on higher incomes will gain from these latest tax changes. Once again under this government the gap between rich and poor will get wider.

To calculate the impact on your income go to the Standard Life link (under Income Tax changes) on this website.

Tomorrow’s meeting (15th) of the County Council will be webcast on the County council’s website.

The meeting starts at 10.30am and the Budget for 2008/09 will be the first major item on the agenda to be discussed by the 70 County Councillors. There will be a Liberal Democrat amendment to the Conservative majority proposed budget which will attempt to re-direct some of the Tories proposed spending into more support for people in need.

Any comments on the debate will be very welcome.