Warwickshire Council Tax

That time of year again.

Liberal Democrat Warwickshire County Council Group release its amendment to the Conservatives administration budget proposals which will be debated 7th February at Shire Hall Warwick.

Housing Support for Older People tackling the crisis in the NHS allowing more residents to stay in there homes.

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse said in releasing their amendment that

“The Liberal Democrat group has used the following three principles of a Fairer Council, More Caring and a Greener Council. The Government has once again chosen to use Council Tax along with the Adult Social Care precept as a way of shifting responsibility away from itself onto local councils. The growing demands on our services – and in particular our growing older population as demonstrated by the recent census (2021 population and households) means that we are left with no real choice but to set the council tax to protect the vulnerable. We are proposing a 3.94% CT which we consider will protect services to the vulnerable and reduce the proposed cuts.

We are keeping Libraries open as warm hubs and saving children crossing patrols, we are stopping the proposed reduction in children centres along with not taking the saving on youth centres these are but a few of the areas that we do not want to see slashed even further we are investing more in outdoor education, and with the crisis in the NHS we have also manged to shift resources towards housing support for older people allowing people to stay in there own homes and supporting community transport initiatives. We will also be supporting each elected member with an increase in capital spending for highways work in their division”

Residents will also get hit seeing the Police tax going .

Our priorities are to make Warwickshire:

  • Fairer ­– giving opportunities for all
  • Caring – for all our residents
  • Greener – accelerating the work needed

Liberal Democrats will invest in:

  • The Forestry Team to meet the increase in demand and provide resilience to support emerging climate change initiatives, such as tree planting schemes.
  • Community transport – to support the introduction and development of school travel plans as part of activity to further strengthen the ECO schools pillar on transport across Warwickshire
  • The Outdoor Education and Learning Strategy, building the capacity to enable young people in Warwickshire to experience activities within the County
  • Increase Community development activity by supporting Councillors in their Divisions with the work of empowering local communities. 
  • Increasing the highways delegated funding, enabling local councillors to do more in their communities.

We will not take forward any cuts that we believe will have a detrimental impact on our communities and vulnerable people cross Warwickshire. We will not:

  • withdraw funding for the School Crossing Patrol Service
  • reduce or stop bus subsidies so Warwickshire has a mostly commercial network
  • take the benefit of increased income from use of our Youth and Community Centres, instead reinvesting the income in the service offer and facilities.
  • support a further redesign and reduction in the number of Children and Family centres.
  • rely on increased partner contributions to support critical domestic abuse and substance misuse detox activity
  • support the closure of libraries or reduction in their opening hours: these are vital places for residents and children.

Free School Meals

Liberal Democrat Warwickshire County Council Group are calling for greater entitlement of free scool meals.Cllr Jerry Roodhouse said that

Support the campaign to expand free school meals

“The Liberal Democrat group on Warwickshire County Council are calling for greater Free School Meal access. We are calling for WCC to bring forward proposals that aim to significantly increase the take-up of Free School Meals, including considering the option of automatic opt-in and how this can lawfully be done and that the Government funds local authorities accordingly”

Cllr Roodhouse went on to say,

“With the increased costs on families the Government can quickly ensure that children get a meal and also the school gets extra pupil premium into its budget, it is a no brainer which can be implemented now”

Government acces and information https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

Liberal Democrat priorities are to make Warwickshire:

  • Fairer ­– giving opportunities for all
  • Caring – for all our residents
  • Greener – accelerating the work needed

Living Streets

We support Living Streets and they are doing some really good stuff. This past year and a half our street space has come under more scrutiny than ever before. This is due largely to the pandemic and our changing habits. And then there’s the small matter of an unfolding climate emergency.

Meanwhile at Living Streets we are listening. This is what we’ve heard.

Your Buses

The County Council is conducting its survey for the Warwickshire Bus service Plan.

Warwickshire Bus Service Improvement Survey via the following weblink:
https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/insights-service/bus-service-improvement-plan

Paper copies can be downloaded and returned as well

The public engagement exercise will run until Sunday 19th September 2021.

Covid Has Changed Everything.

Warwickshire Liberal Democrats are calling for a Fairer, Caring, Greener Warwickshire.

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse (Leader of the Lib Dems on WCC) said in introducing the manifesto that

“Covid 19 has changed how we work and live it has also presented opportunities and we need to seize them to change things for the better. We made it clear in our budget amendment this year putting mental health and families first along with building a greener economy, our task as politicians is to build the foundations for the next generation”

He went onto say that

“every report that is published now states that we need to support those that have endured mental health issues during this pandemic and look to building a stronger and brighter future. This is why we say everything has changed and we now need a Warwickshire that is Fairer enabling opportunities for all Caring for residents and Greener because we know that there is no planet B if you agree that Covid has changed everything and you want a fresh vision for the future then we urge everyone to join with us and vote Liberal Democrat on May 6th “

The manifesto sets out the ambitions for the Liberal Democrats in Warwickshire and builds upon the work they have done at Shire Hall. All candidates are pledging to be Active, Caring, Effective (ACE) and work for the communities they represent and build back a strong green economy.

Click here for our road map Fairer Caring Greener Warwickshire

Down load our Manifesto

Hidden Inequality

Welcoming the Warwickshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy at the County Council 16th March, Councillor Nicola Davies said:

“It is important to ensure that the Strategy is not overlooking a hidden inequality that mainly – but not exclusively affects women – and that is the perception of and, actual safety as a barrier to health and well-being.

If women and other members of our communities do not feel confident or safe to access and enjoy our open spaces their health and well-being will be negatively affected. This needs to be an important considered when spatial strategies are developed in the future.

Physical and mental health are affected if some members of our communities do not feel they have safe access to exercise and enjoy fresh air and space all year round.

In the future I would ask that this inequality be assessed and addressed to the benefit of all.

Something’s Not Right

County launches Something’s Not Right Toolkit

Child exploitation is happening in Warwickshire. Don’t ignore it.

Hundreds of children in Warwickshire are victims of exploitation every year and only by working together can we make an impact and improve the lives of the young people affected.

To increase the awareness of child exploitation (CE) in Warwickshire, Warwickshire County Council, in partnership with Warwickshire Police, Barnardo’s, Warwickshire Safeguarding and the Police and Crime Commissioner, is re-launching the Something’s Not Right campaign with a new partnership website https://www.somethingsnotright.co.uk/

The website is being launched to the public on Monday 15th March 2021, to time in with Child Exploitation Awareness Day on Thursday 18th March. Partners are encouraged to use the resources included in this toolkit throughout this week and beyond. It is important that these messages are shared regularly by all partners to continuously raise awareness of child exploitation in Warwickshire.

Putting mental health support for young people and families first.

County Council Budget Meeting 8th February

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse

The Liberal Democrats say that Covid has changed everything and are calling for a Warwickshire that is:

  • Fairer ­– giving opportunities for all
  • Caring – for all our residents
  • Greener – there is no planet B

Our budget amendment to the Conservative administration is to: reduce planned budget cuts, especially in 2021 -2022 to give services the space they need to redesign and restructure themselves, so they can operate effectively in the post-pandemic climate.

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Warwickshire, said in introducing the amendment:

“First, we need to place on record our thanks to the NHS, Social Care staff all and WCC staff along with every single person who has helped and supported communities through this difficult time. It is right that we need to look forward and tackle head on the legacy that Covid will leave us with, such as increased mental health issues, particularly with young people. The NSPCC says the amount of counselling for loneliness provided by its Childline service has risen by 10% since the pandemic started.  The NSPCC also says, ‘As each lockdown was eased the numbers increased dramatically, along with reports of domestic abuse’. Liberal Democrats would reduce the planned budget cuts in order to allocate a large sum to invest in essential services now. We have also brought Climate Change to the fore and urge the County Council to accelerate its actions.

We have proposed the lowest Council Tax possible without damaging the services that are needed to support recovery after the pandemic. The Conservative Government is forcing Councils to raise Council Tax and at the same time shelving proper funding of adult Social care, and the Liberal Democrats believe these priorities are wrong.”

Families and young people are at the heart of our proposals, all designed to tackle the legacy of Covid:

What future for our siblings
  • Allocation of £4 million over the medium term towards supporting families and young people who have suffered increased anxiety and mental health issues through the pandemic. Because of Covid we need to strengthen safeguarding in Warwickshire.
  • A £150K allocation for the ECO Schools programme to help Warwickshire increase its biodiversity .
  • A £150k allocation towards developing partnership working across the whole of Warwickshire at every level, empowering localism through Town and Parish Councils and supporting the work of WALC.
  • £200k towards implementing the new duties regarding Domestic Abuse and to develop new prevention programmes.
  • Allocation of £300,000 towards new cycling routes and improving rights of way and forestry.

We have also brought together funding pots to create stronger foundations:

  • Climate Change, accelerating the work needed to make Warwickshire County Council a net zero carbon producer by 2030. Supporting the greening of our towns and supporting the awards of High Street funds. Support for joint City of Culture greening initiatives that benefit Warwickshire’s residents. Business cases should also seek to support a green economy, targeting micro businesses that are innovative.
  • A Fairer, Caring Fund that prioritises strengthening Warwickshire’s towns and communities by working in partnership, making us a leader in supporting the extra work needed in areas such as autism and dementia.