Earlier this year, I got Woking Borough Council to exempt young people who have recently left the care system from paying Council Tax until their 25th birthday.  Surrey County Council also agreed a package of measures to support care leavers, including plans to take young care leavers out of Council Tax, at the start of […]

I am pleased to see that Network Rail has secured a budget from the Government of more than £2 billion to improve the south western rail network that runs through Surrey and the surrounding areas. The money will be spent between 2019 and 2024 across the route, which runs out of London’s Waterloo station, and […]

On the same day as the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer said in the Budget that austerity is coming to an end, Tory-run Surrey County Council announced that it will consult the public on plans to cut bus passes, Children’s Centres, Community Recycling Centres, libraries and services for people with special educational needs and disabilities. […]

Following Surrey County Council’s decision to introduce parking charges to car parks in its countryside estate, it has been widely reported that the sites have been almost empty. Parking charges of £1.30 per hour, with a maximum charge of £5 per day, were introduced in the County Council’s car parks in the summer despite significant […]

The Lib Dems and I have expressed concerns for the future of Surrey’s Children’s Centre provision in the light of the sudden departure of one of their leading champions and advocates from the senior team at Surrey County Council. The departure comes after plans to reduce provision were announced by the Conservative administration earlier this […]

My Lib Dem colleagues at County Hall and I have criticised the ruling Conservative administration for recruiting a new “Business Manager” post, on a salary of more than £43,000, when at the same time planning hundreds of staff redundancies and millions of pounds of cuts to front line services. The advert, which has appeared on […]

My Lib Dem colleagues at County Hall and I are calling for Surrey County Council to make urgent financial preparations following a recent judgement in Bristol in which a group of parents successfully challenged Bristol City Council’s decision to make deep cuts in special educational needs (SEND) provision.  Parents in Surrey have launched a similar […]

During my meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee yesterday at County Hall, it emerged that Surrey County Council has commissioned a second report from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) to review its financial resilience.  This follows a report commissioned in December 2016, costing nearly £25,000, which warned that the financial […]

In a keynote housing speech today, the Leader of the Lib Dems, Vince Cable, called for tough action to be taken against empty homes. Vince Cable and the Lib Dems want to increase Council Tax on empty homes from 200% to 500% and introduce a Stamp Duty surcharge for overseas residents. As a party, we […]

The Lib Dems and I have launched a petition calling for the recent increase in allowances for Conservative Surrey County Councillors to be reversed. The increase was voted through by Tory Councillors with four new positions of “Deputy Cabinet Member” created, each at a cost to the taxpayer of £10,000, despite the County Council planning […]