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 […]

My Lib Dem colleagues at County Hall and I have heavily criticised the Conservative administration at Surrey County Council after they awarded themselves thousands of pounds of extra allowances in a vote at Full Council earlier this week. The vote means that 4 new Deputy Cabinet positions will be created, at a cost of £40,000 […]

The Conservatives running Surrey County Council have revealed they are planning to reduce spending on services by nearly £200 million by the end of 2019/20. The figures were released in a report to the Council’s Cabinet this week, alongside the administration’s decision to hire consultants, at an undisclosed sum, to assist with the County Council’s […]

My Lib Dem colleagues and I are very concerned that Surrey County Council has not spent any of the income derived from its £298 million commercial property portfolio on Council services. Previously, the Conservative Cabinet Member for Property and Business Services stated that: “We also have an additional need to generate an income from our […]

I am very concerned that proposed changes to the arrangements for drug and alcohol detoxification will make it more difficult for those trying to beat addiction.  Surrey County Council is currently consulting on proposals that include the closure of the in-patient facility at Windmill House at St Peter’s Hospital, leaving only one in-patient bed for […]

Surrey County Council recently admitted that it would take over three quarters of a billion pounds to repair the Surrey’s roads and footways to an “as new” standard.  At the current rate of spending, it would take the Conservative-run County Council almost 50 years to complete this work. The fact that Surrey’s roads and footways […]

My Lib Dem colleagues at County Hall and I are celebrating after a package of measures to support care leavers was adopted by Surrey County Council earlier this week. As part of a new Charter unanimously agreed by the County Council, young care leavers will be exempted from Council Tax, as well as given support […]

I have submitted a motion to next week’s Full Surrey County Council meeting calling for care leavers to be exempted from paying Council Tax until they are 25. The campaign was initiated elsewhere in the country by highly respected charity The Children’s Society.  I successfully campaigned for this policy to be adopted by Woking Borough […]

My Lib Dem colleagues and I have recently raised concern over the future of Children’s Centres in Surrey.  Currently there are 58 centres across the county, providing services such as childcare, play and learning sessions, parenting courses, employment support and information and guidance for low-income families – but Surrey County Council is currently consulting on […]

The Conservatives running Surrey County Council have proposed up to six new incinerators as part of the Council’s draft new waste plan including one on Martyrs Lane in Woking and another at Slyfield in Guildford. The Surrey Waste Plan, proposes up to six new incinerators or ‘Energy from Waste’ plants – all on Green Belt […]