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 […]

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 […]