Kingston View: Round Up of SCC News

Published on: 11 Aug, 2018
Updated on: 13 Aug, 2018

Cllr Keith Witham

By Keith Witham

Conservative county councillor for Worplesdon division

In his round-up report (August 2018) of Surrey County Council business the Cllr Witham gives his view on: consultation on Public Services in Surrey; an appeal for help to stop fly tipping; a first for Surrey foster carers; changes to the Guildford Local Committee; countryside access and rights of way; how Surrey Fire and Rescue are leading the way; green travel – low emissions and electric vehicles; advice from Surrey Trading Standards and the he Blue Badge Scheme.

He also gives updates and reminders on: car parking charges at the Salt Box Road; small SCC Grants and  the “More money for Surrey’s Roads” petition.

Please take part in this important consultation on Public Services in Surrey

Surrey County Council (SCC) is not the only provider of public services. There is also the NHS, Surrey Police and the borough and parish councils. All public bodies are under financial pressure and so more partnership working in the future will be the way forward.

All residents are being asked to help shape a vision for Surrey in 2030 by giving their views.  The county council is encouraging as many people as possible to give feedback on what matters to them.

The combined feedback will be used to create a shared vision for Surrey in 2030. You can find out more and see the survey on the council’s website at: www.surreycc.gov.uk/vision2030.  Please watch the short animation film on the link that outlines the draft vision and then answer a few questions.

Surrey is a great place to live and work. But not everyone has the same opportunities and many people face problems including domestic abuse, homelessness and mental health issues. There are growing financial pressures for the county county.

The population is increasing and putting more strain on services for children and older people, housing and infrastructure. At the same time, SCC and other public services (as always) have finite resources to respond. A shared vision will help identify priorities and for better outcomes to be achieved  – for everyone in Surrey.

SCC will use your feedback to turn the draft into a shared vision for Surrey that will shape future plans for services and how we can all work together to achieve it. Please take a few minutes to give your views. www.surreycc.gov.uk/vision2030

Help stop fly-tipping

A new anti fly-tipping campaign by the Surrey Waste Partnership was launched on August 1. The campaign urges residents and businesses to be vigilant when employing traders to dispose of their waste or risk fines of up to £400.

Residents and businesses should ensure they use a registered waste carrier, ask where the waste will be disposed of, and get a receipt. The campaign will also highlight the consequences for illegal fly-tippers including fines of up to £50,000 and imprisonment of up to twelve months.

For more information visit the  Recycle for Surrey Website: https://www.recycleforsurrey.org.uk/fly-tipping

Surrey Foster Carers – First in the UK to gain new qualification

Following the worrying news about Surrey Children’s Social Services I reported in my last e-Newsletter, it’s good to give you some welcome news. Eight Surrey foster carers, along with four care and family support workers, have become the first in the UK to gain a new qualification, a Level 3 Diploma in Social Pedagogy – aimed at helping vulnerable children reach their potential. Well done!

The group achieved the award after studying an approach to caring that is already well-regarded in other countries for helping children overcome troubled backgrounds and is now increasingly recognised in Britain. For more information: https://news.surreycc.gov.uk/2018/07/24/surrey-foster-carers-first-in-country-to-gain-new-qualification/

Changes to the Guildford Local Committee

The Guildford Local Committee, which is a Surrey County Council Committee, is changing. Both Surrey County Council and Guildford Borough Council have voted to replace it with a Joint Committee this autumn. The new committee will be set up by the two councils working together,  with representatives from both councils and with a budget delegated by both councils. This is with a view to more partnership and joint-working between SCC and GBC and to have more local decision making on a Guildford basis.

SCC countryside access and rights of way – annual report

The Annual Report of the Surrey Countryside Access Team for the period 1 April 1 2017 to March 31 2018 contains very useful information.  Link to the annual report:

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/environment-housing-and-planning/countryside/footpaths-byways-and-bridleways/find-out-about-rights-of-way/rights-of-way-annual-report-2017-18

Surrey Fire & Rescue – leading the way

Supporting our Fire Fighters

A review has been carried out by Surrey County Council of our Fire and Rescue fleet of vehicles and the council has given approval to the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service to buy up to 30 new appliances as needed over the next 10 years.

And new electric fire engines are going to be trialled in Surrey later this year. Surrey will be the first Fire and Rescue Service in the UK to pilot the use of the electric vehicles. The new designs have electronic stability controls, advanced emergency braking systems and enhanced roll-over protection.

The demands on our Fire and Rescue Service are ever changing. Over the past ten years the number of fires in Surrey has reduced by 50% – great!  But… over the same period of time the number of road accidents  has increased by 50%.  So our Fire and Rescue Crews need different equipment to equip them better to respond – and none of us know when we will need their help.

Green travel low emissions and electric vehicles consultations

You are invited to respond to consultations taking place as part of the development of the Surrey Transport Plan:

1. Low Emissions Transport Strategy – The aim of this draft strategy is to reduce harmful emissions from road transport across the county and work to achieve legal compliance for air quality locally.

2. Electric Vehicle Strategy – This draft strategy is to develop a Surrey-wide approach to encourage growth in the use of electric vehicles.

You can view details of both and have your say at www.surreycc.gov.uk/cleanertravel. The closing date for both is August 26.

Update from Surrey Trading Standards

1. Are you being bombarded with unwanted sales / marketing calls? Surrey Trading Standards recently published details about the top four scams reported to them. And there is good advice about how to protect yourself.

The “trueCall” system which is brilliant at intercepting such calls so they never get through to you and only people you want to hear from get through such as friends and family.

The trueCall device is a small piece of equipment that plugs into your landline phone socket and blocks unwanted calls automatically. Instead of you trying to work out what’s genuine and what’s not, it lets your friends and family straight through to talk to you but blocks everyone else.

Some people in Surrey such as elderly people or those with long-term health conditions may be able to get a trueCall device free of charge. All you need to do is call Surrey Trading Standards on 0300 1232 329 0300 1232 329 to find out more.

2. Surrey Trading Standards , which is run jointly with Buckinghamshire, has won a national award for its work to cut red tape for businesses and boost the economy.

The service was recognised by the Government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards for its partnership work with dozens of businesses to help them comply with regulations and supporting their growth.

It was commended for “outstanding achievement” in leadership of “primary authority” – the scheme where businesses work with a single trading standards service whose advice on regulations applies across other areas and bodies.

Trading Standards has formed primary authority partnerships with a range of businesses and organisations, both big and small, including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Shell, Esso, British Gas, Waitrose, Toyota and the Association of Convenience Stores. It’s fantastic news that our trading standards service has been recognised nationally for its work to reduce burdens on business, in turn helping to boost the economy.

Cllr Keith Witham speaking at County Hall, Kingston

The Blue Badge Scheme

At the July meeting of Surrey County Council I drew the attention of  councillors to the work of the council’s Blue Badge Team, a part of the SCC Contact Centre, which has transformed the service it provides to residents. They issue the blue disabled badges to people with disabilities so they can park in disabled spaces.

Over the past few years the number of Blue Badges issued by SCC has increased  by over 50% from 10,000 a year to over 15,000 a year. There used to be a backlog of two months to issue residents with their badge, but now the turnaround time for renewals is two weeks. And the number of applications made online has increased from 13% five years ago to now almost 50%. A service transformed.

As to the future, there are pending government plans to change the criteria  for blue badges from only those people who have physical disabilities, to in future also include people who have hidden disabilities such as autism , Alzheimers, and mental health conditions.

This is no doubt another government decision taken for good reasons. But whenever government adds more responsibilities onto councils, or in this case increasing the number of people able to apply for the blue badge, there are more pressures and costs but of course no extra funds. And it will not add to the number of parking spaces available.

Reminders and updates on previous items

The new car parking charges at the two Salt Box Road car parks

One of the inevitable effects of reduced funding for local government is the financial necessity for councils to look at  things that can be charged for which were previously paid for via council tax or government grants.

Cars parked along the verge at the front of the Salt Box Road Car Park

People think that our commons are “free” but if course they are not. It costs money each year to maintain the commons, ditches, flood measures, install and maintain footpaths, bridges over streams etc, all undertaken by Surrey Wildlife Trust.  If left to  nature our commons would soon revert to being inaccessible, heavily wooded, boggy areas.

The  money to be raised from the new car parking charges has been ring-fenced (reserved) for use in maintaining the Surrey Countryside Estate.

Double yellow lines along Salt Box Road were requested by Worplesdon Parish Council to deter “displacement parking” ie by those drivers who don’t want to pay the new charges by just parking on the road but cause traffic chaos by doing so.

Parking on double yellow lines attracts a parking fine of £70.  In comparison buying an annual parking permit, valid for two cars in all six of the SCC countryside car parks (excludes Newlands Corner) costs £60, or just over £1 a week. For more information visit: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/environment-housing-and-planning/countryside/parking-charges and http://www.countrysidecarparks.co.uk/

The charges for parking at Newlands Corner started in early July. Unlike the commons,  Newlands Corner is not public land, it is private property only open to the public because of an access agreement between its owners, Albury Estate, and SCC.

Small SCC grants, voluntary Groups in Worplesdon division (including Jacobs Well, Fairlands, Wood Street Village, Worplesdon, Normandy and Pirbright)

Just a reminder that Small Grants for local Voluntary Groups are still available. Applications from groups based in Worplesdon can be for between £50 and £500 for the purchase of equipment or a one-off project, but not for running costs. The group must be based locally and have at least a majority of its members / beneficiaries who live locally.

Until 31st August priority is being given to any group that has not had this funding before. After September 1 previously supported groups can apply again, but success will depend on the funds still available.

All applications are now completed online, so a member of the group needs internet access. All enquiries to me, Keith Witham. I will be happy to advise. Email: keithwitham1@hotmail.co.uk   If you are a member of a local voluntary group that might benefit, please pass this onto the chairman, secretary or treasurer. Remember “If you don’t ask…”!

If your group is not in Worplesdon you should contact your local county councillor, as local criteria will vary from area to area.

Please sign the “More money for Surrey’s Roads” parliamentary petition

Thank you to those who have already signed the petition. The issue with government funding for local highways authorities is that government funding is given on the basis of the miles of road in each area, taking no account of how heavily used the roads are.  In Surrey we have amongst the most heavily used roads in the UK, which of course costs more for maintenance.

So the petition calls for a fairer funding formula to be considered. Do please look at it and sign the petition to support the efforts of Surrey County Council to get more of our roads fixed, more quickly –   https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/217930

The procedure is that you put in your details and you are then sent an email, which you have to acknowledge for your name to be added to the petition. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION. And do please also write to and lobby your MP as well.

Getting in touch

Thank you, that’s it for now. I hope you re having a good summer. If there is any SCC or other local matter of concern to Worplesdon residents, please do not hesitate to contact me via my personal email: keithwitham1@hotmail.co.uk.

Other county councillor details can be found on www.surreycc.gov.uk

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