The Kingston View: David Hodge Re-elected and Other County Council News

Published on: 17 Mar, 2018
Updated on: 25 Mar, 2018

Cllr Keith Witham

By Keith Witham

Conservative county councillor for Worplesdon

In his occasional column giving his personal view of county council matters Cllr Witham covers: the re-election of David Hodge as the leader of Surrey County Council (SCC); update on county council’s finances; roads maintenance and repairs; measures taken to keep Surrey moving during winter conditions; how to find out about roadworks near you – What? Where? and Why?; SCC’s role in fostering; and staying in touch with residents.

Cty Cllr David Hodge

Council leader’s re-election as leader of the Conservative group

I attended the meeting at County Hall in Kingston when David Hodge submitted himself for re-election as leader, which he does every year. This time there was another candidate, Andrew Povey, and that it is always a sign of a healthy democracy.

David Hodge was re-elected in a secret ballot with a substantial majority. I was happy to vote for, and support David Hodge because in the six years I have been a county councillor I have seen at first hand a man of integrity and straight-talking and, more importantly, someone who will put the interests of the residents of Surrey first, rather than agree to Conservative government proposals that are not in the interests of residents in Surrey – even though we are also Conservatives.

That’s the view I always take too – putting the interest of the residents I am elected to represent ahead of “toeing the Party line”. (Please also read on in this article about how you can help by lobbying your MP.)

Council tax and the financial situation at Surrey County Council – Update

As expected, council tax has risen by 6% – the maximum that the government “allows” councils in England to “choose” to increase it by. But, of course, that “choice” is Hobson’s choice, as the money is needed to enable councils to fulfill all the legal responsibilities placed on them by – the government and parliament. The main costs at SCC are adult and children’s social services – now over 70p of every council tax £1.

The government have recently accepted an application from Surrey (being the county council together with all eleven of Surrey’s borough and district council that are part of a one-year pilot for the business rates retention scheme. It will result in an extra £20 million for SCC. But at the same time, the government withdrew a different grant which loses SCC £12 million a year. Ho hum!

I recently asked for a summary of the extra legal responsibilities that have been placed on Surrey County Council by parliament and the government since 2010. Over those seven years, there are, to date, 65 extra legal duties and responsibilities that the council has to comply with. Some have extra funding attached but most come with no extra money to carry them out. That’s a major reason why council tax has to increase so much.

The other main reason for yet another increase in council tax is the continued reduction of government’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG) to Surrey, down from over £150 million a year in 2013 to effectively £zero this year. Because of the financial squeeze, Surrey County Council has managed its budget over the past few years to keep spending within the money available and has had to reduce its spending by over £500 million a year.

And there will be more difficulty to come next year if the government’s current proposal to introduce “Negative RSG” comes in; in other words to skim off £17 million from Surrey taxpayers to be spent in other parts of the country. We have told all our Surrey MPs and the government that this plan is just plain wrong. Surrey taxpayers’ money should stay in Surrey to be spent on services here in Surrey. If you agree, please write to your MP.

Surrey County Council gives up waiting for the government to respond regarding our roads

I have previously highlighted that although the government gives money to local highways authorities towards road maintenance, the funds are only based on the miles of road per council area; no account is taken of how much the roads are actually used. Surrey’s roads are among the most heavily used in the UK so we need more money for their repair and maintenance and for that reason Surrey is under-funded by the government. SCC has lobbied all Surrey MPs and the government on this, but so far to no avail.

The recent cold weather has, of course, worsened the state of Surrey’s roads and they cannot be repaired quickly enough to a standard or a timescale that the county council, or residents, or your representatives at SCC, would regard as acceptable.

So SCC has given up waiting for the government to respond to our pleas and has decided to borrow £5 million to deal with the backlog caused by the winter snow and weather. This makes good financial sense, as it costs more to repair roads the longer they are left.

This money is in addition to the money already allocated for routine road repairs and maintenance and will, over the next few months, enable the council to repair more roads, concentrating on “B” and “C” roads that often go to the bottom of the list, but are equally important as “A” roads for residents to get out and about, and are equally vital for the Surrey economy.

So a big “Well done” to David Hodge for taking this initiative and to Colin Kemp, the SCC Cabinet member for highways. It will help get many more miles of our roads fixed quicker, with particular emphasis on the “B” and “C” roads.

I still live in hope that the government will recognise the strength of our arguments regarding the state of Surrey’s roads, and how much they are used compared to other parts of the UK, but at least we have another £5 million to spend now – and if the government were to give extra money from national taxation, that will be a bonus.

SCC Gritting Lorry

Winter action on Surrey’s Roads to keep the county moving

The county council’s fleet of gritting lorries were out daily as needed (early this morning, March 17, 2018, too) during the cold weather to keep Surrey moving, usually several times a day. Ahead of winter, SCC had stockpiled more than 14,000 tonnes of salt and enlisted the support of more than 50 farmers with ploughs to clear snow.

Potholes. Winter weather always brings more potholes – no surprise there. Last year, Surrey highways fixed more than 30,000 potholes. So, a request please. SCC relies on public reporting and if you see a pothole – report it! Please don’t leave it to others, as they will have left it to you! Such reports are particularly important now, after the snow, and, as it clears, road damage becomes visible. I reported three just today!

The best way is via the website www.surreycc.gov.uk where there is a “Report It” section. You can bring up a map of the road and mark the potholes exact location on the road. How quickly it will be repaired depends on the size of the pothole and location in the road, ie how dangerous it is. Email: contact.centre@surreycc.gov.uk or Telephone: 0300 200 1003

Roadworks – What? Where? And Why?

Most roadworks are carried out by the utility companies, rather than SCC Highways, and this website link may help you identify who is doing what, where, why, and what is happening near to you. https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/road-maintenance-and-cleaning/roadworks

All the gas, electricity, telecoms and water companies have the legal right to access their services. If they are planned maintenance and not urgent, they apply to SCC Streetworks for a permit for that location. But if it is an emergency they can just do whatever is needed and simply inform SCC.

Fostering – Supporting over 900 children in care in Surrey at a cost of over £60 million a year

One of the most important services that Surrey County Council has a duty to provide is fostering for children who need care. There are currently over 900 children in care in Surrey, of which some 750 are “Surrey” children and about 150 are unaccompanied child asylum seekers from abroad, children that SCC has a legal duty to care for when they arrive in Surrey. This is often when the enforcement agencies report that such children have been dumped and left by illegal traffickers on the M25 within the county.

The Surrey Fostering service does a huge amount. Could you, or anyone you know, make a difference to a child’s life? Why not think about fostering? If you have a spare room and want to help then becoming a foster parent could be for you. For more information about fostering or adoption call 0800 0969 626 or visit: www.surreycc.gov.uk/fosteringandadoption

Staying in touch with residents

I issue a regular (usually quarterly) email newsletter to residents to keep people informed of SCC/Surrey, Guildford and local Village issues. If you live in Worplesdon Division – which includes the Broadacres area, Jacobs Well, Fairlands, Fox Corner, Perry Hill, Normandy, Pirbright, Wood Street Village or Worplesdon areas – please email me with your name and postal address/postcode and I will be happy to add you to that circulation. Email to: keithwitham1@hotmail.co.uk

If you live elsewhere in Guildford, please contact your local county councillor as other councillors will have a variety of ways of staying in touch. If you don’t know who that is you can find out by putting your address and postcode into www.surreycc.gov.uk