From our Local County Councillor
The new Chief Executive of the County Council will be Mark Lloyd who is
presently at Durham CC. He will start his job in April. This is the candidate
who withdrew after the appointments fiasco that forced Shona Johnston to
resign.
The government financial settlement for the county council is just 2% this year so it is likely that the Cabinet will propose 5% increase in Council Tax (90p per Band D property per week) and some services will still have to be cut. Decisions on which services, will be made in the next two months. Cambridge County Council has the third lowest council tax in the country.
I will be holding surgeries on County Council matters at Centre Peace on The Causeway in Burwell on the second Saturday each month from 10.30am - 12.30pm. The next two dates are Feb 9th and March 8th. Please come along if you would rather discuss an issue in person or ring me on the number below.
...and from January:
Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet
Following the resignation of Cllr Shona Johnston, leader of the council and the conservative group, there have been two other resignations. Cllr Alan Melton has resigned for family reasons and Cllr Victor Lucas to devote time to the chairmanship of the Primary Care Trust provider board. Cllr Keith Walters (past leader) will take over in the interim until next May. Cllr Mike Bradney has now been appointed to the cabinet and there has been a reshuffle of roles.
The search for a new Chief Executive will begin again in the New Year. Gordon Jeyes, currently Deputy Chief Executive for Children and Young People's Services, will be acting Chief Executive until an appointment is made.
Doorstep Library Volunteers
The organisers would like to hear from anyone who would like to become a volunteer. The service is designed to ensure that people who can't get to a Library - perhaps because of ill health or mobility problems - can still access the thousands of print and talking books, CDs and other items available for loan in County Council Libraries. There are 300 volunteers across the county.
Transport Roadshow
Cambridgeshire County Council wants people's views on a package of transport improvements designed to tackle congestion . Until February 13, a series of 23 roadshows will tour Cambridgeshire so people can learn more and make their views known. There was considerable debate at the full council meeting about this, as cabinet members are not attending, only officers. The Liberal Democrat opposition put forward a number of concerns that they felt had not been addressed, such as the focus being on congestion reduction with nothing about carbon reduction, the need for greatly improved public transport both within Cambridge and between Cambridge and the rest of the county and the arrangements for special needs groups.
People are also able to log online to www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/congestion to read the proposals and take part in the survey.
Ely's Transport
Consultation is taking place on a new Ely Market Town Transport Strategy. The County Council has been working with East Cambridgeshire District Council to put together initial proposals aimed at improving travel choice and experience as well as the quality of life for residents and visitors.
Merham Development
The County Council continues to work with East Cambs in opposing this development near Haddenham. The A10 would become totally gridlocked and one suggestion by the developers requires 5 sets of traffic lights between Milton and the A 14.
Comprehensive Performance Assessment
The Council has scored a 4 for Use of Resources. This is a good score and measures the way the staff runs financial management, internal control etc.
Speed Review
The Department of Transport has asked all counties to carry out a review of speed limits on A and B roads by 2011. The Cabinet will carry out a trial to determine the levels of funding and staff resources required.
This means that any requests for speed limits on lower class roads will be held over until the A and B roads review is finished (4 years). It seems that Swaffham Prior got in just in time with measures that should help reduce speeding.