Website of Penny Rivers, Surrey County Councillor
Surrey County Council will be carrying out pavement reconstruction in Summers Road in Farncombe from the junction with Bourne Road to the junction with Rowbury and Godalming Leisure Centre.
The carriageway will be under temporary traffic control during the works.
Start date: Monday 19th February 2018
Duration: For approximately 8 weeks
Monday to Friday – 09:00 to 15:00; Saturday – 08:00 to 17:00
On October 10th, 2017, Simran’s Convenience Store Post Office in Farncombe (Postmaster Chirag Sidhpura) was closed when the Post Office’s first audit in 5 years of operation indicated huge six figure financial discrepancies. Immediately, Mr Sidhpura strongly challenged these discrepancies, noting that he wouldn’t have been able to trade if there was a deficit of that amount, as he wouldn’t have been able to complete any transactions. Nevertheless, to show his complete commitment to the Post Office and the service he provides to Farncombe, he supplied sufficient funds to offset the discrepancy in good faith that the subsequent financial investigation would vindicate him completely.
And, indeed following this investigation, criminal charges were dropped because no evidence of malpractice was found.
Surprisingly, on 5th February, Mr Sidhpura received a letter from the Post Office informing him of the termination of his contract without the right of appeal. The Post Office has not returned the funds he submitted following the audit.
On Friday, February 9th after meeting with Mr Sidhpura, Jeremy Hunt MP said, “It appears to me to be grossly unfair and unjust”, given that no evidence of malpractice has been found and that he has proof that he has followed all necessary procedures over this time.
Penny Rivers, County Councillor for Godalming North said, “the Farncombe Post Office provides a service to thousands of residents of this village. During the infamous Christmas floods and power cuts in 2013, it was the only shop that stayed open for miles, it was a life-line and kept us all in batteries, candles and firelighters during that dark time. The Sidhpura family did not desert us in that time of trial and we must not desert them now. We urge the Post Office to consider his appeal. He is one of hundreds of sub-Postmasters who have been treated in this way”.
Rector of Farncombe, Revd James Rattue, said “this community is shocked by the outcome of events at the branch post office. Quite apart from the impact the actions of Post Office Ltd on the Sidhpura family, the people and businesses of Farncombe will be considerably and adversely affected by its closure. We expect accountability and legal process. Chirag Sidhpura has shown respect for both: Post Office Ltd has shown neither.”
The Post Office is facing a class action suit from more than 500 of its sub-postmasters, who claim that a faulty computer system led to them being wrongly accused of false accounting or theft. https://www.jfsa.org.uk .
There can be no place in 2018 for respectable fundraising events which objectify women and subject them to groping and harassment.
I don’t see our MP’s name on this open letter, but I would certainly have added mine.
https://www.libdems.org.uk/swinson-open-letter-to-charity-commission-presidents-club
Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council have criticised the Conservative-administration for budget proposals containing £54m of further cuts to services and a 6% council tax rise. The budget recommendations will be approved by the Council’s Conservative Cabinet on Tuesday 30th January, and then by the County Council on Tuesday 6th February.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:
“This budget contains drastic cuts to services such as libraries, road maintenance, services for children and families as well as cuts to support for people with learning disabilities. They come on top of the unpopular cuts which have already been made to services including highways, community recycling centres and support to vulnerable people. It is a failure by central government to provide adequate funding to the County Council and a failure of the Conservative-administration to get to grips with the financial problems at County Hall.
“Although I am pleased that the Conservative-administration, unlike last year, has not tried to raise council tax by 15%, they are proposing a 6% rise as this is the maximum increase possible without triggering a referendum. This is still unaffordable for many Surrey residents, particularly for those on fixed incomes. The Conservative-administration has been forced into proposing this rise due to the financial crisis at County Hall and the shortfall in government funding for essential services such as adult social care.
“Adult social care requires extra funding from central government, funding which the Leader of the Council has failed to secure and that the four cabinet ministers who are MPs in Surrey have failed to deliver. Whilst it is good news that the County Council will be able to retain 100% of its business rates growth in 2018/19, this pilot scheme should be extended beyond just one year. If it does end at the end of 2018/19, the County Council will be facing an even more difficult financial situation as the adult social care precept, which allows the County Council to raise council tax by 3%, will also end leading to a worsening financial position for the County Council in 2019/20.
“However, the Conservative administration needs to take its share of the blame for the financial crisis at County Hall. In December 2016, the Conservative-administration commissioned and paid almost £25,000 for a report written by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy which contained many criticisms of the County Council’s financial position. It stated that “the Council’s financial plans are not robust and it is at risk of becoming financially unsustainable” and that the council’s financial position was “extremely worrying”. Given the financial mess at County Hall, I think the report was entirely correct in its analysis and that its warnings have not been heeded.
“I welcome the County Council’s plans to use capital receipts to fund innovations and transformation projects for essential public services. By using technology and other innovations, services can be improved and costs reduced which would place the County Council on a sounder financial footing. However, these new rules on capital receipts were introduced in 2016 and the Conservative-administration should have taken advantage of them then and therefore avoided some of the painful cuts to services for Surrey residents.
“With regard to the many empty council owned buildings across the county, the County Council has failed to utilise them properly, instead letting them decay and incurring hundreds of thousands of pounds of costs keeping them empty, in some cases for over a decade. In just one financial year, 2016/17, £307,464 was spent on maintaining 20 vacant buildings. This is a straightforward waste of money and a missed opportunity to bring in capital receipts or rental income which would have improved the County Council’s financial position.
“Because of the financial crisis at County Hall, the Conservative-administration is now gambling about £200m of pounds of council tax payers’ money on purchasing commercial property, such as warehouses and office blocks, hundreds of miles away from Surrey. This is risky and will not promote economic growth within the county as so many of the properties are so far away.
“The Conservative-administration has repeatedly assured residents that income from commercial property will be reinvested in services but it has recently earmarked £3.8m of this income to be spent on purchasing more property. Every day, the County Council is acting more like a property investment company rather than a local authority. Even the Government, in a recent piece of guidance, had to remind councils like Surrey County Council that “local authorities need to remember that their prime duty is to deliver statutory services for local residents” – this is something that the Conservative-administration has clearly forgotten.
“This budget is a bad deal for Surrey residents, who are being asked to pay more for less. The County Council’s own survey of residents revealed that only 37% of people believed that the County Council provided value for money. Surrey residents should not have to pick up the bill or lose essential services because of the failures of this Conservative-administration”.
Notes
A link to the Council’s budget papers can be found here (Item 10):
https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=5812&x=1
The CIPFA report can be found here:
https://surreylibdems.org.uk/en/document/cipfa-report-dec-2016#document
DCLG guidance on the role of local authorities can be found here:
A link to the County Council’s resident survey can be found here:
https://performance.surreycc.gov.uk/stat/goals/4es8-8jxa/qura-ay7g/4g6h-4si2/view
The FOI document containing information on the cost of empty buildings can be found here:
https://surreylibdems.org.uk/en/document/empty-buildings-foi#document
“The Government has indicated that residents should be able to dispose of household DIY waste free of charge and that they are considering changing the law to enforce this. Therefore, we the undersigned call upon Surrey County Council to immediately stop charging residents for the disposal of household DIY waste at its Community Recycling Centres”
https://signme.org.uk/en/1428/share
The Surrey Advertiser has reported that due to “budget challenges” Godalming will be losing its Police Counter service (currently operating from the Waverley Borough Offices).
My good colleague, former police officer and Crime Prevention officer, John Robini, says,
“I have worked closely with the community of Waverley for more than 40 years. Waverley has one of the eldest populations in Surrey. This means many residents are reluctant to drive far, or use modern technology. By closing the only front counter in Waverley any resident will now have to travel to bigger centres with their problems of traffic and parking. The Police in this country “police by consent”. If they continue to withdraw from public contact then not only will they risk losing this consent but how do they receive valuable information from the community? The only contact will be as a victim or as a perpetrator and no longer will police be seen as a friendly and helpful organisation. This is a retrograde step, one only concerned in saving money and nothing to do with improving policing in the community”.
I agree with John. Do you? Write to your Police and Crime Commissioner and tell him (http://www.surrey-pcc.gov.uk/contact/).
Severe weather is again forecast for our region this evening, into tomorrow morning, Thursday 18th January.
Anyone experiencing a power cut should:
· Call 105 to report power cuts and damage to the electricity network, or 0800 3163 105 (from a corded phone or mobile phone if you have no power)
· Visit www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk for the latest updates
· Visit www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/powercut and type in your postcode to view the live power cut map
· Tweet @ukpowernetworks to report a power cut or to receive updates.
You are advised to stay clear of power lines and report damaged power lines immediately by calling 105 free from either a landline or a mobile phone. If you see electricity lines that are down or causing significant risk to the public you should call 999.
@UKPowerNetworks has extra staff on hand 24/7 to deal with the impact of #stormFionn
Call 105 to report a powercut and visit www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/powercut for the latest updates
Do you, or someone you know, need extra support during a power cut?
@UKPowerNetworks provides free services to vulnerable customers. Visit ukpowernetworks.co.uk/priority for more information #stormFionn
The Government has published proposals calling on local authorities, including Surrey County Council, to be more open and transparent about their purchases of commercial properties for investment purposes. The consultation, which closed on December 22nd 2017, states that local authorities need to “demonstrate more transparency and openness and to make it easier for informed observers to understand how good governance and democratic accountability have been exercised”, and that “local authorities need to remember that their prime duty is to deliver statutory services for local residents”. The new rules, if adopted, will be introduced in April 2018 and take effect immediately.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:
“I welcome these proposals from the Government to increase the openness and transparency about commercial investment activities by local councils, such as Surrey County Council.
“The County Council has not been very open or transparent about its purchases of commercial properties outside Surrey. The purchases include warehouses, retail developments and office blocks around the UK. To date, the County Council has spent approximately £200m on commercial properties outside Surrey, purely for income from rent. This is a hugely risky approach to gamble with council tax payers’ money and it is clear that the Government is becoming increasingly concerned that councils such as Surrey County Council could easily lose money as a result.
“Surrey residents have a right to know how their money is being spent by the County Council. To put such large amounts of money at risk and hide it from members of the public is unacceptable.
“A list of all properties purchased by the County Council, including the amount spent by the council, the type of property and the address should be readily available for all to see on the County Council’s website. Unfortunately this is not the case and so urgent change is needed.
“I also welcome the Government’s guidance on the role of local authorities which is to provide services to local residents. The County Council’s current priority is investing in commercial properties, 83% of which are outside Surrey. This is risky and will not benefit services for Surrey residents or increase economic growth in the county.
“I am calling on the Conservative-administration to drop the secrecy, invest in Surrey and stop spending millions of pounds on speculative property investments hundreds of miles away”.
NOTES
The Government’s consultation documents can be found here:
More information on Surrey County Council’s property portfolio can be found in the response to this recent Freedom of Information request:
https://surreylibdems.org.uk/en/document/property-foi
The first South West Surrey Compass meeting of 2018 discussed Brexit, the withdrawal process and its impact. The meeting was chaired by John Gaskell (below middle) and the speakers were Robert Park, Peter Mueller, Patrick Kennedy and Paul Follows (below left). Topics covered the Single Market, the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU, the Courts of Justice and compliance.
There are serious consequences of our leaving the EU and we will have to face them head-on this year.
There will be an EU Campaign Day in Godalming on the morning of Saturday 13th January.
John Gaskell announces the February meeting of the South West Surrey Branch of The European Movement on February 7th at 7.30pm at The Richmond Arms in 149 High St, Godalming.
http://www.europeanmovement.co.uk/sw_surrey_1st_meeting_20180207
The European Movement UK is a grass-roots, independent, pro-European organisation, working to give a voice to those who believe that Britain’s future lies side by side with our European partners. It’s a great chance to meet fellow pro-Europeans and to discuss how you can play a role locally to stop Brexit and to keep the UK in the EU.
On Thursday 14 December 2017 the Conservative Cabinet of Surrey County Council is expected to agree to enter into a Joint Venture with an external company to redevelop the Council’s own land and buildings for housing for sale and rent.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:
“Although I welcome action being taken at long last to utilise County Council owned buildings and land which have been left vacant for many years, the proposed Joint Venture between the County Council and an external company fails to meet the needs of Surrey residents and is lacking in safeguards and is shrouded in secrecy. There is insufficient detail in the public domain to give an assurance that the Council’s property and finances will be adequately safeguarded and that the needs of Surrey residents will be met.
“The report is lacking in basic information to enable scrutiny of the proposals such as a list of County Council land and buildings together with their value that will be included in the Joint Venture. It does not contain sufficient safeguards to adequately protect publicly owned property and finances by ensuring clear accountability as there are no elected councillors on the Joint Venture Board, the County Council does not have a majority on the Board and it is unclear what the methodology will be to decide which properties are surplus to the Council’s requirements. There is also no mention of any consultation with local County Councillors about properties within the areas that they represent or any kind of engagement with Surrey residents.
“The report refers to Key Performance Indicators that will assess the performance of the Joint Venture but these are not stated. This is a major omission as Councillors and Surrey residents should know how the performance of the Joint Venture will be judged. “Termination options” are cited in the report but with no detail of what they are, what the financial implications would be or what penalty clauses could be invoked.
“With such high property prices in Surrey, genuinely affordable housing is desperately needed so that social workers, teachers and care workers can afford to live here. However, the proposal does not contain a commitment to provide above the minimum amount of affordable housing, which is simply not good enough. I am calling on the Conservative Cabinet to commit to a significantly higher proportion of housing that local people can genuinely afford.
“The Joint Venture proposal is a missed opportunity to help meet Surrey’s need for genuinely affordable housing and to meet other needs such as for special needs places for children and housing in the community for adults with learning disabilities. This deal is for selling off Council land and buildings for the maximum amount of money and income without adequately considering the public benefit.”
NOTES
The Cabinet report on the Joint Venture item can be found here: