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Lib Dems call for scrutiny investigation over Surrey County Council pay off to Virgin Care

Liberal Democrat county councillors have called for a scrutiny investigation following the disclosure that Surrey County Council have paid an undisclosed sum to Virgin Care, following legal proceedings over the awarding of a health contract.
Virgin Care sued the County Council, alongside six Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Surrey, citing “serious flaws” in the way the procurement of a contract to provide children’s and young people’s community health care services was conducted. One CCG inadvertently disclosed that its liability in the case was £328,000 but references to this amount have now been removed from its public finance report.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:
“It appears likely that the County Council have paid out hundreds of thousands of pounds to Virgin Care but Surrey residents will never the know how much public money was used to settle this case. This is money that could have been used to fund vital public services, which are already being cut by the Conservative-administration at County Hall, rather than settle expensive legal disputes.
“I am therefore calling for a scrutiny investigation into what the grounds for the dispute were, how the County Council interacted with the CCGs with regard to the procurement and what went wrong, and for more transparency on the amount of public money that the County Council has spent with regard to this case”.

MRS HAZEL WATSON (DORKING HILLS) TO ASK:
According to the Independent on Wednesday 29 November: “Virgin Care sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an £82m contract to provide children’s health services across Surrey, citing concerns over “serious flaws” in the way the contract was awarded. The company filed proceedings at the UK High Court naming the six local NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Surrey, as well as Surrey County Council and NHS England.” What were the grounds of the legal dispute between Virgin Care and Surrey County Council regarding the contract for children’s health services and how much has been or will be paid by the County Council to resolve this matter?

Reply (HELYN CLACK, CABINET MEMBER FOR HEALTH)
Virgin Care began legal proceedings against a number of parties including Surrey County Council alleging irregularities in the procurement of the contract to provide children’s and young people community health care services throughout Surrey. The proceedings have now been settled on terms that are confidential to the parties. Disclosure of those terms by any of the parties could lead to enforcement action against that party. I am therefore not able to provide the information that the Councillor has asked for.

 

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Christmas Together in Godalming

Churches Together Town Day ended with the Blessing of the Crib in the Pepperpot and the Town  Carol Service in St Peter and St Paul’s parish church.  This year, school choirs came from Godalming Junior, St Hilary’s and Broadwater School (pictured). The Town Carol Service is for the whole community and thanks go to Town Mayor, Cllr Anne Bott,  William Edwards (Chamber of Commerce),  Ben Nicholls (Charterhouse), our MP Jeremy Hunt, and Phil Davies, Chairman of Citizens Advice for taking part.

I first organised this Carol Service in 2000 and many people and organisations have helped me and contributed to it every year since then.  Thanks to them all. The collection this year raised £400 for children in Bethlehem and Rohingya refugees.

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Surrey Search and Rescue Awards Evening

 

 

 

 

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the Surrey Search and Rescue awards evening (SurSAR). This is a non-profit Lowland search and rescue team based in Surrey that provides Search and Rescue capabilities to the Surrey Police.

Awards were given to those who had placed themselves on call for 1000 to 5000 hours. These volunteers’ commitments, freely given, is worthy of high praise.

Surrey Search & Rescue is a 100% voluntary specialist search team which helps the emergency services find missing vulnerable adults and children. They are on-call 24 hours a day, with a team of 50+ people and 8 Search Dogs to respond across Surrey and surrounding areas.

http://www.sursar.org.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/user/surreysar

 

 

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Farncombe Hill footway improvement is now under way :-)

I’m really happy to announce that the Farncombe Hill footway improvement scheme has started and will be finished in time for Christmas.
This is the only Surrey County Council road work being carried out during 2017-18 in Godalming North. Forecast expenditure on our area for 2017-18 was £119,000 but due to Conservative cuts the budget was set at only £10,000! I have been able to negotiate a further £3,775 to deliver these essential repairs for our community. I am so sad that, due to these harsh cuts, the Council has not prioritised the other schemes:
– Pram ramps in various locations
– Charterhouse Road bridge sign upgrades
– Charterhouse Road / Twycross Road roundabout enhancement
– Wharf Street ramps
– Warramill Road drainage repairs

Boarden Bridge in Borough Road was also not prioritised by Surrey, but I have worked extensively with the Countryside Team, and especially our Godalming Town Clerk, to facilitate a complete rebuild thanks to the very generous gift from the Caudle Memorial Fund.

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Lights will stay on until 1am rather than midnight from Thursday 23rd November 2017

Liberal democrat county councillors today welcomed the decision by conservative-run surrey county council to amend its unpopular street lighting policy. The policy, which was introduced in 2016 and early 2017, saw thousands of street lights turned off across the county without any consultation with the residents affected. The change of policy means that lights will stay on until 1am rather than midnight from Thursday 23rd November 2017.

Cllr Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Highways & Environment said :

“The Conservative policy on street lighting in Surrey has been badly thought through, poorly implemented and is inconsistent. Whilst I welcome this small change in policy, this whole mess could have been avoided if they had consulted with residents before the changes were made and in an open and transparent fashion, so that amendments to the proposals suggested by residents could have been taken on board. Instead we have a piecemeal policy which has gradually unravelled over the year, and for which this Conservative administration owes Surrey residents an apology”.

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STATEMENT FROM CLLR HAZEL WATSON ON BUDGET

“This Budget was a missed opportunity for the Government to address the crisis in social care funding in places like Surrey and to alleviate the pressure on local councils delivering essential services to vulnerable residents but who cannot keep up with demand and cost pressures. The worsening growth figures outlined by the Office of Budget Responsibility paint a bleak picture for local councils who desperately needed a cash injection from the government in order to carry out their statutory duties.
“The Chancellor’s announcement of extra money for house building is welcome but these must be homes that people can afford, with a range of tenures and in the right places. High cost areas like Surrey and the south east of England need an increased supply of genuinely affordable homes so that teachers, care workers and others working in the public sector and providing the essential services that we all rely on, can live and work locally.

“The Conservative Government has failed to address some of the critical issues affecting areas like Surrey. Liberal Democrats have called for a cash injection in the NHS, funded by an increase in income tax of 1p which, alongside reforms to bring together health and social care, would raise an extra £6bn. Instead of more money for schools, the Government is having to put £3bn extra aside in order to prepare for the fallout from the extreme version of Brexit that it has chosen to implement. It is disappointing that the Chancellor, himself a Surrey MP, has not recognised these issues when putting together this Budget.”

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No more Plans for Godalming Town Council

I was a Godalming Town Councillor for 16 years and for all of those years I was a member of the Planning Committee (as were all Town Councillors). Reporters from the Surrey Advertiser and other local papers would attend and often Godalming Freeman, John Young, representing the Godalming Trust would listen to our deliberations and contribute his wisdom. Residents would also sit in the Public Gallery. Plans and their effect on neighbours and the street scene were always scrutinised with care and in public.
The Town Council was not empowered to make planning decisions but it was a key part of the consultation process and Waverley Borough Council would duly take note.
In the 2016-2017 Annual Report, it notes that the Planning Committee made comments on 385 planning applications. Planning matters!
Planning is one of the roles and functions of Town and Parish councils and they must be notified about all planning applications in their area. The Government recently strengthened the powers of Local Councils with the Localism Act. Local views matter!
Yet, Godalming Town Council has voted to discontinue Planning. Do they not care how our town grows and develops? Where are the local checks and balances?
It would seem that their decision was based on the premise that many Godalming Town Councillors are also Borough Councillors. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they are not. But, the effect is that Godalming Town Councillors do not express any view on local planning applications. What is the point of the Town Council?
This week Godalming Town Council will not offer a view about the change of use and development of The Anchor Pub, or 11 new dwellings in Filmer Grove or 99 new dwellings at Westbrook Mills, Borough Road. In what respect does Godalming Town Council speak, or rather, not speak for you?
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Bollard works

Godalming High Street’s bollard

Surrey County Council has repaired the bollard to ensure a car-free High Street on Saturdays. This will improve our shopping experience, especially as we head towards Christmas 🙂