Reactions to Proposed Budget Cuts

On November 5th West Berkshire Conservatives announced their proposals to cut more than £5m per year from its £120m annual budget.

Watch WBC Leader, Cllr Gordon Lundie (Lambourn), explain his reasoning here.

He stated that he would be seeking ways to save the services that people 'value most' by passing on the cost to local town and parish councils.

Speaking to Newbury Weekly News, Cllr Lundie said "there will inevitably be some redundancies" - but Liberal Democrats in West Berkshire think any blow could be softened.

LibDem Opposition leader, Cllr Jeff Brooks (Thatcham West), commented that "the council has withdrawn funding from the old and the young and will still have millions in the bank," - under the tories it's always the vulnerable who suffer most!

Cllr Brooks described the proposals as "very, very swingeing cuts," and added that Mr Lundie would be known as "the man who stole all the lollipop ladies... he will scare people".

The news has been met with dismay and shock, as recent grant funding reductions of £3m/year were managed by removing some discretionary services, including cutting transport budgets and youth services in 2010, closure of 5 youth centres in 2011, followed in 2012 by cuts to services for the elderly and disabled, victims of domestic abuse and the homeless.

However, just as the economy bounces back from the credit crunch, tories have decided that now is the time to take even more drastic action affecting the worst off in society!

This time cuts will concentrate on vulnerable adults and parenting support, health and social care services, transport and cultural services. Reading Post goes into more detail here.

But the greatest political controversy was reserved for the 50% reduction in subsidy to local theatres.

Remembering its past closure and reopening, and outreach work undertaken with schools and young people to engage and inspire their interests, director of Newbury Corn Exchange Katy Griffiths spoke out against the tory proposals, saying:

"we will be making sure that decision makers at the Council understand the far-reaching and unintended consequences that a cut this substantial would have for the local community."

Make sure you do too!

For a full list of proposed cuts and how to respond to the consultation click the links below:

Public transport	Libraries	Children's centres
Roads and verge maintenance	School crossing patrols	Health related services
Car parking	Tourism	Support for disabled children
Public conveniences	Duke of Edinburgh's Award Programme	Parenting support
Theatres	Supporting people in need of care	Pre-school Teacher Counselling
Services to vulnerable young people	Planning enforcement	Road safety

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Sign and share West Berkshire Liberal Democrats' online petition against these unnecessary and unfair cuts!

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, call upon West Berkshire Council to use all available resources to avoid the very severe cuts proposed by the Council on 5th November 2013 as these would disproportionally affect the disabled, vulnerable old and young people, those who live in rural areas, the safety of schoolchildren and other road users, and the already poor condition of our roads.

When Is A Council Tax Freeze Not A Council Tax Freeze?

In 2012 the Coalition Government announced plans to remove Council Tax Benefit (for people claiming Disability Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance etc), instructing all local authorities in England and Wales to put in place their own scheme of support by April 2013 [ref].

As an interim measure the Department of Communities and Local Government offered a one-off grant to soften the impact on parish budgets for the past financial year and give sufficient time to plan for these budgetary changes.

Within West Berkshire the decision was made not to put an alternative scheme in place, and now parishes will be expected to make up the shortfall of more than £250,000. This will mean either an increase in the Parish Precept, a reduction in expenditure, or a combination of the two.

Yet the sums currently controlled by parish councils are so small (typically less than £10,000) that few services are offered and this effectively leaves only one option - to raise the precept!

And because of the uneven distribution of people who were previously eligible for this type of support it also means that the more deprived areas within the district will be expected to shoulder a larger share of the burden.

For the five parishes in Aldermaston Ward the projected increases will be:

• Aldermaston Parish - 6.01%
• Brimpton Parish - 3.06%
• Midgham Parish - 2.47%
• Wasing Parish - 0%
• Woolhampton Parish - 3.31%

Aldermaston Ward campaigner James Spackman said,

"Village communities are the backbone of rural West Berkshire, but this is financial sleight-of-hand and another slap in the face to ordinary people as complacent Conservatives try to pass the buck once more. Residents don't want to create an invisible pile of financial reserves by cutting basic village services back to the bone, we want action to make a fairer society!"

Talking About Sex - WBC Undertake First Young People's Sexual Health Survey

West Berkshire Council has announced it's very first Young People's Sexual Health Survey - results of which will inform future sexual health services in the local authority area.

It 'aims to gain a better understanding of their views and experience of sexual health issues and how and where they access sexual health services'.

The survey is open to all 14-24 year-olds in West Berkshire, irrespective of whether they have used these services, or are in a sexual relationship - because evidence shows that younger people have significantly higher rates of poor sexual health.

These issues can include the physical aspects of sexual health, such as the incidence of sexually transmitted infections and helping reduce unintended pregnancy, but also the mental and social aspects including making better-informed choices about having sex and the types of sex, being able to express sexuality without fear of exploitation, oppression, physical or emotional harm and having access to high quality sexual health treatment and advice that is offered in a non-judgemental, confidential manner.

Lesley Wyman, consultant in public health for West Berkshire Council said,

"I am delighted to promote this survey which is a first for Berkshire and will give us valuable information about young people's needs and their perceptions about sexual health services."

The survey is open until Friday 29th November - and can be accessed here via this link.

All responses will remain confidential and anonymous and will not be used for any other purpose. Results will be published in the New Year.

If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Fatima Ndanusa, on 01635 503437 or at: fndanusa@westberks.gov.uk.

For more information click on these links:

• Health Advice for Young People in West Berkshire
• Information on Sexual Health Services in Berkshire
• NHS Webpage on Sexual Health Promotion
• Outline: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Support and Information

West Berkshire Council Announces Executive Reshuffle

West Berkshire Council has announced its' new composition at the annual ceremony.

The main roles will be filled as follows:

Chairman of Council:	Cllr Keith Chopping
Vice-Chairman of Council:	Cllr David Holtby
Leader of Council & Conservative Group Leader:	Cllr Gordon Lundie
Deputy Conservative Group Leader:	Cllr Pamela Bale
Liberal Democrat Group Leader:	Cllr Jeff Brooks
Deputy Liberal Democrat Group Leader:	Cllr Roger Hunneman

Conservatives have overall control  by 39-13 and hold the 10 Executive Portfolios, which are shadowed by 8 Opposition members.

Aldermaston Ward's Councillor Irene Neill is in charge of the Education department. She will continue to be shadowed by Cllr David Allen.

In addition to these reshuffled membership was announced for various other positions: the Health & Wellbeing Board, the Overview & Scrutiny Management Commission, the Licensing Committee, the District Panning Committee, Eastern and Western Area Planning Committees, the Governance and Audit Committee, the Personnel Committee and the Standards Committee.

Here is the full list:
 

EXECUTIVE (10 Members)

Portfolio	Member
Leader of Council	Gordon Lundie
Highways, Transport (Operations), Emergency Planning, Newbury Vision	Pamela Bale
Children and Young People, Youth Service, Education	Irene Neill
Community Care, Insurance	Joe Mooney
Planning, Transport (Policy), Culture, Customer Services, Countryside	Hilary Cole
Finance, Economic Development, Health & Safety, Human Resources, Pensions, Property	Alan Law
Cleaner & Greener, Waste, Environmental Health, Trading Standards, Thatcham Vision	Dominic Boeck
Strategy & Performance, Housing, ICT & Corporate Support, Legal and Strategic Support	Roger Croft
Partnerships, Equality, Communities, Hungerford and Eastern Area Visions	Graham Pask
Health and Well Being, Community Safety	Graham Jones

SHADOW EXECUTIVE (8 Members)

Portfolio	Member
Leader of Opposition, Finance, HR, Economic Development, Pensions, Strategy, Property, Insurance, Legal	Jeff Brooks
Community Care, ICT, The Visions	Roger Hunneman
Environment, Environmental Protection	Royce Longton
Housing, Council Plan, Health & Safety	Tony Vickers
Highways, Transport, Planning, Emergency Planning	Keith Woodhams
Health and Wellbeing, Public Health, Partnerships, Equality, Customer Services, Strategic Support, Community Safety	Gwen Mason
Children and Young People, Education, Youth Service, Culture & Leisure	David Allen

HEALTH AND WELLBEING BOARD (April 2013)

Name	Role/Organisation	Email
Councillor Graham Jones	Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing	gjones@westberks.gov.uk
Councillor Graham Pask	Portfolio Holder for Partnerships, Equality, Communities, Hungerford and Eastern Area Visions	gpask@westberks.gov.uk
Lise Llewellyn	Strategic Director of Public Health	Lise.Llewellyn@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Dr Catherine Kelly	North and West Reading Clinical Commissioning Group	c.kelly1@nhs.net
Dr Alex Anderson	Newbury and District Clinical Commissioning Group	alex.anderson1@nhs.net
Rachael Wardell	Director of Community Services (role covers Children Services and Adult Social Services)	rwardell@westberks.gov.uk
Lady Emma Stevens	Local Healthwatch representative	emma.stevens@healthwatchwestberkshire.co.uk
Leila Ferguson	Representative from the Voluntary and Community Sector	ceo@westberkshiremencap.org

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY MANAGEMENT COMMISSION (16 Members)

Conservative Group (9 Members)	Jeff Beck, Brian Bedwell (Chairman), Marcus Franks, David Goff, David Holtby, Mike Johnston, Tim Metcalfe, Andrew Rowles, Virginia von Celsing, Quentin Webb, Emma Webster, Laszlo Zverko
Conservative Substitutes (4 Members)	Peter Argyle, George Chandler, Carol Jackson-Doerge, Garth Simpton
Liberal Democrat Group (3 Members)	Jeff Brooks (Vice‑Chairman), Alan Macro, Gwen Mason, Tony Vickers
Liberal Democrat Substitutes	Roger Hunneman, David Rendel, Julian Swift‑Hook, Keith Woodhams

LICENSING COMMITTEE (14 Members) – no substitutes

Conservative Group (11 Members)	Peter Argyle, Jeff Beck (Chairman), Paul Bryant, Adrian Edwards, Manohar Gopal, David Holtby, Tony Linden, Andrew Rowles, Ieuan Tuck, Quentin Webb, Laszlo Zverko
Liberal Democrat Group (3 Members)	Billy Drummond, Mollie Lock (Vice‑Chairman), Geoff Mayes

DISTRICT PLANNING COMMITTEE (12 Members)

Conservative Group (9 Members)	Pamela Bale, Brian Bedwell, Paul Bryant, Hilary Cole (Chairman), Alan Law, Graham Pask, Garth Simpson, Virginia von Celsing, Quentin Webb (Vice‑Chairman)
Conservative Substitutes (4 Members – 2 from the Eastern Area of the District and 2 from the Western Area of the District)	Jeff Beck, George Chandler, Richard Crumly, Tim Metcalfe
Liberal Democrat Group (3 Members)	David Allen, Royce Longton, Alan Macro
Liberal Democrat Substitutes (4 Members – 2 from the Eastern Area of the District and 2 from the Western Area of the District)	Geoff Mayes, Roger Hunneman, Julian Swift‑Hook, Keith Woodhams

EASTERN AREA PLANNING COMMITTEE (12 Members)

Conservative Group (9)	Peter Argyle, Pamela Bale, Brian Bedwell (Vice‑ Chairman), Richard Crumly, Alan Law, Tim Metcalfe, Irene Neill, Graham Pask, Quentin Webb (Chairman)
Conservative Group Substitutes (4)	Roger Croft, Sheila Ellison, Manohar Gopal, Tony Linden
Liberal Democrat Group (3)	Royce Longton, Alan Macro, Geoff Mayes
Liberal Democrat Group Substitutes (4)	Jeff Brooks, Mollie Lock, David Rendel, Keith Woodhams

WESTERN AREA PLANNING COMMITTEE (12 Members)

Conservative Group (9)	Jeff Beck, Paul Bryant (Chairman), George Chandler, Hilary Cole, Paul Hewer, Garth Simpson, Anthony Stansfeld, Ieuan Tuck, Virginia von Celsing (Vice‑Chairman)
Conservative Group Substitutes (4)	Howard Bairstow, Adrian Edwards, Mike Johnston, Andrew Rowles
Liberal Democrat Group (3)	David Allen, Roger Hunneman, Julian Swift‑Hook
Liberal Democrat Group Substitutes (4)	Billy Drummond, Gwen Mason, Tony Vickers, 1 vacancy

GOVERNANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE (7 Members)

Conservative Group (5 Members)	Jeff Beck (Chairman), Paul Bryant, David Holtby, Tony Linden, Quentin Webb
Conservative Group Substitutes (2)	Peter Argyle, Brian Bedwell
Liberal Democrat Group (2 Members)	Julian Swift‑Hook (Vice‑Chairman), Geoff Mayes
Liberal Democrat Group Substitutes (2)	Gwen Mason, Tony Vickers

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (5 Members)

Conservative Group (4 Members)	Peter Argyle, Tony Linden, Andrew Rowles, Quentin Webb (Chairman)
Conservative Group Substitutes (2)	Jeff Beck, Adrian Edwards
Liberal Democrat Group (1 Member)	Mollie Lock (Vice‑Chairman)
Liberal Democrat Group Substitutes (2)	David Allen, Jeff Brooks

STANDARDS COMMITTEE (6 Members) (There are no substitutes on this Committee and these Members cannot form part of the Standards Committee’s Advisory Panel)

Conservative Group (4 Members)	Peter Argyle (Chairman), Adrian Edwards, Garth Simpson, Virginia von Celsing
Liberal Democrat Group (2 Members)	Mollie Lock, Gwen Mason (Vice-Chairman)
Co-optees (2)	Chris Bridges, Mauline Akins