Avril Davies

2010-11 has been an interesting year of change.  The County Council put a lot of activity on hold not only in the time running up to the general election, but for several months afterwards until it was sure of the direction of change. It took the opportunity of that time to attempt to see where it could remove £90M from its budget over 3 years.

The Government did slash public spending in some areas, while spending more in others. Local Government appeared to have taken a very big hit, particularly this year, with what is described as 'front loaded' cuts, meaning more has had to come out of the budget this year than in the next two.


In the event, Bucks County Council had a far better settlement than expected. It is partly cushioned by the fact that 80% of its budget is already funded by Council tax, so was not affected, and only 20% is funded by the Revenue Support Grant.  The revenue support grant was cut by less than 1% overall, and by not increasing council tax the County was paid around £5m extra by the government. The County also received about £36m capital grant which was totally unexpected, very welcome, and much needed.


The reason the County has had still to make about £20M cuts is that inflation has to be taken into account, so rising costs have not been met, and specific funding grants for specific services and projects have been taken away, and merged in to the overall grant.

 There will be an effect on front line services, disproportionately in social care, learning disability and mental health. But the most obvious one locally is the change to the rural library service, where 14 local libraries, including Ivinghoe, where 50% of the funding is being withdrawn, and they are being asked to become Community Libraries, so that the service can be delivered in a different way.


As a Lib Dem Group we opposed the budget on the grounds of the choice to spend £9Mpa plus £30M capital on EFW plant at Calvert. Our alternative would have been to invest in more waste reduction and recycling and share EFW facilities on the County borders. I called it Buckinghamshire’s ‘Trident’ meaning that it was the most expensive budget item, with other possible alternatives, but was being driven along by a political agenda.


We chose, as examples for alternative investment of some of the money earmarked for waste; school improvement to close the achievement gap which is very noticeable in Bucks; no further increases in charges for social care, because that can lead to bigger bills later on as people do without support; and restoring bus subsidies, as these were decided on with no research. It was then established that nearly all users of subsidized evening and weekend services are using he buses for work, or other economic activity, such as shopping or leisure, or for caring for relatives in hospital or at home.

Locally we have been affected by the library issue. In Ivinghoe negotiations are going forward for the Town Hall trustees to look after the library, which is in the same building. The Trustees, with the friends of Ivinghoe Library, are negotiating a ‘service level agreement’ or equivalent with BCC for staff, books, and IT. Savings will be made through being able to pay for overheads independently, being a charity, and, hopefully, keeping the rent from the post office as income. They will need to generate income through grant applications, and the use of volunteers. The Friends and Trustees will be able to run the library independently.

The other very big issue exercising the Count Council has been the High Speed Rail proposals, HS2.  The intense opposition from the communities along the preferred route, through Great Missenden and Wendover led to the County Council opposing the preferred route, but advocating a West Coast main line alternative.  This option had been ruled out by the government, and those of us living with the line know how impractical and disruptive this would be, and highly unlikely to be implemented. However I have made it more than clear that while opposing the preferred route on the grounds of the business case and the effect on the Chilterns AONB, the County's position of supporting the west coast main line undermines their arguments, as if there is no business case there is no business case for the line anywhere. The west coast main line also runs through the Chilterns AONB - or didn't they know? I have not voted for any of the proposals to put money in to a fighting fund against HS2 because of the position on the West Coast main line.

Stop press. On Thursday 22nd April the County Council formally dropped their West Coast Main Line position.

My fellow county councilors who co-chair the GBWI Local Area Forum with me I think that the Forum has been very successful in bringing people together to share local concerns and common interests, and in putting funding in to local priorities. - Footpaths – Cheddington, Edlesborough, Aston Abbots, Ivinghoe; GBWI pilot FQP (see below); Youth activities

The Freight Quality Partnership to tackle the inappropriate use of country lanes by HGVs. An inaugural meeting was well attended by parishes from the three county divisions involved, Great Brickhill, Wing and Ivinghoe, as all have these problems. The freight industry also attended, as did the police, county and district councils. The working party and second full meeting has already made considerable progress towards collecting traffic information, contacting freight operators, getting full support of the County and District Councils, and setting up a website.

‘Objective

This Freight Quality Partnership aims to work collaboratively with relevant stakeholders to direct heavy goods traffic to roads of most suitable use and to ensure that Buckinghamshire’s roads provide freight transport operators with the most efficient and user friendly routes through the county

Outcome
This Freight Quality Partnership believes that if the objective can be achieved the outcome of the work undertaken by and on behalf of the group will enable the County to get traffic flowing in a way that benefits the economy and the environment’

Pitstone Quarry 2 Application for landfill turned down


The long history of the quarry under Pitstone Hill completed another chapter in March when Bucks County Council refused planning permission for the quarry to be used for the disposal of inert waste. A site such as this in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty can only be used when there is inadequate provision in the County plan for waste disposal for the next 15 years. The County were able to show that there is enough landfill capacity elsewhere within the County, to prove there was no need to use Pitstone.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were designated alongside National Parks, and have the same status, the difference being that AONBs are closer to centres of population.

Cheddington Station Booking Office closure proposed. (result unknown at time of writing)


Many people including myself have written to deplore these proposals. Not only had the booking office been recently refurbished with toilets – more than can be said for Tring station – but the office provides a warm and sheltered place to wait, pick up a newspaper and a coffee, also better than Tring. Most importantly, not everyone is happy to use ticket machines. They are difficult to see in certain lights, slow, confusing, occasionally out of order, and above all don’t sell season tickets. And buying a ticket on the train you run the risk of getting fined.

Home to School Transport – Bucks County Council want changes to save £1.8M

At the time of writing changes to eligibility for free transport to school are being proposed by Bucks County Council in an effort to save £1.8M. By the time you read this, changes may already be decided, or the whole thing called in. Pupils travelling to Cottesloe School are unaffected, and I have had it in writing that free transport to Tring School from Ivinghoe and Pitstone will also not be affected, nor from Marsworth where the walking route is just short of three miles and considered unsafe. This is because Tring is the nearest secondary school. There is a ‘line’ in Cheddington however where Tring School and the Cottesloe school are equidistant, and I have requested clarification. I have also written to protest at the ridiculous proposal to provide free transport ONLY to the nearest school in a catchment area. This means that from this side of Aylesbury, grammar school pupils opting for the Henry Floyd would not get free transport, although had they opted for the High or Aylesbury Grammar they would. From the Haddenham side of Aylesbury, the position would be exactly in reverse. Additionally any changes would be applied to existing pupils even though last year it was made quite clear when choosing schools that transport to all three schools of more than 3 miles was free. This has caused a big stir especially in the south of the County, where parents have enlisted the help of their MP, Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, and may be calling for judicial review.

The Scrutiny Committee of which I am a member, has heard from parents affected, and criticised the way the consultation was inadequately publicised, difficult to access, and will be questioning the cabinet member concerned at a special meeting on 12th April

Local Initiatives

The County Council, as part of its economy drive has proposed that 14 rural libraries become community owned and managed. After several exploratory meetings following on from a presentation from the Library service in December, the Friends of Ivinghoe Library have re-formed, and the Ivinghoe Town Hall trustees have agreed to carry work forward. The new post office and shop in the building is really welcome.

The first meeting of the local Freight Quality Partnership pilot took place in February and again in April, and has set up a working group. The Partnership has members from most Parish Councils in the Great Brickhill, Wing and Ivinghoe Area, AVDC and Bucks County Council, the Police, the freight industry associations, and the Council for the protection of Rural England. The working group is currently collecting information, setting up a website, and making contact with adjacent counties, with a long term view of providing the tools to better manage freight journeys for the benefit of local residents and the freight operators.

County Council Budget Cuts

I usually steer clear of trying to explain complex financial issues, but the whole country is talking about ‘Cuts’ and here is no exception.

After the 2010 election and before the announcement of the spending review, Bucks County Council took the opportunity to see if it could remove £90M from its budget over 3 years.

When the cuts came the Government did slash public spending in some areas, while spending more in others. Local Government appeared to have taken a very big hit, particularly this year, with what is described as 'front loaded' cuts, meaning more has had to come out of the budget this year than in the next two.

Bucks County Council had a far better settlement than expected. It is partly cushioned by the fact that 80% of its budget is already funded by Council Tax, so was not affected, and only 20% is funded by the Revenue Support Grant.  The revenue support grant was cut by less than 1% overall, and by not increasing council tax the County was paid around £5m extra by the government. The County also received about £36m capital grant which was totally unexpected, very welcome, and much needed.

The reason the County has had still to make about £20M cuts this year is that inflation has to be taken into account, so rising costs have not been met, and specific funding grants for specific services and projects have been taken away, or merged in to the overall grant.

There will be an effect on front line services, disproportionately in social care, learning disability and mental health. But the most obvious one locally is the change to the rural library service, where 14 local libraries, including Ivinghoe, where 50% of the funding is being withdrawn. They are proposed to become Community Libraries, so that the service can be delivered in a different way.

I and others think that the proposed spending of £30M capital and £9M pa revenue on a waste to energy plant at Calvert is unnecessary, and I described it as ‘Buckinghamshire’s Trident’ to the delight of the Bucks Herald headline writers. By which I meant that the money was needed more elsewhere.

Aylesbury Vale District Council has also received a significant reduction in grant. However it has decided to take the shortfall out of reserves in the immediate future, and bring forward a revised budget after the elections.