All posts by johnfield

County, Economy, Uncategorized

County Council Budget

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We now all know the content of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in outline and the details of the settlement for the County and District Councils were released the 19th of December.  The financial officer’s analysis of the impact on Suffolk has been completed and the budget proposals will be considered at Cabinet tomorrow then at full council.

In summary, Estimates of cost increases on a £511M net budget are Inflation £7.7M, Demand and Demography £12.4M and “other Changes” £-4.1M.  Specific grants are £17M against £18.7 last year so we lose another £1.7M there.  That makes £17.7M in total.  There is also a new responsibility for public health which will cost £25.6M and is covered by a £25.6M grant.

Headline “savings” are Improve efficiency and remove unnecessary processes £9.7M, reduce management costs £0.5M rationalise office accommodation £1.3M, target resources in children’s services £2.5M, adult care in depth review £7M, re-let the highway contract £2M, reduce costs of waste services £0.8M and misc £1.1M for a total of £24.9M

Government formula grant £235.4M and Council Tax were £256.9M last year (adjusted for changes that have been made) Total £492M and for this year Revenue Support Grant £134.9M, Business Rates £90.5M (including top up and Council Tax £258.6 a total of £485.6M, £6.4M less.

Obviously the efficiency improvements and accommodation moves are long overdue but the care review and targeting in children’s services has the potential to increase the problems suffered by vulnerable people.

County, Highways, Uncategorized

Road Safety

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Road Safety is always an issue but my “Quality of Life” road improvement budget is very limited.  However this year we have surfaced Cock Lane and placed “no parking” markings to make it easier to exit the St John’s Ambulance premises in Bramford.  We will be installing “Halo” rings round the heads of the Belisha Beacons at the “Co-Op” zebra crossing in Claydon to make it more visible.

The most important work will be at Pound Lane on the B1113 where there have been several serious accidents. I hope to see road markings to make the location of the junction more obvious, the speed limit reduced to 40mph and the bus stops moved away from the junction.  Until that happens, I have asked the police, via the Chief Constable, to enforce the present limit.

If you would like to see the details click on  Pound Lane proposals to download the plan

County, Uncategorized

My “Locality Budget”

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Each year County Councillors have a “Locality Budget” to use to support local organisations.  The best support is to help them gain much larger funds from the District Council, the lottery or landfill tax and many groups in Gipping Valley do that very well. 

So far, this year I have helped: Barham Green residents, St Peters 60+ club, Crucial Crew, Bramford Loraine Victory Hall, Claydon Primary, Bramford Playing Field, 4ever young, cycle speedway and Claydon & Barham Community Centre.

The Victory Hall committee and the Playing Field committee used the money, together with funds from the parish to leavel in substantial grants from the SITA trust.  Just what we need!

Applications are in hand for Gt Blakenham Village Hall, Barham & Claydon Football Club, Bramford Football Club, Claydon Parish for Street Light improvements and Cherryfields. 

I hope you find that a good selection.  If not let me know by filling in a comment.

District, Uncategorized

Integration at Mid Suffolk District Council

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At Mid Suffolk District Council , we are integrating the Mid Suffolk and Babergh teams, reducing senior management and we hope “empowering” middle management and the front line people.  This is all to reduce costs but also to improve the service you get.

All councillors and senior officers are involved in “Community Engagement” asking you what the council does well and what it could do better.  What services you value and which you would be happy to go without.  So far Great Blakenham and Little Blakenham Parishes have given their views and Branford is on the list but we intend to get to Cherryfields, the WI and Businesses soon.

I am involved with the transformation of the planning service to make it more responsive and more efficient.  The Councillor team believe you want professional high quality decisions made quickly that encourage development but preserve the qualities of Suffolk that make it such a good place to live.  We also want the planning service to be a good place to work.

If we are wrong please let me know.

Barmford, Highways

Cock Alley to Gippingstone Road

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County Highways are at long last constructing a footway to link Cock Alley to Gippingstone Road to allow parents to use the path to get to the school without getting muddy. The work will start on the 23rd July and take approximately a week. 

I was asked for this by the team that look at safe travel to school some years ago but it has been an uphill struggle to get the land transferred from Mid Suffolk District Council.

The county say that noise and dust will be kept to a minimum and the work should not affect vehicles and pedestrian access. 

The footway will be constructed along the right side of the left hedge above and will be two metres wide leading to the existing footway  

 If you have any specific requirements, such as disability access, or deliveries planned for this date, please contact the contractor, Suffolk Highways Contracting 01473 588640.

If you have any queries about these works, contact (0845 606 6171) and ask to speak to Aaron Gordon

Barmford, Energy, Flowton

National Grid latest route proposals for Bramford to Twinsted

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Today Natrional Grid announced their latest position on the Bramford to Twinsted Tee connection that will be needed to take power from the North Sea windfarm East Anglia One and Sizewell C (if it is ever built) to London.

Local groups, the Libdems, the MP, County Council and District Councils have all  been fighting to get National Grid to use modern technology to underground this connection that will otherwise blight our lives, damage our tourist industry and be out of date before it comes into use.

Have they adapted their plans?  Well, two short sections through the Dedham Vale AONB and the Stour Valley will be underground but the residents closer to Bramford, particularly in Hintlesham, are still cursed with a double 400kv pylon line.

National Grid, this is just not good enough.  Minimising cost at the expense of so many is not acceptable.  Why not go for undergroiund DC connections like the windfarm companies are proposing?  There is time to re-think,  Sizewell  C will only be constructed if the French Government decide it is good business and the final three parts of East Anglia One are some time away.  The re-vamped existing line which will carry some 6,200 Mega watts will do till then.

Latest National Grid Data is at http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/MajorProjects/BramfordTwinstead/Documents/index.htm

Care, County, Uncategorized

Scrutiny on 1st May: Suffolk Circle and Demand Responsive Transport

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On the 1st May we shall be looking at the Suffolk Circle (a membership scheme for the elderly to provide help through a token system), and Demand Responsive Transport.  We will be assessing how successful each service is, and make recommendations about how the Council should proceed.

Our interest in demand responsive transport revolves around the great emphasis that is being placed on this as a solution to the problem of providing adequate public transport in rural areas.

In order to get a good picture of how these service are actually functioning we have decided to launch a brief consultation.  We want to know what you think works and what needs to be improved.  You can respond by heading to the link below and filling in the short survey, by post, or e-mail.  The deadline is the 20th of April.   http://www.surveymonkey.com/demandresponsive

County, Economy

Management Saleries at the Council

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The last Full Council on 29th March had a small agenda, but included the Pay Policy statement, which the localism act requires.  This highlights the number of people in managerial positions, what they are paid, and the ratio between the highest and lowest paid at the County.  You may find these facts interesting:

  • ·         Salary structure for Directors is set locally through the staff appointments committee and ranges from £98,393 to £126,733.
  • ·         Salary for Assistant Directors (higher) is £85,795 – £96,824
  • ·         Salary for Assistant Directors are £68,096 – £83,829
  • ·         Salary for senior manager is £55,287 – £64,399.
  • ·         Currently the Chief Executive of S.C.C. earns eight times more than the Councils median earner, and thirteen times more than the lowest paid.

Are these figures reasonable?

Uncategorized

SnOasis

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We are told that Godfrey Spanner is bankrupt but that SnOasis will still be built some day.  That’s a bit difficult to believe and many local people will hope this is the end but it is a pity to lose economic development.  I am afraid that my view has always been that the business case was based in hope rather than sound analysis of the facts so I am not surprised. 

I believe that the funding for the station will not now be available so we won’t get the improved access to Ipswich and London but neither will local residents suffer the increased traffic they feared.

We now need to know if the district council is an unsecured creditor.  I wonder just how difficult it will be to get a clear answer?  I hope we will find that developers pay for planning activities up front.

Looking to the future we probably need an alternative for the site that will get local support.  That must mean something that does not generate a lot of traffic, we have quite enough with the housing and incinerator.  Perhaps a more natural area for recreation or just leave it as it is!

County, Economy

Suffolk Broadband Residents Survey

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The campaign Better Broadband for Suffolk continues with the launch of a survey for residents, aiming to gather support, information about the current level of internet provision and the desired speed. If you wish to complete the survey, and you have access to the internet, head to http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/broadband.  For those without internet access, surveys are being distributed to parishes and libraries.  In addition to the residential survey, the business survey is still up and running at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SuffolkBusinessBroadbandSurveyI would encourage you to respond to the survey to ensure that areas that have poor broadband connections are identified and we can all benefit from faster internet speeds in the future.