FLOOD RISK INFO ESSENTIAL FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Commenting on the launch of an online map to tell homeowners about flooding risks in England and Wales, Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, said:
7 Oct 2004
News
Kennedy launches General Election pre-manifesto
Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy today launched the Liberal Democrat Pre-manifesto - the first important stage in the manifesto process, which will take the Party into the General Election.
14 Sep 2004
Liberal Democrats launch policing proposals
Under new Liberal Democrat proposals police chiefs would sign contracts with local communities setting out how many officers they would deploy. The "minimum policing guarantees" would set funding levels for local police for a rolling three-year period. The guarantees are part of the party's new plans to tackle crime. The plans include using money earmarked for the government's ID card plan to hire an extra 10,000 front line police and 20,000 community support officers.
13 Sep 2004
Surrey County Council News
School Admissions
The 'equal preference' system for school admissions was first used for admissions to Surrey schools this year, September 2007. It means that parents don't have to worry that they will lose a place in the second or third of their preferred schools if the first school is full, just because they did not place those schools first.
18 Dec 2007
Emergency Planning Department Fiasco
When the Conservative administration at County Hall took an axe to its Emergency Planning department as part of a major review, the 11 staff were reduced to just 7 - putting the whole county at risk. All the staff bar one left, leaving the county in an extraordinarily vulnerable state for several months, made worse because a freeze in recruitment blocked the advertising for new staff.
18 Dec 2007
Marginal Improvement by Road Contractors is not Good Enough
At the Transport Select Committee on 5th December members were given the latest set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the ill fated Surrey Highways Partnership (SHiP). The SHiP is the arrangement whereby Carillion manages road maintenance in the East of the County and Ringway in the West. Although there has been some improvement things are still not good enough.
18 Dec 2007
Surrey Lib Dems demand action on Frontline Vacancies
Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats have called on the ruling Conservative administration to urgently prioritize filling vacancies to front-line services in what group leader Cllr Hazel Watson said was a clear case of the Council "taking its eye off the ball". Nearly two years on from SCC's Business Delivery Review (BDR) which was supposed to result in a "Council fit for purpose" with the right workforce to deliver those services, front-line services are still short on essential staff according to the Liberal Democrats.
27 Nov 2007
Highways Claims Soar
Legal claims from motorists who allege their vehicles were damaged because of the poor condition of Surrey's roads are likely to double by the end of this year. In 2006 Surrey County Council received 518 public liability claims from drivers relating to the condition of the roads. The number of highways claims made between January and mid October 2007 reached 954, which is almost double the number for the whole of last year. In 2007 up to mid October, 50 claims totalling nearly £33,000 have been paid by the County Council. However further claims are likely to be received and to be paid before the end of the year.
25 Oct 2007
Over-development Fears Grow
Liberal Democrats are getting increasingly anxious at the growing threat of over development in Surrey. The Inquiry into the new South East Plan has recommended an increase in housing numbers, with Green Belt reviews in parts of the county. In addition the government has just published a housing Green Paper which makes it clear that Gordon Brown's government wants to see an increase in housing even beyond the levels set out by the Inquiry.
25 Oct 2007