Conservatives Cave In to LibDem pressure on Warwickshire Budget

10.50.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 6th Feb 2008

Warwickshire County Council's very own Super Tuesday ended in success for the Liberal Democrat Group as the Conservatives chose to accept over 80% of their budget proposals, which intend to nip anti-social behaviour in the bud and build a better future for Warwickshire's residents.

During the County Council's annual budget debate held on the 5th February, the Labour Group refused to negotiate, leaving the Conservatives with little option but to strike a deal with the Liberal Democrats over which investments to take forward in 2008/09. The final budget resolution will require a 3.90% increase on the County Council's proportion of the council tax.

Liberal Democrat proposals accepted by the Conservatives included the following:

• An allocation to expand the popular and successful Flexibus Service by 5 new buses.

• An allocation to Warwickshire Police for the provision of 5 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to specifically tackle anti-social behaviour and to act as a single point of contact for victims.

• An allocation of £400,000 to develop services which support young people and their families experiencing problems both at home or school, targeted at helping to improve family life, school attendance and attainment, reducing the risk of permanent exclusion and reducing the risk of involvement in anti-social or criminal behaviour.

• An allocation of £50,000 to expand the Arts for Health initiative and deliver projects specifically designed to support those with mental health problems.

• An allocation of £50,000 to support renewable energy feasibility projects.

• An allocation of £47,000 to support the Education Business Partnership which provides a variety of innovative activities to help prepare young people for their adult working life.

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on the County Council, stated:

"We are pleased with the outcome of this year's budget debate, which marks a step forward in the challenge of tackling anti-social behaviour and in building a better future for the residents of Warwickshire.

"Our priorities for the negotiations were clear: we wanted to see more investment in services that would help improve the independence, well-being and choice for Warwickshire's older and vulnerable residents; improve access to public transport across the County; better support and empower young people to achieve and become active members of their local community; and create safer and greener communities. We are delighted that the Conservatives recognised the benefit that our creative budget proposals would have in achieving these priorities, and chose to accept over 80% of our proposals.

"The Labour Group failed to enter the budget debate in a grown up and sensible manner and instead attacked the allocation to Warwickshire Police for funding of 5 PCSOs as 'ridiculous' and 'stupid', despite PCSOs being a Labour Government initiative in the first place. The allocation to fund PCSOs is an example of our commitment to working with our public sector partners, such as Warwickshire Police, and as concerns about yob culture and anti-social behaviour increase, we are taking direct action to try and nip these problems in the bud. In 2006/07, there were 29,322 incidents of ASB recorded in Warwickshire, which equates to 1 incident every 18 minutes or 80 per day. This clearly needs to be addressed but Labour clearly aren't on board.

"Whilst making a start on tackling these issues head on, our budget allocation to develop services for children and their families when times get tough at home and school, will help address the causes of crime. Tackling these issues at an early stage will help improve educational attainment and family life, reduce truancy levels and school exclusions, and prevent young people from getting involved anti-social or criminal behaviour in the first place.

"We are also supporting the 14-19 agenda through an allocation to support Warwickshire's Education Business Partnership. This essential service provides a variety of innovative activities to help prepare young people for their adult working life.

"Depression and mental health illnesses are on the increase. In Warwickshire, it is estimated that about 139,500 people aged 15-74 have a common mental health problem, and this is expected to increase to 153,100 in 2029. Our allocation to expand the Arts for Health programme, will support the delivery of arts projects targeted specifically at those with mental health problems to help improve their independence, well-being and choice.

"The threat of climate change is not going away and as Liberal Democrats we want to see real action being taken to put our own behaviour on a sustainable footing. Our allocation to support the delivery of renewable energy projects will in the long-term help deliver measurable CO2 reductions and a reduction in the County Council's energy bill.

"Access to transport is a common concern for many of Warwickshire's residents, particularly those living in rural areas and those who find it difficult to get out and about. Our allocation to expand the popular Flexibus Service will add an extra 5 buses to the existing fleet of 11, helping more people across the County to remain independent.

"This is a fair deal for Warwickshire's residents and over the next 12 months we will be monitoring the success of our budget allocations."

END