Lib Dems seeking a fresh start for Cornwall with a 'One and All' administration

Since the election last week produced a council in which no single party has overall control, there has been much speculation about how an administration might be formed. The Liberal Democrats have said that we are seeking to be part of a 'rainbow alliance' comprising all of the groups on the authority.

With discussions on-going, it is not helpful to give a running commentary, but our aims are set out in a letter that newly re-elected Lib Dem group leader Jeremy Rowe* sent to other groups last night.

To: All members of the Council

Dear Colleagues

I am writing to open up a dialogue on a way forward for the running of Cornwall Council.

The people of Cornwall have spoken and it is clear that no one group can claim the right to run the council on its own. We have huge challenges ahead and it is clear that we need to put our differences aside.

I would like to suggest that we see if we can create as wide an administration as possible to run Cornwall over the next four years, but we do this based on a common programme of principles which a shared administration would pursue. I hope these are things that everyone can agree on.

• Protect the services which are important to the people of Cornwall;
• Improve housing options including the building of new council houses for local families;
• Keep council tax as fair as possible;
• Drive the economy to create and protect jobs within Cornwall. Create additional apprenticeships to upskill local young people for the world of work;
• Take more council decisions in local communities instead of in County Hall;
• Always seek the best value for money and the most efficient services;
• Keep our roads safe, clean and well-maintained and support our local economies by cutting parking charges;
• Campaign for fair funding and additional powers from central government.

The people of Cornwall gave us all a challenge and an opportunity to come together for a fresh start - a One and All council. No one group will have a monopoly on good ideas and we would be happy to discuss anything that you think should be added to this list.

With best wishes

Cllr Jeremy Rowe
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Cornwall Council

*I was re-elected Deputy group leader at the same time - many thanks to my colleagues.


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Nick Clegg launches Lib Dem election campaign in Cornwall

Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg was in Cornwall today to launch the national Liberal Democrat election campaign. He spoke at the Eden Project about the faults with both of the other main parties.

Nick lambasted the Labour Party for their failures in local government as well as the Conservatives for the waste they have presided over in councils across the UK. He singled out Cornwall's decision to hire taxis to ferry tea and coffee between office buildings and attempts to raise council tax year after year. He praised Cornwall's Liberal Democrats for our success in freezing tax bills and investment in services.

Nick was introduced by Jeremy Rowe, Leader of the Lib Dems on Cornwall Council. Jeremy set out our local ambitions locally and the investment that we would be making in repairing roads, cutting parking charges and tackling anti-social behaviour. In contrast, he said, the Conservatives had wasted money on Plymouth's attempts to host the world cup and couldn't even get the basics like emptying bins right.


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Lib Dems welcome Cornwall proposal to end second home council tax discount

Cornwall's Liberal Democrats have welcomed a proposal by the authority to end the council tax discount for second homes and for empty properties. The proposals had been demanded by the Lib Dem group for many years and were finally made possible by legislation from the Liberal Democrats in Government.

 

My colleague, Lib Dem group leader Jeremy Rowe, said:

 

"The second home council tax discount is an anathema which harms local services. I'm delighted that the Lib Dems in government have made the change that allows councils to charge full council tax on second homes and equally delighted that Cornwall is proposing to implement the change at the first opportunity.

 

"The authority is also proposing that empty homes will be exempt from council tax only for the first month. This change is aimed at encouraging owners not to leave homes empty when there are more than 25,000 families on the housing waiting list. Indeed, the council is going further and proposing a penalty premium of an extra 50% on empty properties left vacant for more than 2 years. The council has a number of grant programmes in place to help the owners of empty properties bring them back into use, so there should be no excuse.

 

"In addition a loophole that allowed homeowners to escape council tax if they could show that a house was undergoing major repairs is being closed and these will only get a 50% discount for a single year and then have to pay full council tax thereafter.

 

"Cornwall's Liberal Democrats have been calling for these changes for many years. I'm delighted that the council has agreed to act. We need to protect local services from cuts as much as possible and it is right that second home owners and those who own empty homes should be asked to do their bit."

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Cornwall Lib Dems statement on privatisation vote

As I'm at a conference in Telford this week, I was unable to attend yesterday's full council meeting where the issue of the privatisation of services was discussed. But the council voted clearly in favour of the motion put forward condemning the plans. After the debate, my colleague Jeremy Rowe had this to say:

"Cornwall Councillors today voted overwhelmingly and unequivocally against the cabinet's decision to go into a joint venture partnership with a private company to deliver a wide range of council services - in effect a privatisation. It is now up to the Cabinet to respond to this vote, but we cannot see how they could choose to over-ride the considered views of councillors as expressed today."

"No party stood in 2009 on a manifesto of privatising more services and it would be wrong to take such a huge decision without the understanding and support of the electorate. We challenge the Conservatives and those of their Independent group allies who voted for this move to stand next May on a platform of privatisation. Only if the voters of Cornwall support them should this plan move ahead."

"There is obviously scope to look at doing things differently, but part of the problem has been the Cabinet's reluctance to ask the right questions. For instance, Cornwall Council and the NHS could look at working together to provide an in-house solution to IT provision and this may have the potential to save considerable sums of money while being an attractive proposition for other local authorities. All we ask is that all the options are examined instead of the current administration's narrow ideological approach."

"Today's debate saw members from all sides express their concern and opposition to this proposal which is hasty and ill-thought through. There are, of course, some public-private partnerships which have been very successful. But Cornwall has a sorry history of PFI and contract problems which we cannot afford to see repeated with these services. We do not believe that it is in Cornwall's best interests to proceed with this plan."

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Lib Dems condemn Cornwall Council payment incompetence

Cornish Liberal Democrats have condemned the Tory-led authority for the incompetent way it has adopted a new payment system which has led to many local suppliers being owed thousands of pounds. And it has been revealed that foster carers in Cornwall are also owed hundreds of pounds by the authority.

Cornwall Council has moved to an ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning - system for managing its relationships with suppliers. However, insufficient preparation for the switch has resulted in many payments being delayed and local firms being left out of pocket.

Among the problems reported to local Liberal Democrats:

• contractors working on the Caradon Hill Area Heritage Project (CHAHP) were paid up to five weeks late;
• rent payments to a local trust were delayed;
  council departments have to get 60 page supplier application forms filled out and approved even for some of the most common and simplest purchases from local firms;
• foster carers are waiting many weeks for their payments for looking after some of the most vulnerable and difficult children in Cornwall.

My colleague Jeremy Rowe has condemned the payment failures:

"This is yet another example of incompetent planning by the Conservative-led council. After the waste fiasco, you would have thought that the council had learned its lesson, but it appears not."

"Local businesses are going through a tough time with the state of the economy. The last thing they need is Cornwall Council being late with their payments. And the delays to payments to foster carers are particularly inexcusable. We should be valuing people who care for vulnerable children, not leaving them out of pocket."

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Liberal Democrats pledge money back for missed bin collections

Cornish Liberal Democrats have today announced a manifesto commitment to refund residents who have their waste collection missed. If we are in control of the authority after next May's elections, we will commit to giving a £1 reduction on the next council tax bill to any household whose waste or recycling is still not collected 48 hours after they report a missed collection.

The move to a new waste contract has been a tale of incompetence from the current Tory-led administration. Residents across Cornwall have suffered from missed collections, new recycling containers not being delivered and the Council has failed spectacularly to deal with the number of calls and emails from an understandably exasperated public.

We know that picking up your bins is one of the most basic services provided by the council and one which every single household relies on. That is why we are determined to put right the failures of the current regime.

We pledge that, if you report your black bag or recycling collection has been missed, we will apologise properly and collect it within 48 hours. If we fail to do that, we'll give you £1 off your next year's council tax.

Cornish Liberal Democrats believe that delivering high quality basic services at an affordable price is the first priority of any local authority. Our manifesto, which will be unveiled over the coming months in the run up to next year's election, will put the needs of the people of Cornwall first.

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