Liberal Democrat Alternative Budget

Speech by Cllr Zoé Patrick delivered to County Council on Tue 13th Feb 2007

Last year we produced a budget. However, our budget was produced as an amendment to the Tory budget. We did this because we felt it was easier to understand, saved reams of paper being produced and did not incur hours and hours of officer time reading and checking various lines of figures. It was easy to understand and everyone could see where the differences lay. But unfortunately, we all know that we have endured endless criticism all through the year for doing this so we were certainly NOT prepared to repeat this. Indeed, I even remembered attending a Budget Scrutiny seminar where we were all told, very firmly, that producing amendments or lines of difference was a much more constructive way of presenting an alternative budget … not so - and so no go this year. So firstly I would like to thank Sue Scane and her team, and in particular her colleague, Katy who spent many hours with us preparing together and thus ensuring we have a properly costed budget. I would also like to express my gratitude to both Stephanie and Cllr Alan Armitage for all the hard work they have put into this too.

So this time, this year, we have produced all the appropriate paperwork and commentary fitting for a complete and carefully planned budget. And indeed, so splendid is this budget, so sensible and so rational, that I am sure everyone here today will want to support it and will vote for it..

We have seen in the Conservative budget, everything that the administration wishes to do over the next four years. Low tax (of this there is no doubt - but at what cost?). Real choice (personally I don't think there is much choice - it is their choice!) and value for money - well who am I to judge this?

Let me present to you, our Opposition budget, a truly alternative budget which will have exactly the same council tax rise of 4%, but will deliver much more value for money.

And here we have :

• £3 million extra for adult social care including moving towards restoring the day care strategy and increasing respite care and services for carers. This is more than Tories and Labour - nearly £1m more than the Tories and £200K more than Labour.

• £2.2m more for vulnerable children and their families. This includes more support for families to prevent children being taken into care, better support for our foster carers and more respite care for families with disabled children. This is more than the other groups - £600K more than the Tories, £200K more than Labour and £500K more than the Greens. We know how important respite care is for these families, and many of us have witnessed parents coming into this council chamber asking for help - and help we must give them.

• Five extra youth workers, one for each District area, because this service has been starved in recent years but is much appreciated and contributes to social inclusion, community cohesion, reduction of anti-social behaviour and improved educational outcomes. This is more than the other groups - the Tories invested nothing in youth work, Labour had £50,000 and the Greens £100,000 for summer schemes. How often do all of us hear how helping our younger people early on will help us to solve problems later in life.

• Nearly £1m extra for pavement, cyclepath and road maintenance, specifically focusing on pedestrian safety, ditch and gully clearance and winter maintenance. There is an additional £200K extra for pedestrian crossings and other safety schemes, including those which have been cut from the Local Transport Plan. And many of us I am sure have schemes in their areas which have now been cut (I know I have), so here would be some extra money to fund more. In total, we have a £2.3m increase in the environmental budget - more than the Tories and, surprisingly, more than the Greens: £700K more than the Tories and £400K more than the Greens.

• Extra for bus subsidies - Tories and the Greens had nothing; granted - Labour does fund this. But we all know how important it is for this council to encourage more public transport, and we cannot do this without subsidising some of our bus services, particularly in some of our rural areas.

• Reversing the Tory cuts in promotion of waste reduction measures Tories and Labour have cuts. Surely this is paramount if we are truly trying to be our 'greenest' - why are the Tories not following their new leader's posturing on this … or maybe they realise it is just posturing and are doing the same… nothing!

• Updating the Waste and Minerals Plan so that the County Council continues to have proper control over this - this is another Tory cut, picked up by the other two groups. This work is essential.

• Reinstating the Tory cut in the equalities grants budget and extra for community cohesion-to ensure that the County Council plays its full part in promoting diversity and supporting communities - all other three groups have accepted the cut, whereas we put extra into this budget for community cohesion and social inclusion including an axed post to do some of this work, particularly outreach work.

• In Abingdon, £40,000 for improving residents' parking in the town centre - accepting that street parking happens in other parts of the county and needs looking at!!

• Community Safety - our budget has £700K for this directorate - the other groups have much the same, except that we are funding maintenance of traveller's sites and there are other minor differences.

• £110K for the bookfund - same as the other groups. We recognise how important it is to keep our libraries well equipped.

All these proposals in our budget are being made because we have made some efficiency savings, and indeed those savings will be outlined by my Finance colleague, Cllr. Alan Armitage. We have had difficult choices to make, but we have made them and also by raising some charges on some of our services we are able to fund these political priorities. Yes, we are putting people first by providing Oxfordshire residents with a real alternative to the hard line of this administration. I hope that all of you will agree that we have a truly well prepared budget which is taking into account everything that people have told us that they want. We have listened and we have acted and I propose that you support our motion for a well-prepared opposition budget.