Huntingdon Liberal Democrats

Lib Dems on Overview and Scrutiny

Most of the general public aren't truly aware of how the District Council works. Let's face it, as long as their bin is being emptied, the streets are being cleaned and all the other services they pay for out of their rates are being provided, why would they really care? Until, of course, an issue affects them, and they need help. The role of the District Councillors in Huntingdonshire isn't just about attending main Council meetings and dealing with "casework" from constituents. There are many Groups, Panels and sub-committees that also have to be attended. When I was elected in May 2010, I discussed with fellow Liberal Democrat District Councillors which was the most appropriate Group I might be involved in. Since we all believe in playing to our strengths and experiences, the Economic Overview and Scrutiny Panel was the obvious one for me.

In the previous year, this Panel was chaired by Cllr. Jason Abelwhite, who is now Leader of the Council and chairs Cabinet meetings. His Vice - Chairman was Cllr. Gordon Thorpe, a fellow Liberal Democrat. Cllr Mike Shellens was also a member of that Panel. In May 2011, sadly, Gordon lost his seat, but the majority Conservative Group agreed that the Lib Dem Group could retain the Vice -Chairmanship of two of the Council's panels. The leader of the Lib Dem group, Cllr, Peter Downes, and Mike Shellens, asked if I would be Vice Chairman of the Economic Overview and Scrutiny Panel, so as of June 2011, I have sat alongside Cllr. Terry Rogers, with Mike Shellens.

It is pleasing that Mike, Gordon and I have received a lot of positive feedback for the work we do. The Council faces very tough financial issues. The debate as to why is for another time, but right now, it is essential that the financial aspects of what the Cabinet wishes to push through are thoroughly scrutinised and questions raised. The minutes of these panels, as with most of what the Council and its various groups discuss, are available for public viewing on the HDC website. Various issues were discussed at a recent O & S meeting, but most attention centred on three issues (a) future changes to housing benefit (b) indicative funding for the Voluntary Sector and (c) financial aspects of One Leisure - covering the activities and services of the District Council's various Leisure centres.

The changes to Housing Benefit, and the likely future costs, are difficult to predict, but with many commentators fearing a likely rise in people losing their homes, pressures in this area will need to be kept under close watch. The One Leisure report, which is a result of almost nine months work, is recently went to Cabinet. Contents of it remain, for now, under wraps, but it is a project which I personally have put a lot of time into, and, through accident rather than design, ended up chairing. I have had the assistance of other Councillors - all Conservatives - as well as tremendous help from Roger Hall, who also sits on the Economic O & S Panel, as an independent. I am pleased to note that it was well received, and through some of the work we did, further scrutiny of "central" costs are now also being looked at - costs which are often referred to as "back office", such as IT, Human Resources, Document Centre etc.

A lengthy discussion took place on the Voluntary Sector. It was pleasing to see Julie Farrow, Chief Executive of the Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations, in attendance in the "public seating". Most council meetings are open to the public - not to take part, but to sit, listen and observe. I am sure if more people knew that they would attend. The background to this report is that, in the Medium Term Plan a year ago, the then Cabinet were proposing cuts on Voluntary Sector grants of over 80%. The £75,000 which would have been left would have been totally insufficient, and would have devastated the sector. The Lib Dem group has been vociferous in its support of the Voluntary Sector, arguing that in a "Big Society", these groups support those most in need. We have aimed to point out wasteful spending which could be eliminated, to mitigate these proposed cuts. As things stand, the cuts have been pared back and the Tory group is claiming to be supportive. That view might not be shared by anyone who had attended the meeting, but at least the proposed cuts have been reduced to a level of 20%. I have long had a fear, though, that the organisations currently in receipt of support, may not benefit in the future, and, for the first time officially last night, this fear became a reality. Deputy Leader Nick Guyatt said "there is no guarantee these six will be in receipt of funds". The process by which organisations seeks financial help is also under review. Whilst I welcome the fact that the effects of the cuts have been reduced, in my opinion, this is still some way from the pledge Jason Able white made when he became leader. In response of a letter I wrote to the Hunts Post, he said "I read Cllr Ste Greenall's letter with great interest, and I assure him that, like David Cameron and Eric Pickles, I also place great value on the voluntary sector in Huntingdonshire. I can promise The Hunts Post's readers that under my leadership, the district council will do all it can to ensure that key voluntary services are retained, and I look forward to working with local politicians of all colours in helping us to realise this aim."

Between myself and Mike Shellens, there is knowledge, experience and drive to work on the Economic O & S Panel; to support good and sensible initiatives, and to challenge where we think necessary.

IF ITS NOT WORTH DOING THEN WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT

District Councillor, Mike Shellens, has written to the District Council about what we used to call District Wide. Under the pre-cuts environment District Wide was distributed to every house in the District. This was changed last year such that only a quarterly electronic version is produced, renamed Huntingdonshire News. But this is circulated only to those who sign up for it. Currently fewer than 800 people get the information.

Current arrangements are most unsatisfactory:

a) If the contents are important then all should have them, if not we should not be producing them.

b) the signing up arrangements are hidden deep within the council's web site. In the absence of District Wide we now have no mechanism for publicising their whereabouts.

Mike put forward two suggestions:

a) The radical option is to cease the activity all together, thereby saving both:

the production time

and the time/cost in maintaining the list for the fortunate few.

b) the less radical option would be to:

cease the list

advise current recipients of future publication dates

provide a Huntingdon News button on the Home Page of the Council web site for all to see.

Mike does not suggest that his comments, if acted upon, would make a huge saving. "It is important always to look for all ways of saving effort and money, however small", Mike added.