Last week I wrote a little about our budgeting problems. I thought it would be of interest to the Parish Councils and to the residents of Clavering, to put a little more flesh on the bones.

The net budget for 2009/10 (excluding the ring fenced amount we administer on behalf of schools) was £560 million – Government Grants amount to £227 million and Council Tax to £333m. This year we still face cost pressures of £40m from inflation, demographic change, fuel inflation, etc. The total budget is in the order of £1.2 billion, when education is included.

It is our intention to balance the budget for 2010/2011 by making £22m savings from efficiency savings, reducing the effect of wage inflation and some staff reductions. Using the Gov Grant up-lift of £13m and increasing the Council Tax by 1.9%. We are carrying out an organisational review, pay freeze, review of the CC Estate and looking at new ways of working.

In real terns the Council will simply have to reduce in size, reduce the number of committees, review our major contracts, more partnering and no cash uplift to departments in 2011/12.

Life is not going to be easy at County Hall this year, we recognise also the difficulties faced by residents due to the dreadful handling of the economy by the present government.

If you have any questions about our finances please direct them to me. I may not be able to give you a quick answer, but I will undertake to get back to you with an answer.

Snow at Ellingham Mill

During the snowy weather this year, which existed for longer than we have come to expect over the last ten years or so. The County has gritted the roads and used more salt/grit than at any time in t he past.

I would like to pay tribute to the Council workmen, who turn out at all hours, work long hours and make the “Gritted Routes” as safe as possible. Also, I want to place on record my admiration for the residents of our small villages who do not have footways, are not on priority routes and do not expect snow clearance. Frequently they clear their own footways and pavements; they help each other. I know we have over 6,000 miles of roads in our County, I know we can’t expect to clear all of them, neither can we expect to have sufficient equipment to clear all the roads or budgets to pay for this unusual winter.

Moving on! this is the time of year when we set our Council Tax for the next financial year. To say it has been a challenging exercise is very much an understatement, at The Cabinet Meeting on January 25th, the leader of the Council will announce an increase of 1.9%, this represents 41 pence fer week on a Band D property, or 32 pence per week for a Band B property.

Priority is being given to frontline services, so that the most vulnerable get the best possible quality of care and support. There will be increased access to a greater range of services for 0-5 year olds and their families through the network of children’s centres, with a further 18 coming on stream. More information can be found on the County Council web-site, follow the link on this Blog.

 In the history of Council Tax in Norfolk there has never been a lower figure.

County Hall

I thought you might find it useful if I reported on The Audit Commission’s most recent inspection, which was considered by Cabinet today 4th January 2010.  But first some statistics to put the whole report in context.

Our annual budget is about £1.5 billion. (yes, I spelt that correctly). The population is over 850,000, of which, half live in rural areas. Over the next 20 years the population will increase significantly particularly those over 65 and over 85.

The County Council employs about 27,000 people.

The Audit Commission Report opens with the words “Overall, Norfolk County Council performs well.”

Extracts:- It is good at managing its money and is making savings through efficient control of spending. It is making good progress on most issues that are important to local people. It cares well for those who need support and continues to improve the help it gives to older people. The Council works with the police to reduce crime and improve road safety, is improving the local environment and helping create jobs.

Norfolk is a safe place to live. Overall reported crime is low and fell by 13% last year. This is a greater reduction than for most of the rest of England. Residents feel that local services are dealing with crime successfully.

People are better able to get the services they need to stay independent due to better home care and more use of direct payments and personal budgets. Extra money has been put into services that help people avoid accidents and illness. The Council has extended its ‘At Home Not Alone’ services such as ‘Swifts’ and ‘Night Owls’ which offer free support for older people who suddenly need some help. By providing a number to call for help, night or day, the service give people more confidence to stay in their own homes, to live independently for longer and to prevent unnecessary stays in hospital.

The Council is also using more technology to assist and support people in their homes and in residential homes. Effective reorganisation of the home care service has resulted in an extra 7,000 home care hours a month being available for no extra cost.

The Council is leading by example and putting into effect the climate change strategy that it and partners have adopted.  The strategy sets a target for reduction in carbon emissions and all local authorities in Norfolk are working towards this.  The Council has a Carbon Management Programme designed to reduce its own carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2013.  This is focused on its major direct impart areas - buildings, street  lighting and transport.  It has achieved reductions of 7 per cent and 12 per cent in its consumption of electricity and fossil fuels (Gas and oil) at County Hall in the last year.

As a major landowner the Council actively promotes the creation of country parks by working with partners and encourages a rich variety of plant and animal life.  Annually, Norfolk councils help plant more than 130,000 trees and shrubs and 30 kilometres of hedgerow.   This makes an important contribution to offsetting existing emissions and to creating conditions for new habitats and species to thrive.

The County’ s Waste Partnership has successfully reduced the amount of waste collected and less is going to landfill due to more recycling and re-use.  Recycling and composting levels at Norfolk’s 19 recycling centres have increased to 63 per cent and residents have more choice of where to go and how to recycle.  The Schools Waste Action Club initiative has been raising children’s awareness of waste issues and encourages waste reduction, recycling and composting.

The Councils cultural services continue to be among the best nationally.  The Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library is the country’s best used library for the second year running.

from December 9th the results of Comprehensive Area Assessment may be found on the Oneplace website – http://oneplace.direct.gov.uk.

At the Court hearing on December 23rd, the Judge found in favour of the County Council, and agreed that the travellers should leave Five Acre Lane.

He asked that the Council should not be hasty in removing them as they had been there for some time. Bearing in mind the season and the Judge’s comments we have agreed with his suggestion and are prepared to wait for three months before we take further action. Hopefully, the travellers will not wish to be evicted, and they will leave within the three-month period.

Footway works, none listed.

Haunching, 76399/10 est cost £92.000. In Aldeby

Traffic management, investigation for 30mph limit in Denton.

New drainage, system in Haddiscoe, Yarmouth Rd junction with C516 cost £80,000.

Future work beyond 2011.

Road surfacing, Earsham A143 U76063 to U76227, £166,619.21. Wortwell A143,  both sides of U76153, £50,956.55. Drainage, C379/10 Broome, £30,000.  Ditchingham, C395, £40,000. Aldeby, 76438/10, £34,000.

If there are other highway issues you think the County Council should be working on please let me know, by comment on this post or by e-mail to tony.tomkinson@norfolk.gov.uk.

I’m pleased to tell you that the County Council Planning and Transportation Department have agreed that there should be a 40 mph speed limit past the school. I think there needs to be a small adjustment to their proposals, which I will try to get agreed. Their proposal is to finish the 40 mph limit close to the school boundary on the south side of the school, I would like to see the limit extended by about 100 metres past the school to give traffic plenty of room to slow down.

Thank you to all residents who helped with letters, responded to my blog, and contacted the Council by other means.

On 17th October I attended the launch of a new cycle route in the Clavering Division. This is called Cycle Route 31, it goes from the War Memorial at Gillingham to Reedham Ferry. The launch was attended by several cyclists from the Beccles Club and we had a good day, weather was kind and the stop for refreshments at Raveningham was very welcome.

Many of you will know that we have been turned down for a speed limit reduction outside of the school. However, I have not given up on the request. I spoke to one of the road safety officers last week and have agreed with him that we will take more speed readings, but this time closer to the row of houses north of the school.

I was told that the decision was a very close call, so I asked “What would tip it in our favour?” The short answer is, better compliance with the existing limit, that doesn’t make sense to me but it appears to make sense to the authorities.

So may I ask you all to drive much more slowly over the rubber tubes when they are put down and thereby reduce the ‘mean’ speed.

A reduction in the limit would mean a lot for the safety of the children.

I was looking at the County Web site recently and came across this video, whilst it is amusing, I found it very helpful, please pass it on to all of your friends who may need a bit of help.

Remember to tell your friends that they can see this video by going to my Blog. http://tonytomkinson.wordpress.com, just in case they can’t remember the site address.

At last! Earsham children can celebrate their new school. Their old school was a Victorian building and in these days certainly not fit for purpose. The County Council has funded this project to the tune of £1.9 million.

 The new school is to be opened by Bishop Graham James, Lord Bisop of Norwich on Monday 12th October at 9.15am. The children will have a playing field and play areas to use, these were not available in the old school.

Today the school has 75 pupils, but already there are plans to exptend the school to take in pupils affected by the reorganisations on schools in North Suffolk. Many families from the Bungay area prefer to send their children to this Norfolk school.

This new school is a huge asset for the community of Earsham and I shall be thrilled to see it opened by the Bishop. The modern and comfortable new buildings will support both teaching and learning and are a far cry from the old Victorian school. I wish the school every success in its new home and look forward to seeing the school grow in the years ahead.

The Main Entrance