Merry Xmas

Ho ho ho, its that special day! I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Xmas and a wonderful new year. Looking forward to speaking with you all in 2013

Big thank you

To our nurses, doctors, police, fire brigade, ambulance, midwifes, coast guard, emergency phone operators, breakdown services and many many more people who work over the Christmas period to keep us safe, THANK YOU!

Your work is sometimes overlooked but you are in our hearts over the festive season, its nice to know you are there!

alternative service delivery

More and more, the Council is working with "partners" to deliver our services. Some of those partners are for example: Cormac Solutions (limited company, 100% owned by Cornwall Council)...

After attending one of my Audit Committee meetings, a risk was raised with regards to the fact that the Council need to have tight control over how the companies are run in order to meet our standards and regulations. This raises an issue, in that if you tighten controls over arms length companies too much, you might end up making the company "a department of the council". 

What do I mean by this, well I will tell you. if the council, for example is too rigid on its regulations on tendering, the companies will only be able to purchase services from other companies "approved" by the council. That means that the council might risk not getting value for money from a tender because the council is unable to get proper competitive bids. That is why sometimes, we see some very expensive contract being awarded, because not all companies out there can apply, only the ones that has previously been "approved" by the council. 

With the Conservatives who run the council taking it more and more down the this route we are getting more and more into a sticky situation.

Don't get me wrong, I do approve of regulations, but we need to be careful we are not too rigid or too controlling with our partners. We must get the balance just right, otherwise we might as well do it all "in house".

If Thatcher showed use nothing its that privatisation done badly (without competition) is a terrible. You only have to look at water and the trains to see this, but it seems the Conservatives in Cornwall have not learnt there lesson!

1000+

Id like to thank those people who are reading my blog, I have just gone over one thousand views! That might not be much to full on blogging fanatics, but I want to connect with local people in what ever way they find easiest / most useful to them. This shows me that people are interested in local politics enough to have a look at my blog, so I will keep going. If you have any questions or comments please just say, its what i'm here for ;-)

Checking up on developers

Yesterday at the Audit Committee meeting, I know it sounds boring, but its important you read on, (Click to see the agenda Item) we discussed section 106 agreements. These are a way in which the council can get some payback given to the community for allowing planning applications.

I want to draw your attention to a problem that I believe need fixing quickly and you can help get money back for our community.

My understanding is that in Sep 2012 the external auditor picked up that there was a risk that developers were not paying the council their agreed section 106 payments. That the council did not have a good control on what had been approved vs what has been built vs what was due for payment. 

This was a manually looked after process and some section 106 agreements might have fallen through the gaps. This is unacceptable.

I am glad that Cornwall Council are now taking the necessary steps to fix that situation, but I do not want any former applications in my patch to be missed.

I urge people in the Bude, Stratton and Grenville areas to contact me if they suspect any planning application in the past five year that this may have happened with. If you remember a section 106 agreement on a planning application but think it might not have happened come forward so I can check that we have collected the money (please not older then 5 years).

I'd like to know

 What sort of content you would like to see on my blog? I've only been blogging for a few months now so I need your help to shape my blog. I want to do my best to give you a glimpse at what I do as a Councillor, who I am as a person and what I'm fighting for, but what would you like to know?

Watch full council live

I'm off to Truro again today to stand up for our part of Cornwall and try to bring some common sense to the Full council meeting. We will be discussing the Governance review - how the council is run. Cornwall local Plan - how many houses we should build in the future and the Strategic Partnership for Support Service - should we part privatise some of our services. 

Icy roads

We are all extra busy at this time of year, but it is more important than ever that everyone takes their time on our roads. Its cold outside and exposed rural areas like ours suffer from Ice, more so because of having untreated back roads and lanes.

Community groups on social networks

I think that social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are growing in importance to both Councillors and community groups. I regularly get people contact me on my facebook page to ask for help with this or that. As for community groups using them, the importance of this was proven a few years ago when Bude Sea-pool become under threat from Cornwall Council. within hours of finding out the news a local Lib Dem Councillor had set up a face book group and was promoting it on twitter and in the media. Within weeks there were 4,000 members from here at home and across the country and the world.

Keep an eye out for your neighbours

The festive season can be a magical time of year, but it can also be a very lonely time for some people. Please take an hour or two out of your Christmas to make contact with neighbors who might not have their families to spend time with. Elderly people are often lonely at Christmas, but anyone, no matter what their age, can miss their love-ones at this time of year. A little effort on our part will make a massive difference to someone who is feeling a bit down. I know it sounds cheesy but making someone else smile is sometimes the best gift you can give and its free!

Looking forward to hitting the doors

There is lots to do as a Councillor, but nothing is as important as getting out in your patch and asking if anyone has any issue they would like my help with. I have just had some new cards printed with my contact details on, so if you get one through your door in coming weeks its cause I called. I know we are fast heading toward Christmas and if you are too busy to talk just say so, I will not mind. On the other hand if you have a mince pie and a cup of tea going spare don't be afraid to invite me in ;-)