Tamworth Blog

SCC TV

Staffordshire County Council are broadcasting their debate as they decide on this years council tax increase this Wednesday (February 3) and next (February 10).

It is expected that Staffordshire County Council will pass a lower than inflation increase this year.  The 1.9% increase will be the lowest implemented since the Council Tax was introduced in 1993.  A family living in a band D property will pay an extra 39p a week for their services.

Leader Philip Atkins said:

“Our manifesto pledge at the elections in June was to improve services in key areas while keeping council tax as low as possible, which is why I am making this recommendation.

“We have consulted extensively on what our budget priorities should be and I believe 1.9 per cent strikes the right balance. A below inflation rise means council tax should not unduly add to the strain on the budgets of most families, including the elderly and vulnerable groups.

“I am aware that we are still struggling with the affects of the economic slump. But to reduce council tax further would mean we could not keep our manifesto promise to raise standards in schools, improve care for the elderly and invest in roads.”

The County Council have identified over £21m of savings for next year by becoming more innovative in the way in which the council is run.

Atkins added:

“We are committed to sensible long-term financial planning, not panic measures or quick fixes. That is why we have committed to an additional £30m in highways programmes and other investments such as the Tipping Street development and the Building Schools for the Future programme for Tamworth and Rugeley. Both represent initial outlay that will pay dividends for many years to come. It is responsible budgeting.”

The debate will be broadcast online on SCC TV from 10am Wednesday morning (Feb 3 and 10).  You can watch it afterwards as well by downloading the meeting.  To access it simply go to the Staffordshire County Council Website and click the SCC TV icon.

Cars covered in Snow - Pic: Stuart Brown

Tamworth Borough Council have apologised for those whose bins weren’t collected today, but it was simply unsafe due to the ice on the roads.

Treasure Castle, Castle Close and Torc Avenue didn’t get their recycling collected and houses in Trefoil and Sorrel didn’t get their garden waste collected.

Collections will continue though where it is safe for the lorries to go.

All other Council services and offices are operating as normal at the moment.

All collections not made will be done when it is safe to do so.

Marmion House, Tamworth Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council are inviting voluntary and community groups the opportunity to provide services to the council and gain vital funding.

The Council currently gives out £164,000 a year of direct support to community groups through grants.  An additional £80,000 a year  is given in-kind through rents and building subsidies.  However, through the tender process, allowing organisations to bid for funding from the council, they can ensure they are getting value for money and getting the right services from the right provider.

Councillor Jeremy Oates portfolio holder for Economic Development and Enterprise.

“We conducted a review of the current Commissioning Framework process and procedures for awarding grants to voluntary and community sector organisations and carried out consultation with a number of partners and organisations.

“The new Commissioning Framework went through unanimously at Full Council in September and will allow us to work more closely with the voluntary and community sector as well as bringing consistency and clarity to the way we work with partner organisations. We have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the services that the voluntary and community sector continue to provide locally, joining up and pooling resources is definitely the way forward to strengthen the sector locally.”

The services the council are inviting tenders for are:

• Financial Inclusion
• Parenting Support for families
• Generalist and debt advice
• Voluntary and Community Sector Capacity Building
• Increasing Volunteering
• Environment

If you are an organisation and interested in finding out more about any of the services outlined above you can find out more information by clicking the advert in the top left of Tamworth Blog or by clicking here.

Closing date for applications is January 11 2010.  To help you with your application, there are two commissioning surgeries on December 8 at the Town Hall between 6.30 and 8.30pm and December 10 at Carnegie Centre between 1.30 and 3.30pm.

Council leader Philip Atkins at Saturday’s budget consultation event.

Staffordshire Country Council are urging residents of Tamworth to have their say in how next years budget should be spent.  But you must be quick as the consultancy closes on Monday November 23.

All feedback received from the questionnaire will be used alongside the views of people who attended two consultation events at County Buildings.

An Adults event which took place on Saturday November 14 saw participants say that more money should be spent on supporting the growing elderly population, those with disabilities and children.  Improving the general health and employment opportunities was also high on the list.

The young people who are members of youth forums also met with councillors at an event earlier in the month.

You can still make your voice heard by filling in the online survey at
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/budgetconsult09, having your say on the councils services, priorities, spending plans and council tax levels.

The results from the questionnaire will be presented to the councils cabinet to help set the budget and tax levels during 2010/2011.

County Council Leader Philip Atkins said he hoped as many people as possible would complete the questionnaires as it was important electors made their views known. He added:

“We’re committed to improving all of our services to the people of Staffordshire. We also want to do it in the most efficient way we can to get the best value for them and keep our portion of the council tax at a low level.

“People’s views are vital and will influence us when it comes to making the tough decisions that need to be made when setting the budget.”

New performance Reports online

Tamworth Borough Council have announced improvements to their website which will help tenants see how the Housing service is performing, showing their performance against the council.

Councillor Mary Oates, portfolio holder for Quality of Life, said of the new service;

“We want to be as open and transparent as possible with our residents, and now they can see for themselves how well the teams are performing and which targets they are meeting and if there are any where we need to continue to improve our performance.

“I am very proud of the changes we have already made and I am keen for our tenants to be as involved as possible so that they feel they know what is happening with the service and that they can voice any concerns they may have to our to our teams. We are committed to providing the very best possible service for residents.”

The landlord Services Delivery plan is also available online which outlines the significant improvements that the Council aims to make over the next three years.

The new service on the Tamworth Borough Website is available here.