Colin Taylor - Liberal Democrat Councillor

This week we debated Surrey County Council’s 2007 Community Survey, which reveals that:

• Only 3 in 10 respondents believe that they can influence decisions affecting their local area.
• People who feel able to influence decisions are more likely to be satisfied with the way SCC runs things.
• A quarter would like to be more involved in decisions and another quarter said it depended on the issue.
• Less than 1 in 6 had heard of SCC’s Local Committees.

I pointed out that if we are to do anything effective about publicising Local Committees before next June, we need to take action now.

The Tories on the Executive had agreed to provide residents with information on how they can have a say in the local decision making process. Yet they failed to mention Local Committees, despite the Survey revealing that less than one person in six had heard of them.

I proposed that instead the council should promote the work of Local Committees more effectively.

At one time there were Press Officers promoting Local Committees. Now some Local Committees have had to divert money from their allocations just to advertise the dates and venues for their meetings and take “pot luck” on subsequent press coverage.

Yet Local Committees are the best things this Council does to engage and involve local people. SCC ought to build on success, not strangle it by cutting the numbers of meetings.

I added that the PR department should be publicising the outcomes of the meetings, as well as the dates and venues. Of course the Tories voted through an amendment emasculating the whole motion, though it did take a step forward by mentioning Local Committees in passing.

Ironically, on the very same day, the county’s PR department did issue an excellent Press Release about the Runnymede Local Committee – one with no Lib Dem members.