Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat County Council Budget Initiatives 2010

Read Paul Morse's Budget Speech

A tuition scholarship and an interest free loan for a first home deposit for Norfolk were the highlights of the Liberal Democrat County Council Budget in 2010. The budget put forth proposals that would see Norfolk residents able to access an interest free loan of up to £7,500 from the County Council to put towards a deposit on a first home. Lib Dem Leader, Paul Morse, said the proposal was innovative step to help Norfolk residents, "First time homes are the lifeblood of the local economy, if we can get this market moving again, we can speed up Norfolk's exit from the recession. It also gives young people and families a chance to get out of the rental trap many are in. The deposit needed to secure a mortgage at present is proving to be a major barrier for many families in getting on the property ladder. Our scheme would see the council use money that is sitting in banks collecting minimal interest be put to much better use as investment in Norfolk residents and the local housing market."

The budget also saw the Liberal Democrats pay the three year tuition fees of 50 young people from lower income families to attend Higher Education. Norfolk is currently 15% below the national average when it comes to higher education participation. Liberal Democrat Children's Services spokesperson, Mervyn Scutter said the policy will inspire Norfolk's youth: "It's about narrowing the gap between aspiration and achievement in Norfolk. For many young people in Norfolk the cost of attending university prevents them from even thinking about going, we are trying to make sure this is not the case. Our scholarship scheme would pay the tuition costs for a three year degree for 50 young people and we would continue to repeat this each year. Norfolk has many young people who aspire and are motivated to attend Higher Education, we want the Council to play a role in making sure they can achieve their potential."

The full Lib Dem spending plans saw the Council Tax increase set at 1.86%, which is 0.04% lower than that set by the Conservative administration. Other highlights saw the purchase of a brand new multifunctional flood siren system, a £600K investment in county farms, a £500K investment in projects for vulnerable people, a travelcard offering half price travel for those aged 5-18, the preservation of a £250k subsidy for the Holt and Wells Field Study Centres and a further investment of £100k in the Holt Field Study Centre to make it suitable to accommodate Looked After Children.

Please find below details of all the Lib Dem budget proposals for 2010/11

Children's Services

Holt and Wells Field Centre Study

To put back in subsidy to Holt and Wells Field Study Centres for £200k. The subsidy in 2009 /10 was £250k so our proposal represents a £50k drop in their subsidy as opposed to the Conservatives who have removed this completely. Our subsidy would drop off by £50k a year to give the centres time to adapt within the marketplace and to encourage them to find alternative funding streams.

Rationale 1. They provide educational opportunities for children and young people who are not always exposed to a quality education. 2. They are too important to just cut their whole subsidy. We need to ensure that they are given both the time and opportunity to ensure their survival and growth. We will continuously reassess their direction and growth. 3. Testaments of councillors of all parties within the Children's Services OSP extolling the virtue of these projects.

Higher Education Scholarship Scheme

This policy will pay the tuition fees of 50 students from lower income families in Norfolk to allow them to attend the higher education institution of their choice. It is a recurring cost as we will fund 50 students a year based on them undertaking a 3 year degree. The revenue cost attributed to our budget for 2010 /11 is £161k which is based on tuition at £3220 per annum.

Rationale

1. The national rate of 18/19 years olds going on to Higher Education is 43%, in Norfolk it is only 28%. We want to tackle this head on by making cost and one's background less of a barrier to attending Higher Education.

2. A higher education is no longer a bonus but a pre-requisite in today's job market. We do not want to see Norfolk falling below the rest of the country.

3. 12.7% of the current working population in Norfolk currently have no qualifications. We have to do our bit to make sure we do not remain an area of high deprivation and low aspiration.

4. To improve the numbers of first generation Higher Education students in Norfolk.

Young Person's Travelcard

This is a Travel Card for 5 - 18 year olds, which would have an issue charge of £10 and give them a 50% reduction in bus fares. The budgeted cost would be £445K, which represents funding it at the midpoint for 7/12 of the financial year.

Rationale

1. Gets young people used to using public transport and to see the benefits it can have - cheaper, greener etc. Young people, particularly those in rural areas, tended to see cars as essential in accessing higher education, employment and leisure opportunities (Cartmel and Furlong, 2000)

2. Increased economic and social benefits - part time workers, apprenticeships, work experience etc. Lack of personal transport, coupled with low income, when combined for young people in rural areas, restricts access to shops and opportunities for social and cultural participation.

Holt Field Study Centre Investment

A 100k capital investment to refurbish the cottages at the Holt Field Centre so that they can be used for short term housing of Looked After Children.

Rationale

1. Increase the capacity of the Council's in-county provision for Looked After Children.

2. It currently is substantially more expensive to have LAC's placed externally:

In-house residential home costs per child per annum = £142,896

Agency residential home costs per child per annum = £175,240

Economic Development

Mortgage Deposit Support

The policy would provide first time buyers in Norfolk with an interest free loan of up to £7,500 to put towards a deposit on their first home. The money would have to be matched by the buyer's own deposit funds before they could access the loan. The aim of the policy would be to bridge the gap between one's savings and the amount needed to secure a mortgage in the current climate. It would act as an accelerant to the point at which reliable Norfolk workers, families etc can afford to purchase their first home thus getting these people out of the rental trap whilst simultaneously stimulating the crucial first home sales market in Norfolk. The money would be funded to £1m out of reserves with the premise being that the money is better being lent to the residents of Norfolk when they need it most rather than sat in a bank gaining minimal interest.

Rationale

1. Many families and young people now live in rental accommodation because they cannot raise enough money for a deposit on a home to secure a mortgage. Since the recession most banks are now requiring that a buyer have over 15% of the home's value before they will consider offering a mortgage. However for the average individual who can afford a mortgage often the deposit represents a significant barrier. As a result, house sales in Norfolk have dropped and families and individuals are unable to gain a step on the housing ladder. This has had a negative financial impact upon Norfolk's economy, growth and residents. Our policy would counter this.

2. It is a pro-active recession busting policy that will inject money into the Norfolk economy. The money multiplier effect will take over and the investment will do much more for Norfolk than it currently does residing in a bank.

3. The investment is financially sound. At present the money is retained in a bank gaining minimal interest, our loans would be secured as equity in the lender's house and would be recouped upon the sale. The housing market in Norfolk is beginning to bottom out and is predicted to rise over the coming years thus giving us a healthy return on the investment.

4. The £1m fund would be taken from the Repairs and Renewals Reserve leaving a balance of £3m and not impacting on the current level of General Balances.

5. Nationally there were an estimated 300,000 buyers first time buyers in 2007, the lowest annual total since 1980, and things have only got worse since then. The number of people living in temporary accommodation in March 2008 was 78,000 almost double the number of 1997.

Adult Social Services

Adult Social Services Prevention Activities & Bathing Services Subsidy

We will reintroduce the bathing services subsidy at a cost of £54K. We will also put money back in for preventative initiatives within Adult Social Services. This would be broken down by £50k for our project "Care with the Community" and £150k to be put back in the budget for Third Sector projects.

Rationale

A) "Care with the Community" Project

1. This is a project aimed at delivering care with the community not care in the community. We would look at utilizing community facilities, volunteers and NCC funding to create low level preventative community led social care projects.

2. Build and enhance community capacity fro care and you will get enduring ownership of the project by the community

B) Emphasis on Preventative

1. Prevention is better than the cure. The National Evaluation of Partnerships for Older People Project Executive Summary (POPS) states that prevention services are cost effective for every £1 spent on prevention there is an additional saving of over a £1.

2. Improved partnership working with all sectors, private, public and voluntary

3. Early intervention at a low level prevents a patient from slipping into needing high level expensive specialized care.

Vulnerable Projects

This is the provision of £500k to be put towards projects which will cope with the growing pressures surrounding vulnerable young people and adults.

Rationale

1. By not committing the money to a dedicated project we are flexible to use it as a capital injection for projects where the need is greatest.

Planning & Transport

Locality Budgets

This policy would see each councillor given £10,000 to spend on projects in their local community.

Rationale

1. Devolvement of power to a local level.

2. A chance for councillors to be more active in their local communities, opens up channels of communication between councillors and local initiatives. Councillors are best placed to determine the priorities for their area.

3. Chance for Councillors to push green initiatives locally with NCC money. They can even use the money to bid for match funding etc

4. Lots of other County Councils have them, including our neighbours Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and they work well there.

Fire & Community Protection

Flood Sirens

We would take £800k out of General Balances to fund the outright purchase of a new multifunctional flood siren system to protect Norfolk's coastline.

Rationale

1. To protect Norfolk's coastal residents from flooding.

2. There is little confidence in the Environment Agency's Flood Warning Direct system (FWD) amongst coastal residents given that it relies on new forms of communication (text message, internet) to indicate a flood warning. Issues of a high rate of elderly people, poor mobile phone reception and tourists means that FWD is not appropriate for all residents.

3. These are not just flood sirens; they can record up to 16 messages and be used for a variety of emergency situations.

Corporate Affairs

Modernizing the Council

A capital injection of £30k to facilitate the webcasting of council meetings.

Rationale

1. To improve the public's accessibility to the Council.

2. To improve the interactive potential of the Council.

3. This is already being done at many other councils

4. We could save money on paying for councillors to attend meetings in a watching brief such as Cabinet.

County Farms

We will be selling 200 acres of the county farms estate to raise £1.2m which we will be using to fund all of our capital expenditure barring the flood sirens. We will be reinvesting £600K of this sale back into the estate to improve the facilities of the farms that council currently rents out. There would be no displacement of tenants as the land being sold is made up of small pockets of land that currently aren't being fully utilized. .

Rationale

1. The land being sold is only a very small portion of the estate and the impact will be minimal.

2. 50% of the money raised from the sale will be reinvested back into the estate to improve the farms and to provide better educational learning opportunities.

3. It represents prudent, targeted commercial rationalization while subsequently modernizing the estate

Savings

Reducing Publishing Costs

This policy would see a 10% reduction in publication costs across all departments.

Rationale

There are a lot of internal publications which do not need to be produced or can be produced and circulated electronically thus cutting costs.

Reduction in Communications Budget

We would remove two issues of the magazine "Your Norfolk" and one member of staff. This would give us a saving of 167k

Rationale

We are spending too much on communications and as a council the expenditure is not matched by the return we receive. It is very possible to provide the same service at a lower cost.

Chair's Budget

We would take 25K off the Chairman's budget which currently stands at 75K

Rationale

The Chair is primarily a ceremonial role and given the nature of the current climate at county hall everyone must cut their cloth accordingly.