We had a manifesto in 1999; the Tories had no plans except to cut budget.
We had councillors with true community experience, not just political
appointments, we work with groups and organisations at grass roots level.
But the Tories:
Set up the Community Partnership behind closed doors; even some
of their councillors did not know about it.
Allowed staff to run the Council unchecked, recently delegating more
grant allocations to staff
Claimed a “balanced budget” when, to “balance” it, they are taking
£200,000 out of the Community Initiatives fund but putting only
£69,000 back
Obtained more external funding for projects
Had a team approach with staff, not against them
Shared responsibility more effectively
Built on the Area Community Committees to include other agencies actively,
instead of cancelling meetings.
Been more imaginative and leading edge with e-government actions, Tories have
fallen behind most other councils.
Provided quality services at reasonable cost
Made better use of topic panels to formulate policy--many papers still go
straight to Cabinet, restricting input from backbenchers
Managed green waste collection more efficiently
Built housing for short lets so that we avoided use of B&B in Gosport with the
resulting overspent budgets
4.1 What did we manage to influence?
The new council structure that we now have was based firmly on our
ideas for Area Committees, Panels and so on. We have since suggested
improvements.
New structure of cabinet and scrutiny, we held sessions with John Miller
and led from the front, Tories did not know what they wanted, lacked
ideas and proposals.
Community Development Review--new structure and roles for community
staff after consultation with the voluntary sector.
South Downs National Park response to Countryside Agency consultation,
this will affect our district for many decades to come.