the leader's blog

You won’t have escaped the two main issues that have dominated the news in the last 12 months. These of course have been the financial climate and MPs who have abused expenses.

Some people may not be aware but County councillors like myself have never had expenses or allowances remotely comparable to those of MPs. However, I feel as elected representative, we have a duty to show our claims are above reproach. It is also very important that we set an example in times of financial hardship.

That is why I have recommended that county councillors accept a freeze in their allowances for the second year running.

Each year the council is to consider a report from the Independent Remuneration Panel which makes recommendations on the level of allowances for county councillors for the forthcoming year. Although the report has yet to be published, councillors are taking the initiative and refraining from taking any increases in allowances. Im pleased to say that Cabinet had no qualms about agreeing to the freeze today.

It is especially important this year as our hard-working employees are not being offered a pay rise, and we need to do the right thing by them and our residents.

February marks Scams Awareness Month. Our Trading Standards’ Officers are working hard to create awareness about scams and provide advice on how to avoid being duped.

I can speak from personal experience and say that it is so important to be aware about the latest scams that are doing the rounds. Only the other week I was sent a piece of scam mail to my business asking for around £900.

Get a list of the latest scams that are in circulation at the moment here.

To find out more Consumer Direct can be contacted by telephoning 08454 04 05 06 or visiting www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty

I think it is really important we teach our young people about how vital decisions are made for the county and how important it is to vote.

Last week pupils from a Lichfield primary school visited our County Buildings in Stafford where they were given the task of deciding how to spend thousands of pounds of public money.

Twenty five children decided in groups how they would spend a budget of £100,000 of taxpayers’ money across all public services. Each group then had to explain their decision to classmates. And they had the added pressure of being under the spotlight of a film crew for the county council’s SCCTV section of its website. See how they got on by watching the film below.

The Shop Uttoxeter campaign, which encourages residents to support their local traders, has been in full swing and packed with events since September.

This week is no different with local resident Barbara Hutchinson winning £50 in the latest campaign competition.

Barbara’s name was picked at random from the hundreds of people who have signed up to support their local traders.

As Leader of the county council and county councillor for Uttoxeter rural I think it is so important that we support our local traders and producers, especially in the current economic climate.

There will be more prize draws taking place over the coming months. To be in with a chance of winning, you simply need to collect six stickers when buying goods from traders who are taking part in the scheme.

Anyone who wants to sign up as a Uttoxeter Loyalist should email in shoputtoxter@staffordshire.gov.ukor ring 0800 232323 and leave their name and address.

Part of our manifesto pledge in June was to improve services in key areas while keeping tax as low as possible for the residents of Staffordshire. For this reason my Cabinet colleagues and I proposed a 1.9 per cent increase for this year’s council tax.

This is a below inflation increase and is the lowest increase for Staffordshire residents since council tax was introduced in 1993.

Im pleased to announce that his recommendation was supported today in Cabinet. Take a look at our latest news report.

Full Council will be asked to approve a final budget on Thursday February 11. Why not tune in to the webcast to see if our recommendation is rubber stamped in Full Council.

Just a short post to remind everyone that our Cabinet meeting will be webcast live tomorrow. You can tune in at 10am to get the final decision on our Council Tax proposals. All you need to do is go to www.staffordshire.gov.uk , and click on the “SCC TV” icon on the homepage.

For many years Staffordshire has worked in close partnership with the city of Bremen in Germany.

In March 1962, the County Council made a gift of some land to the German government which was turned into a German Military Cemetery. The cemetery which is on Cannock Chase is a memorial to some 5000 German war dead.

Each year since the memorial was established, parties of young Germans, mostly 16-19 years olds, have come to Staffordshire to work on the grave plots under the guidance of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission caretaker.

The relationship between Bremen and Staffordshire County Council has grown over the years and when the groups of young people visit they are invited to join local youth groups, sports clubs and schools to share ideas and promote youth democracy. Staffordshire young people will also join some of the groups at German military cemeteries on the continent.

This year it was Staffordshire’s turn to visit Bremen and I was lucky enough to join the young people on their trip over the last 3 days.

Throughout our stay we were treated to a wealth of trips including a meeting with the Bremen Parliament, visits to thriving businesses, a tour of their local museums and the great spectacle of the Bremen Music Show. But we also discussed how our partnership can progress to benefit our young people in the future.

My trip really highlighted the importance of building strong relationships and learning from other successful areas in Europe.

The official fund raising campaign to keep the Staffordshire Hoard in its rightful region has kicked off. Please help us keep the fantastic Anglo-Saxon treasure in the West Midlands.

Staffordshire, like the rest of the country, is facing a challenging time ahead as we battle our way out of recession.
I understand that families, couples and individuals are tightening their belts and that every penny counts.

The Conservatives’ manifesto pledge at the elections in June reflected these troubled times. We vowed to improve services in key areas while keeping council tax as low as possible, which is why we are making the recommendation to bring in the lowest rise since council tax was introduced in 1993.

We are putting forward an increase of 1.9 per cent, giving tax payers in the county the second lowest council tax rate of all county councils. In real terms, this means that a family living in a Band D property will pay 37p a week more for their services.

We reached this figure after consulting with a wide range of people on what our budget priorities should be and believe that this figure strikes just 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.

Cabinet will consider the recommendation on Wednesday February 3. Full Council will be asked to approve a final budget on Thursday February 11.

My eyes were well and truly opened to the harsh reality of drug and alcohol addiction when I took part in a lively debate on how best to support people on their long journey towards recovery.

The Burton Addiction Centre (BAC) threw open its doors to a whole host of people from different backgrounds and with a range of life experiences – but all with valid opinions and ideas on how to tackle this issue.

The Rt Hon Ian Duncan Smith, MP, who is the Chairman of Breakthrough Britain, was among the guests as was Mike Trace, CEO off RAPt which is one of the biggest providers of drug treatment services within the UK prison system.

Former news reader Ed Mitchell, whose battle with alcohol addiction has been well documented on prime time TV and is his book From Headlines to Hard Times, was also on hand to give a brave and honest account of the trials and tribulations that people with addiction problems face on a daily basis.

Noreen Oliver, MBE, founder and CEO of BAC, spoke passionately about the services that Staffordshire is offering today and her hopes for tomorrow.

The centre itself was also an inspiration, both to myself and the other guests. It focuses on providing a safe, structured and supportive environment which encourages people to work towards a more satisfying and healthy lifestyle away from alcohol and drugs.

The debate made me realise that some really positive steps are already being taken in the fight against substance misuse but as a county, and as a country, there is still work to do.