As I draw to the end of my 20 year term of office on Suffolk County Council I thank all those who have voted for, and supported me, over that time. I have enjoyed working with my parish councils in Belstead Brook. They have been a great bunch of people. I have also enjoyed working with campaign groups, including “Bury not Blight”, who want to stop new electricity pylons, and recently “SIT”, who are campaigning against two giant 430 foot wind turbines on land between Belstead, Wherstead and Pinewood. Both groups are trying to stop further unsightly clutter in our beautiful Suffolk countryside.We have been quite clear from the start that we don’t want any more pylons or giant wind turbines. Other parties have been rather shy about making their views known – apart from the Greens, who are backing the wind turbines.

In 1993 we ended 104 years of Conservative rule in Suffolk. For 12 years we prioritised education and social care, and made our streets safer with 30mph village speed limits – the initiative of my Lib Dem colleague, Peter Monk. Education in Suffolk was widely admired. We were in the top 30 councils in England – unlike now, after eight years of Conservative rule, when we are close to the bottom of the league table.

It is with great sadness that I’ve watched the decline and closure of services under the Conservatives. Household waste sites have closed, as have youth clubs. Bus services have been cut, with no services on Sundays and Bank Holidays and very few evening services. Conservative Guy McGregor closed the Bury Road Park and Ride service two years ago and passenger numbers on the two remaining Park and Ride services have plummeted from just over one million to half that. The introduction of a charge for over 60s and disabled pass holders and the increased fares for families has clearly discouraged many people from using the service – coupled with the Countywide ban on using bus passes before 9.30am – even for hospital appointments. So much for the Greenest County!

Although we still have all our libraries, they are no longer run by the County Council. Suffolk Libraries have been outsourced and their future funding is uncertain. They’ve been told that they must raise £100,000 from local communities this year. So, whilst council tax is frozen, the public will still have to stump up if we want to retain our much cherished library service.

I attach a copy of the Conservatives’ end of term report (School Report web) which gives a much fuller picture of their record in office. I and my Lib Dem colleagues have worked extremely hard over the last eight years to hold them to account. We joined the public in the campaign to keep all our libraries open, fought against the closure of Middle Schools, household waste sites, youth clubs, the Bury Road Park and Ride service and the eXplore student discount card (which we introduced in 2005 and they axed in the middle of the 2011 academic year). They have failed to keep contract costs under control, having abolished the committee where councillors monitored such contracts.

We have exposed some of the excesses of their spending – £500,000 in one year alone on gagging orders for departing staff; £20m – a £6m overspend – on new offices at Landmark House next to the A14 in the North West of Ipswich. On the other side of the road lies the derelict Bury Road Park and Ride terminus. Ironically the spend on Landmark House would have kept that Park and Ride service running for nearly 40 years! Heaven only knows that Ipswich Town centre needs all the support it can get right now. The continuing road works are a further discouragement to shoppers.

We also exposed a rise of £10m in salaries paid to top earners at Suffolk County Council in just 5 years – including the £218,000 a year paid to the former Chief Executive, Andrea Hill. The list goes on. And whilst they have been cutting services, they have amassed reserves of £152m. Whose money is this? Shouldn’t it be spent on services?

It is easy when in power to forget that the principle role of councillors  is to provide the best possible services within the resources available. There is no room for arrogance and egotism, which can easily blind those in power to the needs of the people they are there to serve. I won’t miss the Conservative front bench, who regularly treat opposition councillors – and the public – with contempt. “How do you put up with that behaviour?” people ask. Well there’s only so long that you can tolerate being treated in that way. In my case my health – and my family – have dictated that I stand down.

The public will decide tomorrow who runs Suffolk County Council for the next four years. The last eight years of Conservative rule in the County have been disastrous. Democracy is officially dead. Eight Conservative councillors make all the decisions and the backbenchers are just voting fodder.

Suffolk deserves better.

For a list of Lib Dem candidates go to our website

Published and promoted by D. Busby, on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, all at 16 Two Acres, Capel St. Mary, Ipswich IP9 2XP

When Conservatives at Suffolk County Council started on the process of abolishing Middle Schools 7 years ago, we warned that there would be major problems ahead. We knew that at some point the then Labour government would run out of money for new school buildings and that the council would be left to foot the bill.

We were also extremely suspicious that the figures they produced, comparing results from 3 tier with 2 tier schooling, did not take deprivation into account. We were concerned that the focus on re-organisation would take resources away from 2 tier areas. The position of Suffolk in the national GCSE league table tells its own story:

Primary school SATS show a similar picture. When we jointly ran the council the education of our children and young people was our top priority. We always made sure that any shortfall in government funding for education was made up from local resources. The Conservatives clearly did not feel the need to prioritise education in the same way. The budget for school improvement has almost halved. Our amendment to the Conservative budget this year and last included additional resources for school improvement. The amendment was rejected.

The latest phase of reorganisation will result in more split site schools. More than 1500 pupils are now being taught in temporary classrooms. The Conservatives have let down children and young people in Suffolk in a major way. It will damage both their future employment and health prospects. I wonder how they sleep at night?

Yesterday evening Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg wrote:

Having been in face to face negotiations till nearly midnight last night – followed by calls, texts and emails for many hours afterwards – I am delighted to have stood up this afternoon in the House of Commons to welcome the cross-party agreement on implementing the Leveson Report. It wasn’t easy but after a lot of hard work – led on our side by the tireless Jim Wallace, we have got there.

The Leveson Inquiry was established after public revulsion at the phone hacking scandal. So, when Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendations to reform the regulation of the press, the Liberal Democrats took a stand for the victims of press abuse, and supported them.

In fact, I took the unprecedented step of making a separate statement in the House of Commons, on an issue where we disagreed with the Prime Minister. Having been honest with the public about our differences, it was then our duty to sit down with all parties and come to an agreement.

As I mentioned in my latest “Letter from the Leader”, we set out three tests for press regulation in the future:

1. Delivering Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations

2. Commanding the widest possible cross-party support, as Lord Justice Leveson also wanted

3. Striking the right balance between protecting and cherishing the great tradition of a free press in this country, and protecting innocent people from unwarranted intimidation and bullying by powerful interests in our media

What has been agreed today meets those tests.

We will achieve Leveson through the Royal Charter published by the Liberal Democrats and Labour last week. Our Royal Charter ensures that editors cannot sign off their own code of conduct; cannot veto appointments to the watchdog; can accept complaints from third party groups, and must apologise properly when they make mistakes.

And, crucially, all parties have now agreed that there should be a minimal clause in law that will prevent future governments chopping and changing the new system on a whim. This was important to me as, without it, the door would be open to political meddling by future governments. We cannot take this risk.

With these protections we have got the best possible outcome today: a fair, independent press watchdog to serve the British people while protecting our free press – a thoroughly liberal solution.

From Babergh District Councillors Sue Carpendale and Kathy Pollard

Council Tax

Council met on 26 February 2013 to set this year’s budget and council tax. As predicted, there is no increase for Babergh. Overall, the total Council Tax amounts for parishes in the Mid Samford Ward will be: Capel St Mary £1508.54; Great Wenham and Little Wenham £1437.16; Holton St Mary £1485.24; Stratford St Mary £1484.24.

Housing Revenue account, rents and charges

Housing rents are increased by 5.17% – the average will be £90.12 per week; sheltered communal service charges are increased by 5%; sheltered utilities charges are decreased by 2.88%.

Council will be creating a new “build/acquisitions pot” from existing capital programme levels and anticipated right to buy receipts..The housing register currently has 1725 applicants; each year there are some 250 vacancies. There is a requirement for additional affordable homes in the District to meet this need. The financial climate is creating a new group of people who are finding it increasingly difficult to secure housing, leading to an increase in the number of privately rented homes.

Gypsy and Traveller Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk

Babergh approved this strategy for the years up to 2014 at the February Council. Predominantly it sets out a framework for support combining improved relationships, and understanding, along with more tangible proposals about encampments, welfare, discrimination, education and health inequalities. The action plan includes specific undertakings to address the needs for residential accommodation and locations for transit provision across both counties

Village of the Year 2013

The 2013 village of the year event was launched last month – there are seven villages that qualify to enter this year from Babergh (electoral roll of between 1251 and 2250): Acton, Brantham, East Bergholt, Great Waldingfield, Holbrook, Lavenham and Shotley.  All the relevant parish clerks have received email copies of the brochure and application form and entries close on 20^th May.  

Vision and priorities for Babergh

In March Strategy will be hoping to propose the following.

• To create an environment where individuals, families, communities and businesses can thrive and flourish. 
• Shape, influence and provide the leadership to enable growth whilst protecting and enhancing our environment. 
• Shape, influence and provide the leadership to achieve the right mix and supply of housing. 
• Shape, influence and provide the leadership to support and facilitate active, healthy and safe communities.

 Hughes Corner central reservation closure is delayed

Work on the closure of the central reservation gap on the A12 at the Hughes Corner junction (B1068 Stoke by Nayland turning) is now scheduled for early April. Traffic counts have been taken on both the A12 and local roads prior to the changes in order to monitor traffic patterns before and after.

As we mentioned last time there are particular concerns around the inappropriate use of School Lane in Stratford St. Mary. All advance signing to Higham will be removed and the road will be labelled as “Single track with passing places”.

 What happens to your recycling?

The Suffolk Waste Partnership has produced a very interesting document, which highlights what happens to the waste that we recycle here in Suffolk. This includes information about how many tonnes of waste are recycled in each category, where the waste ends up, and the fact that as a County we recycle 53.2% of our waste. Here is the link to the document.

 Inquiry into development plans begins

The Inquiry into Babergh’s “Local Development Framework” began on Tuesday 5^th March. This will become the basis for housing and business/industrial development over the next 20 years. It is taking place in the council chamber at the Hadleigh offices and is expected to run for two weeks.

Demand responsive transport

We thought it would be helpful to publicise the two demand responsive transport services which cover this area. Both services will provide connections with other bus services. More details on the website

Suffolk Links Buzabout:

This service operates from 0700 to 1900 Monday to Saturday (except Public Holidays). The bus will take you to the railway stations at Ipswich or Manningtree, the London Road Park & Ride site at Copdock or any of the villages within the area shown on the map in leaflets and on the website. Connections can be made for onwards travel to places further afield such as Ipswich town centre, Lowestoft or Norwich.

• You can call 0845 458 1920 up to a week before you wish to travel and book your journey. 
• The booking service is open from 0900 to 1600, Monday to Friday (except Public Holidays).

 Suffolk Links Brett:

This service operates from 0700 to 1900, Mondays to Saturdays. The bus will take you to Hadleigh or any of the villages within the area shown on the map on the website and in leaflets. Connections can be made for onwards travel to places further afield such as Ipswich, Sudbury or Colchester.

• Call 01473 828202 up to a week before you wish to travel and book your journey.
• The booking service is open from 0900 to 1200, Monday to Friday.

 The area served covers Bildeston, Hadleigh, Capel St Mary, Stratford St Mary, Stoke-by-Nayland and Brent Eleigh, Holton St. Mary and villages in between.

Out of Hours Provider is changing – Stafford and rural homes (SARH)

As from the 1st April 2013, the provider of Out Of Hours (OOH) services for both Babergh and Mid Suffolk is changing. A full and robust joint procurement exercise was undertaken by the commissioning team and a range of officers. The successful providers are SARH who already provide similar services for a range of organisations, including local authorities and housing associations. The five-year contract, will be delivered by SARH’s ‘You First’ service which provides independent living accommodation, extra care housing, Telecare and Lifeline services and a 24 hour customer call centre. The new contact number for Babergh will be 01473 826622. For more information click here

 The Full Council budget meeting took place on the 14^th of February..

 As I have mentioned in the past, the administration submitted their budget aiming to cut £24.9m for this financial year.  This included £7m from Adult and Community Services, and £2.5m from remodelling Children’s services.  The council’s reserves currently stand at £152m, which is just under one third of its total budget .

 The Liberal Democrat Group submitted an amendment to the budget aiming to improve services in a number of different areas. This would have been funded from the contingency reserve.

• £650,000 to School Improvement Services – to employ additional advisors that go into schools to provide guidance to help schools improve their level of attainment, which drastically needs improving in Suffolk.
• £475,000 for providing an additional 1900 days of supply work providing it is matched by school funds. This would allow time for teachers from well performing schools to partner with those who are not doing as well. This approach has been very successful in Hackney.
• £300,000 to help Suffolk County Council commit to a pilot scheme that would increase the number of foster carers for the most vulnerable children in Suffolk.
• £300,000 to respond to local community requests for 20mph zones in Suffolk towns and villages.

This additional funding we believe would have helped to improve attainment in Suffolk, care for those vulnerable children and to improve the response to new speed limits, following the disbanding of the speed management team at the County Council.

 The school improvement budget has been cut substantially over the last few years and this has coincided with a dramatic fall in the performance of Suffolk schools, so we were very disappointed that our amendment was defeated..

 The February Cabinet, which took place on the 26^th, contained a number of significant issues for residents across the County.   The main issues that were discussed and agreed are below;

• As mentioned below, the Cabinet agreed to abolish middle schools in the Stowmarket and Stowupland areas.
• Review of the outcomes of school attainment in Suffolk
• East Anglia ONE Offshore windfarm – a response to the consultation of this application which will see a significant section of the power cables from the offshore windfarm buried underground. This includes the section from Felixstowe to Bramford.
• Ipswich Northern Fringe Supplementary Planning Document – this is a response to Ipswich Borough Council’s report on the potential housing development to the north of Ipswich.
• Procurement of Highways Services – the Cabinet agreed to allow officers to negotiate extensions to the current highways contract, (until the 30^th September), and proceed with awarding a new highways contract to the joint venture between May Gurney & WSP UK Ltd which will commence on the 1^st of October.
• Suffolk Customer Services Model:  Post 2014 – agree to bring the Council’s customer service function back into the Council (from CSD) as of May 2014.  This includes public access and Customer First functions.
• Suffolk Growth Strategy – the Cabinet was asked to endorse the Suffolk Growth Strategy, which is a joint economic growth strategy developed by the county, district and borough councils in Suffolk.

 For all the items and more information on each of these papers, please click here

You will be aware that the County Council’s Cabinet made the decision on Tuesday the 26^th of February to abolish the middle schools in Stowmarket and Stowupland.

 However, the Liberal Democrats attempted to get the decision discussed again by the Scrutiny Committee under the call in procedure. We felt the justification for making this decision was flawed.  Of particular issue was the lack of funding to provide top class schools in this area, as the plans will see a split site school created in Stowmarket.   We also highlighted the contrasting statistics provided by the Council and the campaign group, as well as issues over safety.

 The call in was rejected on the grounds that the Cabinet had all the required information to hand, which means the decision has now been approved.   The Lib Dem group are disappointed that there will be no further opportunity to re-examine the decision as many parents and pupils feel very passionately about Middle School closures.

 The Suffolk Waste Partnership has produced a very interesting document, which highlights what happens to the waste that we recycle here in Suffolk.   This PDF includes information about how many tonnes of waste are recycled in each category, where the waste ends up, and the fact that as a County we recycle 53.2% of our waste.

Click here for more information

 School Meals in Suffolk

 The catering provider to schools in Suffolk, EATS, has provided assurance that the meat provided in the schools it supplies does not contain any horsemeat.

 The vast majority of meals provided for children in Suffolk schools, are created in house, and beef used by EATS is of assured food standard (Red Tractor accredited).   The red tractor logo is a guarantee of both quality and origin.

 The council’s Scrutiny committee on March 11^th will be focusing on two items this month – the Raising the Bar initiative on improving school results and the progress of the divestment of youth services and subsequent closure of open access youth clubs, which took place as part of the 2011 budget cuts.

The Scrutiny Papers can be found here

The Daily Telegraph has reported on a landmark legal case brought by East Northants District Council. Plans for four 300ft wind turbines on the Duke of Gloucester’s Barnham estate, were passed by an inspector in April last year. This decision is now being contested by the council in court.

The plans were put forward by West Coast Energy. The report from the Planning Inspectorate states:

The inspectorate had concluded the presence of the turbines “would not erode a reasonable observer’s understanding or appreciation of the significance of the designated heritage assets – and they would therefore have no harmful impact on their settings”.

What concerns me most is that current planning law affords little or no protection from either wind turbines or new rows of electricity pylons. The major debating point in this court case will be whether the requirement to produce renewable energy is allowed to outweigh our natural and built environment.

So here’s the question – why is it that giant wind turbines (or pylons) can be erected in the middle of the countryside when the same planning inspectorate would not allow a 30 storey office or apartment block in the same location? 

The two 430 ft high turbines planned by Partnership for Renewables will dwarf the Orwell Bridge. The company has refused to put up a blimp which would allow local people to assess the impact of the proposals. The photomontages provided at their recent exhibitions were completely inadequate. Photographs were carefully massaged so that large trees close to the camera conveniently hid the scale of the turbines. And there was no photomontage with a high viewpoint, looking down from Pinewood or Belstead Hills.

I have previously stated that I am not against wind turbines per se – but they have to be in the right place. In my opinion on fields between Ipswich and Belstead/Wherstead is not the right place. They are far too close to housing. Also there are other means of generating electricity from renewables. Let’s investigate those. Otherwise we will see a further industrialisation of the countryside in Suffolk - in addition to the new row of pylons planned by National Grid.

The contribution of these two wind turbines is miniscule in comparison with the output from the offshore Greater Gabbard windfarm. Each of the turbines will produce 2.5MW of electricity. Greater Gabbard turbines produce a total of 504MW. Are they worth the expense and anguish? PfR’s November newsletter gives details of proposed locations.

With Labour’s announcement of proposals for a mansion tax, the two Eds – Miliband and Balls – seem to have got their inspiration from the Lib Dems. However, as Danny Alexander pointed out in a recent Guardian article:

We should remember what the Labour leader and Ed Balls actually did with the tax system when they controlled it. There was no fairness, just a complex series of loopholes for the rich to avoid tax, and a complex tax credit system that too often trapped the poor in debt.

 The 10p income tax rate – which was abolished by Gordon Brown – was not as fair as the Lib Dem proposals which have now been put into action. As Danny Alexander says:

We have cut in half the income tax bill for people working full time on the minimum wage. From April this year, more than 20 million people will have had a £600 tax cut, and more than 2 million will have been lifted out of paying income tax altogether.

Something must be done to ensure that those at the top end of the income scale pay their fair share. Another recent article in the Guardian revealed that the top 1% of earners own 10% of the wealth in this country. Vince Cable continues to champion the idea of a mansion tax for properties worth more than £2million. He says it would help to burst the property price bubble in London and the South East.

Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Strategy

This strategy is a ten-year plan to improve the well being and lifestyle of everyone in the county. There are four central priorities for Suffolk:

Priority one: Every child in Suffolk has the best start in life

Priority two: Suffolk residents have access to a healthy environment and take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing

Priority three: Older people in Suffolk have a good quality of life

Priority four: People in Suffolk have the opportunity to improve their mental health and wellbeing

• >65’s will increase by 56% in next 20 years
• Up to 12 years’ difference in life expectancy between some areas (worst: Kirkley in Lowestoft and best: Rougham near Bury St Eds)
• 1 in 6 children living in poverty
• General affluence masks pockets of deprivation
• Only 52% of children start school ready to learn
• Improvement in rates of early death from cancer of 34% despite growth in incidence/diagnosis
• 66,109 “family carers” – 3,414 are aged between five and 24 – their health and wellbeing is essential.
• Overall educational attainment is below national average – but with huge variations in achievement

 “Prevention” is seen as key to success – so the plan is to:

• take action in early years
• improve access to suitable housing
• address fuel poverty
• lessen problems of older age with lifestyle changes and home adaptations

 Sizewell C

The County Council Cabinet has confirmed its response to the Sizewell C proposed Nuclear Power Station.  Whilst this is only stage one, the Cabinet indicated that they supported the nuclear power plant, but made a significant number of comments about the proposals.  This included the lack of information provided by EDF, the locations for workers campuses, and the need for the four village by-pass on the A12.

 For more information and a copy of the reports that are set to be discussed, pleased head to –

http://committeeminutes.suffolkcc.gov.uk/meeting.aspx?d=29/Jan/2013&c=The%20Cabinet

 You will recall that in previous Parish Reports I stated that the County Council had agreed a contract with Balfour Beatty to provide the highways services across Suffolk.  However they have had to go back to the drawing board on this, as the agreement appears to have fallen through. They are re-entering negotiations with all the original bidders – including Balfour Beatty.

They state that their key objective is to achieve a saving of £2m per year on the highways service. These savings are now in doubt and we are unclear about what will happen when the current contracts expire on the 31^st of March.  The Lib Dem group have asked a number of questions on this subject and we are still waiting to hear what exactly the consequences of this will be.

 I attended the exhibition organised by Partnership for Renewables at the end of January, which showed their proposals for the two wind turbines. One is on land owned by Ipswich Borough council and one is on private land owned by the Aldous family. They will be 130m high – which is 3 times as high as the Orwell bridge.

National planning guidance has not kept up with current developments or wind turbine sizes. I have previously written about the proposals on my blog. 

 After the release of the GCSE grades across the Country, Suffolk has now dropped to 141 out of 152 authorities for GCSE results.  The County’s primary school test results have  already placed it 3^rd from the bottom of English authorities. However I am very pleased to see that the three primary schools in my own Division are amongst the best performing in the County and can be very proud of their achievements.

 We have warned for some years that the school re-organisation in Suffolk would be a major distraction. This has involved the closure of middle schools and has resulted in a number of schools working on split sites, with many temporary classrooms. The budget which supports school improvement has been greatly reduced over the last few years. Prior to 2005 ie before the Conservatives took over the running of the council, the County was highly regarded in the academic world and was in the top 3^rd of all English authorities.

The plans for the proposed two wind turbines in the Belstead/Wherstead area were on view today at Belstead Brook Manor Hotel in Ipswich. They will be at Belstead Village Hall tomorrow (Tuesday 29th Jan) from 1pm to 7pm.

I previously posted on this issue back in October. My views have not changed. The proposed turbines are far too close to residential areas. Not only will they be visible from Belstead and Wherstead villages, but they will also be seen from large parts of Ipswich and Pinewood – and even from villages like Copdock and Washbrook.

The turbine towers, at 80 metres high will themselves be higher than the Orwell Bridge. Add to that the rotor blade span of 50 metres to give a total height of 130 metres. The proposals, along with the map can be found on the Partnership for Renewables website

Latest estimates suggest the planning application will be submitted in late Spring/early Summer. Babergh District Council will decide on the application. Whilst national guidance is out of date and fairly weak, councils like Milton Keynes have produced their own planning guidance, which states that turbines over 100 metres in height must be at least 1km from the nearest properties. This is being challenged in court and we await the outcome with more than a little interest! An article here gives more detail.

The Stop Ipswich Turbines website is an excellent source of up to date information.

A recent story in the Daily Telegraph highlights the warning given by US assistant secretary Robert Gordon during his visit to the UK. The article comments on British withdrawal from the EU:

Mr Gordon spelt out the uncomfortable truth that such an option does not exist, that British exit from the European Union would be unacceptable to the US – and that, so far as President Obama is concerned, Britain only matters as part of the EU.

As Peter Oborne so rightly says in the Telegraph:

“Britain is a middle-ranking economy and declining military force which risks irrelevance outside the EU. We are low down the batting order, ranking behind not just China, Brazil, India and Russia but also – most painfully of all – well below Germany in international significance.”

Millions of jobs in the UK depend upon our membership of the EU. Companies like Nissan and Sony are only here because they can more easily access markets in the rest of Europe. If companies believe that Britain is about to exit they will not want to invest in plants in the UK. This would be absolutely disastrous for our economy. David Cameron needs to show some leadership here instead of pandering to the right wing of his party – and UKIP supporters.