Epsom & Ewell Liberal Democrats

Gordon Brown's government announced the smart meter implementation program (SMIP) in 2006 - every home will have one by 2020, the biggest infrastructure change since natural gas in 1974. Eleven years later we have not seen much progress. True about 25% are installed, but these are only compatible with a single energy supplier. When you change, the meter becomes dumb and needs to be replaced. At £250 a pop, and 10% churn, that's a cost of £25 per household per annum, greater than the £18 savings from being "in control". Not very smart according to recent papers by the Institute of Directors (IoD), Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and several BBC broadcasts.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have welcomed the decision by the Conservative Cabinet in Surrey to drop its plans to close four Community Recycling Centres after an outcry from thousands of Surrey residents. However, the County Council confirmed that it will proceed with its plans to reduce the opening hours of all the Centres across the county as well as dropping the daily free waste allowance which residents currently enjoy. The proposals are scheduled to be confirmed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 26th September.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have today welcomed the announcement that the County Council has extended the public consultation on the future of the Surrey Performing Arts Library to four weeks up to 1st October 2017. The Conservative-administration had previously only offered two weeks for library users to respond to the County Council's plans, which include closing the library in order to make savings of £180,000.

Thousands of Surrey residents have responded to the County Council's consultation on whether to close four Community Recycling Centres, as well as slashing opening hours and increasing charges at those Centres which remain. The consultation generated 13,637 responses, one of the biggest ever, and now proceeds to the Conservative Cabinet who will make a decision at a meeting on 26th September.

The Liberal Democrats have launched a petition to save the Surrey Performing Arts Library which is under threat of closure by Surrey County Council. Surrey residents have reacted with dismay on hearing of the threatened closure and that the County Council's consultation exercise will give residents just two weeks to respond.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed their concern after an independent body, Healthwatch Surrey, criticised the county council for a lack of engagement and consultation after changes to the provision of sexual health services.

Healthwatch Surrey has written to the county council outlining their criticisms in relation to HIV services. The letter states that:

Ofsted has today published a letter summarising the findings of the recent monitoring visit to Surrey Children's services. This is the 8th monitoring visit since the County Council was inspected in 2014 and found to be inadequate in the Ofsted report published in 2015. In the latest monitoring visit, Ofsted inspectors noted recent improvements. However some changes have taken too long to achieve and children continue to receive an inconsistent response to their needs and for some, potential risks are not explored quickly enough.

Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have criticised the ruling Conservative administration for recruiting a £55,000 "Head of Strategy" post when at the same time planning staff redundancies and cutting services by millions of pounds.

The advert, which has been posted extensively online and in the national press, seeks to recruit a "highly politically astute" individual who will be a "skilful networker" and "support the leadership" of the County Council. The salary offered is between £55484 to £66644 for a working week of 36 hours, with a laptop and mobile supplied.

Over two thousand residents have signed a Liberal Democrat petition against Surrey County Council's proposals to close four popular and well-used Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) in Bagshot, Cranleigh, Dorking and Warlingham. The County Council is also planning to reduce the opening hours of all the remaining CRCs, as well as scrapping the daily free waste allowance in order to save £2m from its budget.

Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed their concern after it was revealed that 6 care homes in Surrey are rated as "Unsafe" by the Care Quality Commission and have contracts with Surrey County Council. The information was revealed following a question tabled by Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, to the Conservative Cabinet this week.