The new Leader of Surrey County Council, Andrew Povey, has set a goal to reduce anti-social driving on Surrey's roads with the announcement of a £1 million programme with Surrey Police to cut speeding and anti-social driving.
Speaking after the County Council’s Annual General Meeting formally elected him as Leader this morning, Dr Povey said: “My leadership will bring a fresh approach to how the council is run. Everything we do will focus on what is important to residents. They told us that speeding and aggressive driving is their biggest concern across the county and we will take action."
He also pledged to increase recycling across the county, saying: "We will set ambitious targets for recycling and build on the successes we and borough and district councils have already achieved in increasing recycling rates. Thanks to these successes we now have the opportunity to look at reducing or removing our need for Energy from Waste in Surrey. I have asked officers to look at this as a top priority and hope to be able to announce any changes by the end of the year."
In addition, Dr Povey gave details of a Surrey solution to the national problem in recruiting social workers. The council will offer 50 annual bursaries for young people to train as social workers and 10 bursaries for existing social workers to extend their professional skills. A priority will be given to those living in Surrey.
Outlining his vision for the next four years, Dr Povey said: “Given the current financial climate it is vital the county council provides the people of Surrey with value for money. We will be reviewing every single service in a systematic way to ensure it offers the best service and is as efficient as possible. We will continue to listen to our residents and the funding of services will reflect their priorities.”
The Leader has replaced the controlling Executive with a Cabinet, which will meet monthly rather than fortnightly. Fewer decisions will come before this new ruling body and more decisions will be delegated to individual Cabinet members. This will mean more decisions will be delegated to individual Cabinet members allowing the full Cabinet to concentrate on more strategic issues.
Dr Povey has also decided to personally retain veto powers in three specific areas:
· Changes to the boundaries of the Green Belt, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Areas of Great Landscape Value in Surrey
· Decisions to open or close a county school
· Establishment of or recruitment of staff or consultants on a salary of more than £100,000.
The new administration also plans to work more closely with district and borough councils to protect the Green Belt and with businesses to help Surrey through the recession.
“Surrey is a fantastic place to live in and we need to make sure this remains the case. We will work to ensure we are acting on the things residents tell us are important and there will be more initiatives in the coming months to act on residents’ concerns,” said Dr Povey.
Ends
Media requiring more information should contact Paul Marinko, Media Manager for Surrey County Council, on 020 8541 9548 or at paul.marinko@surreycc.gov.uk.
Note to editors:
The full programme to cut anti-social driving will be launched in September.
The members of the new Surrey County Council Cabinet are:
Andrew Povey Leader
David Hodge Deputy Leader
Mary Angell Children and Families
Michael Gosling Adult Social Care
Lynne Hack Environment
Tim Hall Corporate Services
Kay Hammond Community Safety
Ian Lake Transport
Peter Martin Children and Learning
Denise Saliagopoulos Community Services
The chairmen and vice chairmen of committees will be:
(Chairman followed by Vice Chairman)
Planning and Regulatory Roy Taylor Ian Beardsmore
Audit and Governance Nick Harrison Bill Barker
Personnel and Appointments Andrew Povey David Hodge
Adults and Community Care Chris Pitt Margaret Hicks
Children and Families Yvonna Lay Marisa Heath
Corporate Management Helyn Clack Angela Fraser
Environment and Economy Carol Coleman Tony Rooth
Safer and Stronger Communities Lavinia Sealy David Goodwin
Schools and Learning Dorothy Ross-Tomlin Denise Turner-Stewart
Transportation David Ivison Mike Bennison
Health Scrutiny David Munro Peter Hickman
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