Waste Consultation

How can we help you reduce your waste?
What would help you recycle more?
How should we deal with Surrey’s remaining waste?
We are reviewing our Plan for Waste Management in Surrey
and want you to help shape it
Take part in our public consultation between
17 May and 12 August 2010 and tell us your views
Visit www.surreywastepartnership.org.uk or call 03456 009 009
Your waste,
your views
Surrey waste partnership
Your councils working together

Fostering Fortnight

Next week (17 May) sees the start of Fostering Fortnight, a national campaign promoting the need to recruit more foster carers across the country.
In Surrey we always need more foster carers for the children in our care. From time to time we focus on specific groups and locations, depending on shortages or where there is a need to find carers for specific groups of children, such as: children with disabilities sibling groups 0-5 age group teenagers.
This fostering fortnight we are specifically targeting two locations - Guildford and Staines, where the number of children needing care outweighs the number of available carers. We are also focusing on two groups of children, teenagers and the 0-5 age group, for whom we are having particular difficulties finding suitable foster carers.

Ashford Have your Say Event

This year’s Ashford “Have Your Say event” organized by Spelthorne Borough Council is on Thursday 17th June
Venue: Thomas Knyvett College, Stanwell Road, Ashford, TW15 3DU Time 7pm – 9pm
There will be opportunities to meet with local councillors, chat with partner agencies at their stands in the marketplace and hear presentations on a variety of topics. These will include the Police Restructure; a Fire Service presentation; an update from Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals; information around local regeneration projects including Stanwell New Start; planning matters; Strong Leader vs Mayor consultation as well as an open forum question and answer session.
Please come along and support this event, thank you

The EU and Local Government

Local councils and councillors operate within a framework of law made by central government and the European Union.
Local councillors' ability to make changes for the communities that elect them is often constrained by rules which originate from EU directives and which are frequently goldplated by central government civil servants in Whitehall.
The following are just some of the EU directives in force in the UK which affect local government, and shows how EU law now permeates many aspects of the work of local councils.
Waste and Recycling Costs: The Recycling of Hazardous Waste Directive 91/689/EEC is resulting in the need for massive investments in new recycling technologies. This, together with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive 2003/108/EC, is leading to higher disposal costs which are being passed on to council taxpayers. The Landfill Directive 99/31/EC means that local councils must reduce landfill waste by half of 1995 levels by 2013 or face fines of up to £180 million per year, leading some councils to move to fortnightly bin collections. The Audit Commission estimates EU waste law could add £30 to each council tax bill. The European Commission recently suggested reducing landfill waste through building more incinerators despite local concerns over their cost and damage to the environment.

Surrey Green Steps

To help Surrey businesses become legally compliant in dealing with business waste., the county council has developed a new online environmental toolkit, Surrey Green Steps, which has just gone live. click here. Green Steps aims to help businesses take steps towards becoming greener and smarter about dealing with their waste and improving environmental credentials. It includes databases to search for recycling sites and collection services, as well as case studies of businesses who have seen improvements from adopting greener practices and a link to a carbon footprinter. There is also the option for businesses to create their own individual Environmental Management System (EMS) to improve their company’s green credentials through an online training tool. The url for the toolkit is www.surreygreensteps.com
The Environment Agency will also offer businesses in the county a postcard giving details on Green Steps when they visit them.

May Sugery

The May councillor surgery in Ashford Library will be on Saturday 1st May from 11am to 12noon. Borough Councillor George Trussler will attend with me.

Transport for Surrey Conference

Help shape the future of transport for Surrey.

Date Thursday 25 March 2010Venue County Hall, Kingston

Time 9.15-15.40 Registration starts at 9.15 and the first session at 10.00 sharp

With keynote address by SIR DAVID ROWLANDS

Other speakers and workshops include
BAA, Allan Gregory, Director of Surface Access
Transport for London, Mike Keegan, Transport Strategy Manager
Freight Transport Association, Gordon Telling, Head of Policy for London, SE and East of England
Government Office for the South East (GOSE), David Cooper: Where’s the money coming from?
South West Trains, Phil Dominey: Adopt A Station
Stagecoach, Andrew Dyer: Goldline’s first birthday, does quality work?
Spelthorne Borough Council, Sandy Muirhead: Help shape Surrey’s climate change strategy
Woking Borough Council & Surrey County Council, Ellie Guttridge & Paul Fishwick: Cycle Woking: A success story
Rural Transport Forum, Marcus Dodé: Buses for rural non mainstream users
Surrey's Transport Coordination Centre, Matthew Winnett: Coordinating transport needs in the community
Surrey County Council, Fiona Lowe: Surrey’s infrastructure facts and figures
Surrey Police, Rachel Tills, Drive Smart: Surrey’s antisocial driving campaign
Surrey Travel, Tim Brown & Abi Fielder, Surrey’s new traffic information website
Surrey County Council, Katie Dawkins: Travel planning training for young people and adults with special needs

Purpose of conference:
To raise awareness of current transport issues
To raise awareness of possible solutions, however radical
To challenge, and inspire debate
Share views, opinions, good ideas and success stories
To engage partners in Transport for Surrey Partnership decisions e.g. Surrey’s Transport Plan
Show success through partnership working

Conference topic areas:
We rely on our road and transport networks and have high expectations of them
We must reduce our carbon emissions
Money is scarce
How should we plan for Surrey's future transport?
How can we resolve conflicting issues?
Where will the money come from and how much of it will there be?
How radical will the solutions have to be?
What successes can we learn from and repeat?
What further opportunities for are there for partnership working?
Surrey's next Transport Plan is under development, help us get it right
Delegates
Include representatives of health, education, heritage, rail, bus, air and community transport, access groups, businesses, residents, voluntary sector, public utilities, rural interests, Police, local, regional and central Government

To apply for a place email tfspartnership@surreycc.gov.uk

http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Transport+for+Surrey+Partnership+Conference?opendocument