I joined the Council's tree maintenance contractors on site as they tidied up some trees in Quantock Close, Putnoe, last week. More work is being done this year thanks to the money we've put into the budget. Under the old Conservative County Council, just £1.66 was allocated per tree in the urban area of Bedford; we now spend over £11 per tree keeping trees tidy and safe.
The plan approved by the Full Council to re-organise the schools structure as a two-tier system was dependent on funding through the Building Schools for the Future programme. This will therefore not be going ahead, and the Council will not be pursuing a comprehensive restructuring. So, while there is huge disappointment at the loss of the BSF Funding and the halting of the previous agreed plan, our focus is now on the future and on improving education in Bedford Borough.
"We are extremely disappointed with the decision to cancel the Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF). The programme represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity for vast investment to transform schooling in Bedford Borough, and it is obviously a major blow that the programme has been brought to an end before that investment was made.
Liberal Democrat Councillors on Bedford Borough Council are all joining Twitter and you can follow them and their thoughts on events as they happen. The Twitter account: @BedfordLibDems has been set up to create a quick-fire comments page for all fourteen Liberal Democrats on Bedford Borough Council, including Mayor Dave Hodgson.
As part of the ongoing drive to open up the Council, Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are to propose new rules under which a residents' petition carrying at least 30 signatures will trigger a debate at a Full Council meeting. A report to a meeting of the Council's General Purposes Committee taking place on Tuesday 13th July recommends a minimum requirement of at least 1,000 signatures before Full Council considers a petition, but the Lib Dems are proposing to make the petitions system more open and responsive to the concerns of local residents.
The summer sun may have been shining, but earlier this week I signed off a decision to order 3,000 additional tonnes of salt from Sweden for the roads in the winter. The Council has had salt on order from domestic suppliers for months, but a severe national shortage means they cannot even guarantee delivery by the winter. Clearly the fact that all local authorities are struggling to get hold of stocks would be no consolation to anybody if we were to face another winter like the one just gone, so I was adamant that we must the extra mile (or extra thousand miles!) to find salt stocks and make sure we are as well prepared as possible to help keep people safe on the roads and to keep schools, hospitals and businesses open.
