REVENUE AND BENEFITS BACKLOG

AT a seminar today, county councillors were told that the ongoing merging of the benefits systems of the former district councils still means that there was a back log of over 3700 cases to deal with.

The average length of time taken to process a new claim is now 66.5 days.  I honestly believe that whilst officers and staff are working flat out, the political oversight of this process by the leading Labour group has been completely unacceptable. Labour accepts this and should apologise for the continued problems it foisted on this county with Local Government Review (Scrapping the District Council).

The council has to date outsourced the processing of over 4000 cases, allowing it to deal with the backlog, which we are told will take until Mid-March/April to clear up. Due to the way that claims are processed and the information required, it is likely that there will always be around 1000-1500 claims being dealt with at any one time. I look forward to the day when as promised it only takes a few weeks to deal with each case.

This has affected benefit recipients, landlords and social housing providers to the point of being critical. It shows what happens when a Labour administration doesn’t get to grips with things. All credit to the staff and senior officers who have had to work through this and the accompanying political ineptitude.

If anyone in Framwellgate Moor, Pity Me, Brasside, Bearpark or Witton Gilbert is having problems with changes to claims or with new claims, please do get in touch and I will see what I can do to help.

BUSY DAY OF MEETINGS

Attended a number of meetings today including:

Lengthy discussion with fellow Lib Dem councillors on the council budget (still waiting to see the council proposals).

Seminar on Windfarms and related planning and environmental issues

Seminar on Revenue and Benefits Dept.

Meeting to discuss youth provision at Abbey Leisure Centre and for the surrounding area.

I will be updating on all these issues in the coming days and weeks as and when appropriate.

£2500 plus help to hire apprentice

If you have a business in or near County Durham and are interested in taking on a young person/apprentice call 03000 262 009.  The new governement scheme includes a contribution of £2500 towards wages is available as well as support and admin costs.
Call me to tell me if this is working, not working or of there are any suggestions or issues surrounding it.

CREDIT TO THE POLICE, WARDENS AND COMMUNITIES

I must applaud work done by Durham Police Authority. The extensive work by local police officers, PCSOs and Council Wardens has helped to cut anti-social behviour in half over the last year across the west of Durham City.

In Newton Hall figures have fallen by over 60%, Esh Winning a fall of 50% whilst in Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me a drop if over 40% has been recorded.

It is very clear to me that the continued hard work of officers, with the assistance of Community Wardens and local residents has had a real impact. We have seen incidents of anti-social behaviour drop by almost 50%.

Security officers at shops in the Arnison Centre have commented to me about the excellent work done with the police on cutting shoplifting.

I sometimes think that the excellent work of the local police isn’t fully recognised. Just because we look out of the window and don’t always see a beat officer doesn’t mean they are not there. I know for a fact that the local police team is out every day in our villages and in some cases checking up on local hotspots many times a day.

I would urge residents to contact the police and local Councillors if there are specific problem areas so that they can crack down on problems. Police and Community Together meetings are held in communities across County Durham every month and details can be found on the police website at www.durham.police.uk

When the latest meeting schedule is published I will add it to my blog.

PLANNING IN COUNTY DURHAM IS DAFT

I attended the South West Durham Planning Committee  as a substitute for another Councillor this afternoon. Whilst there was some confusion over planning policy during the meeting, overall there was some good debate on two of the three items on the agenda.

However…there is usually a however… Half the committee is made up of councillors who don’t live in any of the three former district areas (Sedgefield, Wear Valley, Teesdale). This is and area covering 500 square miles, with several dozen County Councillors. The planning committee has 16 councillors (members), only 8 from these areas. The other 8 have to come from Derwentside, Chester-le-Street, Durham City and Easington.

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BEARPARK – COUNTY PLAN ISSUES

This evenings meeting fo Bearpark Parish Council was lengthy (Over 2 hours) and there were discussions about the County proposals in the County Durham Plan, particularly surrounding the effects of the new Western Bypass.

Despite numerous requests, the County Council has refused to hold further consultation events and has failed to put up displays in Bearpark for residents to see. I am now teaming up with the Parish Council and local residents groups to make sure that this happens with or without Council help. It is as if the County Council simply doesn’t want these issues debated.

COMMUNITY BUILDINGS

The Parish Council agreed to provide some funding to the Community Centre as they do each year. I did raise concerns that the review of community Buildings has not yet been completed and we must see the results of the report which is due to come in February. According to the initial report Bearpark Community Centre will not receive funding from the County Council, however I am certain that the residents of Bearpark will do all they can to protect their Community Centre and i will support this where possible.

CHARTER TRUST – MAYOR – COUNCIL TAX CUT AGAIN

Attended meeting of the Charter Trust which oversees the Mayor of Durham this afternoon. I have been pushing for another reduction in the Council Tax levy following successfully cutting the tax by 14% last year after negotiating with the County council and changing the way the Trust is managed. I could see no reason to have money in reserves which is not needed and given the excellent reduction in costs, wanted to see the charge reduced further for residents.

The trust has agreed that for the coming year the charge will be cut by around 11% ! All the services the mayor carries out will continue with additional funding to cover increased costs this year for the Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics, so all in all a great success. This means that the average cost per household for the Mayor of Durham and all the historic accompanyments will be less than £4 per household.

Another sign that one of the budgets the Lib Dems have serious influence in is being managed properly, with savings passed on to residents.

Library hours to be cut back – cabinet posts should go instead!

Following on from earlier posts, the Council is now set to consult on the reduction of opening hours for all libraries apart from Clayport (which they reduced last year). Once again we have the situation of frontline going and senior management staying.

It has occurred to a few of us as well that we have 10 cabinet members (politicians) each receiving an additional £13300 allowance (wage).

If all these services are being trimmed, why aren’t the cabinet posts or senior management. Time to think about merging departments and cabinet posts rather than cutting the services residents rely on.