Kenilworth and Southam Liberal Democrats

Warwickshire Liberal Democrats Manifesto 2009

Our Vision for Warwickshire:

Warwickshire should be a place where everyone has an equal opportunity to develop and prosper, where people feel safe and cared for and where barriers of poverty or ignorance are broken. This must be achieved through high quality public services that meet individuals' needs at a cost that people can afford.

Liberal Democrat priorities for the next four years:

The local economy and skills

Liberal Democrats will prepare Warwickshire to emerge strongly from the recession by re-skilling and supporting people and local businesses.

Safe, healthy & active communities

Liberal Democrats believe that all residents of Warwickshire have the right to feel safe within their community and the opportunity to be healthy and active.

• Give greater support to Safer Neighbourhood policing and Neighbourhood Watch organisations
• Make greater use of restorative community projects for offenders convicted of vandalism and criminal damage
• Prioritise the safety of pedestrians and cyclists on our roads and introduce 20mph speed limits outside schools
• Deliver an efficient and responsive Fire and Rescue Service across Warwickshire
• Defend our library service and make it more accessible to all Warwickshire residents
• Invest further in successful active arts for health programmes using the voluntary sector
• Ensure that our older people are cared for with dignity and with a choice of services to meet their needs
• Tackle obesity by promoting sport and healthy eating in schools
• Establish a Warwickshire Youth Force to involve hard-to-reach groups in positive activities

Education for the 21^st century

Liberal Democrats will use all available financial resources to develop an education system tailored to local needs. This will offer opportunities and excellence for all. We will use the five outcomes of "Every Child Matters" as the basis for all of our decisions.

• Drive up standards of educational attainment, both academic and vocational, while guiding children to be good future citizens
• Lead the development of a coherent strategy for early years, primary and secondary education, including planned transition between each phase. This must command the support of teachers, governors and parents
• Encourage innovative ways for schools to cluster and co-operate to achieve the widest community benefit
• Invest an extra £50 million to upgrade our school buildings
• Implement a fair and transparent system of allocating school funding that is consistent across the county
• Value the work of school governors by removing the barriers to their involvement and providing them with increased professional support
• Invest in early intervention services to support families and drive down levels of truancy and exclusions from school

The environment & climate change

Liberal Democrats will continue to protect the environment and put climate change at the heart of all of the County Council's policies and decision making.

• Create a single waste collection and disposal authority for Warwickshire
• Maximise recycling and composting rates and reduce residual waste quantities to the minimum
• Dispose of residual waste by clean and affordable methods that minimise amounts sent to landfill
• Protect the environment from indiscriminate over development
• Encourage innovation in micro-generation schemes and local carbon offset
• Every school to achieve Eco-school accreditation using energy from renewable sources and recycling its waste products
• Protect bio-diversity by working in partnership with the Voluntary Sector, district/borough, town and parish councils
• Help individuals and communities reduce their energy needs with support from Act on Energy
• Make the Climate Change Champion role the responsibility of a Cabinet member
  

Public transport, walking & cycling facilities

Liberal Democrats will increase spending on public transport and walking/cycling facilities within the County Council's overall Local Transport Plan priorities to meet local needs.

• Establish stronger partnerships with bus companies to deliver bus services that improve access to work, shopping and leisure activities
• Support the building of new railway stations
• Expand the successful and popular Flexi-Bus service
• Ensure roads and pavements are well maintained and that, wherever appropriate, people are given priority over cars
• Establish a young persons' concessionary travel scheme that addresses their needs for access to education, training, sport and leisure activities
• Work in partnership with Sustrans to deliver the national cycle network and other key walking and cycling routes throughout Warwickshire
• Make a Cabinet member responsible for championing walking and cycling
• Give local residents more say in how the highways budget is spent in their area

Efficient and cost-effective services

Liberal Democrats will cut bureaucracy and waste in local government to protect front-line public services from further cuts and keep council tax increases below inflation.

• Commission services, both internally and externally, that will deliver the best outcomes for Warwickshire
• Strengthen partnership working with the voluntary sector through the Warwickshire Compact
• Reduce the number of management tiers and combine structures and facilities wherever possible
• Future efficiency savings can only be delivered by enhanced partnership working with the district/borough councils, the primary care trust, police and other agencies to stop the duplication of activities
• Make best use of IT and other new technologies to improve services, reduce the use of paper and make information readily available to the public

Putting words into action

The Liberal Democrats have set the pace on the County Council since the last elections in 2005. We have been campaigning and putting our manifesto commitments into action, while:

The Conservative Administration has failed to provide clear and coherent leadership and has ducked hard decisions

Labour has offered no credible alternative. They have failed to ask the difficult questions and have been an ineffective opposition

Liberal Democrats have used the annual budget setting process to force through significant and distinctive investments for the people of Warwickshire, such as:

• £700,000 to support young people and their families experiencing problems at home or at school to reduce the risk of permanent exclusion and involvement in anti-social or criminal behaviour
• £200,000 to expand the Flexi-bus fleet from 11 to 16 vehicles, providing independence and personal freedom for older people and those with mobility problems
• £100,000 to help boost Neighbourhood Watch schemes around the county
• £100,000 to develop the Domestic Violence Service and support the Swanswell Trust
• £90,000 to support renewable energy feasibility projects

In 2009, we voted against a Conservative budget that cut front-line services while failing to address bureaucracy and waste. Labour sat on their hands and let it happen.

In power or in opposition, Liberal Democrats will fight for efficient and effective public services that meet people's needs and help local communities thrive.