Somerset Liberal Democrats; investing in Somerset People

10.00.00am GMT Thu 21st Feb 2008

The Liberal Democrat administration at Somerset County Council have almost certainly set one of the lowest Council Tax rises in the Country, of 3.79% at Wednesday's full council meeting in Taunton; with a commitment to make significant investments in social care services; in highways services; and in infrastructure.

Cllr Sam Crabb , who is the Council's Portfolio Holder for Resources and Finance, said: "Over the next 3 years the Lib Dem's plan to invest a further £23m in day-to-day key front line services and a further £255m through our capital programme. This is an ambitious programme and this investment must of course be paid for, but with good financial management and effective forward planning we have been able to deliver this level of significant investment whilst keeping the council tax rise to one of the lowest in the Country".

Cllr Crabb went on to say:"We have also engaged with the Somerset Older Citizens Alliance; the Youth Parliament and many other organisations in Somerset. We are passionate about engaging with our communities and listening to what they have to say about our services. It is what democracy is all about.

We have spent considerable time analysing our financial position and believe we have a plan that ensures sufficient investment, minimises cost and therefore delivers value for money for the public. This budget is all about investment in services NOW to reduce running costs in the future."

Jill Shortland, leader of the County Council said: "Somerset County Council is rated as an excellent 4 star authority and has a growing reputation for investing in local people. The public want to know that we are on their side and that we are fighting for what they want. We want council tax to be as low as possible and yet our funding from government is not sufficient for us to be able to keep it lower than we have. We have lobbied central government continually about the higher cost of services in rural counties and although funding has improved, we are still £34M short of funding for essential services."

Jill added, "I think it's a shame that the Conservative opposition have criticised these investments, bearing in mind that the Conservatives failed to produce an alternative budget themselves. This type of political back-biting isn't helpful to the democratic process."