Surrey Cuts Hit Woking

'These cuts to Surrey County Council's services will hit Woking hard,' said Will Forster, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for South Woking, after the meeting this Tuesday that set the budget for 2010/11. 'Cuts to transport budgets mean there may be no money at all for road improvements that Surrey's Woking Local Committee have already agreed are needed. We've had a petition with nearly a thousand signatures asking for something to be done to improve the lethal crossroads at Blackhorse Road, Saunders Lane and Heath House Road, and another asking for improvements at Brewery Road. Both of these were to be made safer, but now thanks to Tory County Hall's cuts it is unlikely that anything will now happen for at least the next three years. That is unacceptable.'

Roads are the first of Surrey's services to be criticised by residents, but other vital services will take savage cuts. 'Older people, the disabled, and carers will each get a worse deal,' said Diana Smith, County Councillor for Knaphill. 'At Freemantles School, Ruth House will gain the money essential to providing more respite care for children - but more than twice that will be cut from other children's respite care budgets. We've been promised radical reform of Services to Young People in the Borough for next year, but this budget knocks out 11 qualified youth workers from their jobs. This includes getting rid of Woking's Youth Development Officer. It doesn't make sense.'

'This is a panic budget, making assumptions about reductions in support from Central Government that are far from certain and have not been made by other Councils,' added Rosie Sharpley, Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Woking. 'Instead of systematically putting their own house in order by managing projects properly and not wasting money on botched or cancelled schemes, the Conservatives at County Hall are set on denying vital services to people whose lives can be transformed with the right help.