The Liberal Democrat Cabinet of Bath and NE Somerset continued to deliver on its themes and objectives during the year. It was a record of achievement in difficult times for the Country as a whole. During the year there were naturally some ideas that created a lot of debate such as public loos, advice and Childrens centres but in the context of maintaining quality service whilst doing it with £12M pa less the year was successful. A detailed monthly list appears at the end of article but more concisely as my colleagues in Walcot put it :-

As 2013 closes, we’ve taken a few minutes to reflect on the diffierence having a Liberal Democrat adminstration has meant to B&NES Council.

We are proud to be part of a Council that has ensured 

0% Council Tax Rise

Liberal Democrats want to create a fairer society, so in these tough times we’ve kept Council Tax frozen since taking control of the Council in 2011.

No libraries shut down

We’ve spent your money on the services that matter to you and kept all 8 of our libraries open.

No cuts to Youth Service

We want to make sure our young people have the best start in life.

We have protected front line youth services and, unlike most other Councils, we are not closing any Children’s Centers.

Investment in Small Business

The Lib Dems know how important small businesses are to our local economy and how many jobs they help create.

Together with partners in the Third Sector, we’ve helped to provide over 70 loans to small businesses, creating over 80 jobs.

A drop in unemployed and rise in apprenticeships in BANES

The current unemployment rate in BANES stands at 2.7% of the economically active population aged 16 to 64, which is far below the national figure rate of 7%.

We recognize that it’s vital for the Council invests in projects that will help to strengthen and grow the local economy. Your Lib Dem administration is committed to scaled investment in regeneration and development, leading to new homes and jobs for local people.

Half a Million for cycle routes

We want to enable as many people as possible to travel in an environmentally friendly way.

With this in mind, we’re investing over half a million into cycle routes across the district. As well as being good for the environment, it’ll take people off the road, improving congestion.

To date, we’ve seen the opening of the Millmead Road bridge section of the Two Tunnels route and work has started on the cycle route from Lower Bristol Road to Bath Spa University funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. In addition a new cycle path from Batheaston to the City Centre is planned.

Green Champions

We cannot afford to ignore the environment even in this time of austerity. Your Lib Dem Council is committed to energy efficiency improvements in schools, delivering the Retrofit and Green Deal partnership and reducing the Council’s own carbon footprint.

Supported Bus Services

Many people rely on the bus services to get around. The Lib Dems are not cutting the bus subsidies which has saved the 6/7 bus service as well as other rural services that connect our rural areas.

A City Transport Strategy

We are developing a Transport Strategy for Bath that acknowledges the strain on parking in the City and allows for economic growth, joining up difference Council departments to deliver a “One Council’ approach to our traffic problems.

We will also oversee the completion a £32 million Bath Transportation Package.

52 refuse collections

We’ve kept weekly collection of your rubbish, saving the services that matter to you.

18 Car Parks kept free

Our local shops are struggling in these economic times. We are investing in the local economy and keeping the car parks that serve our local high streets free.

Responsible Budgeting

Because the Council has made back office savings of more than £25 million over recent years, delivered balanced budgets, and maintained a strong level of reserves, B&NES is in a better position than many other councils when it comes to reducing the impact of Central Government cuts and protecting frontline services, particularly for elderly and vulnerable people.

Nevertheless, we will continue to face financial challenges and to protect services the Council must look at how to provide services differently in the future.

This means working more closely with other local authorities to create efficiencies as well as supporting local community groups to make a difference to the place they live, such as through our Community Library Programme.

The £260 million spend on adult social care must be focused on the most vulnerable people, promoting their independence through improved community services.

We are also taking steps to ensure that the impact on people affected by the Government’s changes to welfare benefit is reduced through initiatives such as our social fund.

MONTHLY DETAILS

Cabinet Decisions in the Year 2013

 

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

 

Cabinet/Decision	Commentary
Jan ‘13
Odd Down Playing field	Increasing participation in sport, hoping to improve wellbeing in one of the most deprived areas in Bath
Fostering, Adoptive and Special Guardianship allowances	Properly valuing our Foster carers, adoptive parents and those in special guardianship. Giving those parents the best chance to give those kids a good start in life.
Radstock to Frome Railway	Keeping this scheme on the table, that could help regenerate an area that needs it.
Feb ‘13
Budget	Lets not forget the great things we achieved in the budget. Freezing Council Tax, investing in the river, investing in small businesses, improving cycle links, without closing libraries, without cutting youth services.
Core Strategy	Taking the brave choices, protecting the green belt where we can but not shying away like the Tories did, trying to ensure that our children and grandchildren have houses they can live in.
Sustainable Construction and Retrofitting SPD	Giving our residents clear advice on how to make their home warmer and reduce their energy bills.
Highways Adoption charges	Charging more to reflect the ongoing costs of road maintenance, protecting front line services by charging the right amount.
Apr ‘13
Radstock Capital Funding	Investing in schemes to regenerate the community and the economy in an area that needs the support.
Expanding 6 Primary Schools	Ensuring that our children have the best opportunity to attend a school in their local area, reducing the carbon footprint, keeping them with their local friends.
Home to School Transport Review	Equalising the system. Removing an inequality that allowed some school children to get travel over others.
Dorchester Street	Seeking to improve the pedestrian environment, making green transport a more convenient option and improving the economy.
Placemaking Plan Scoping	Allowing communities the chance to have a say in how their neighbourhood is developed.
Response to Somerset’s Minerals Policy	Saying no to Fracking. It’s not green and it’s a risk to our environment and our economy.
Greater Bristol Metro Project	Improvements to the bus and rail networks, making green travel the affordable and convenient option for all.
Transport Strategy	For the first time, trying to ensure that Bath has a strategy that reflects it’s ambitions. We want to be a more successful, more equal place and the transport strategy helps us deliver that.
Procurement Strategy	Supporting local business and small business, levelling the field to allow them to get an equal bite of the cherry.
Review of the Olympics and Cultural Olympiad	Fully supporting this event, making it a success and a chance for people across Bath to engage with Sports and Culture in a way they hadn’t before.
Heritage Services Business Plan	Investing in those heritage and tourism jobs that keep our lower skilled residents in work.
LEP RIF Funding	Investing in the infrastructure to attract higher paid jobs to Bath, ensuring that every resident has a job appropriate to their level.
Schools Term and holiday dates	Equalising the school terms, so that parents are able to plan. (Then undone by Gove but still…)
Primary School Admissions	Dull statutory document but above other things it ensures that looked after children get the advantage they need and deserve, levelling the playing field.
May ‘13
CIL Charging Schedule	Using CIL to ensure that residents get the benefit of development in our area.
Grand Parade and Undercroft Viability	Bringing a criminally underused piece of Council property back into use. Enhancing an important piece of riverside.
Connecting Communities	Changing the way that the Council works to respond to the needs of communities. Connecting Communities seeks to ensure that deprived communities receive the support they need, and a say in how services are delivered in their area.
Placemaking Launch	Allowing communities the chance to have a say in how their neighbourhood is developed.
May ’13 Special Cabinet
Home to School Transport Call-In	Listened to concerns of parents, but stuck to our guns, making it fairer for pupils in B&NES without pulling the rug from under current parents.
June ‘13
HMO Article 4	Ensuring we are fair to the permanent residents of Bath, putting safeguards in place to ensure they will never lose their community.
HMO Additional Licensing	Ensuring we are fair to tenants in some of the worst housing stock. Forcing those Landlords to bring houses up to scratch.
Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople Site Allocations Plan (Pre-Submission draft)	Confirming progress made, assuring communities that it would happen in a proper manner and continuing the process of supporting those vulnerable gypsy and traveller families despite the howls of anguish from Councillors on the other side of the chamber.
Personal Budgets in Healthcare	Empowers the patient so they can chose to be treated by the doctor they want, in the place they want.
Apprenticeship Policy	Ensuring more opportunities for people who chose not to go to university. Ensuring a higher quality of placement. And using the Council to set a good example to other businesses.
Children’s Services Capital Programme Priorities	Ensuring the quality of education for students at the these two schools, increasing opportunities for children to get a good quality of education in their local area.
WoE bid as Better Bus Area	Joint bid to ensure that the quality of bus provision goes up, making the green travel option the best option.
July ‘13
Two Tunnels Update	Update on the next phase of Two Tunnels, ensuring it links with the rest of the cycle network, increasing the availability of green travel.
Cycle Schemes Programme	Allocating the money for cycling, increasing cycling connectivity across the City.
River Corridor Fund	Drawing down the money to fund projects to revitalise the river, providing opportunities for employment in Bath and Keynsham.
Youth Justice Plan	A restorative justice approach that has a Lib Dem stamp on it, not just a failed punitive approach.
Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Guildhall Market Christmas Market	Extending the lease for the Christmas Market in the Guildhall Carpark, increasing the pull of the Chistmas Market, and boosting the local economy and the traders in the Guildhall Market.
Joint Rights of Way Improvement Pan	Cross border working, focussed on improving access for local people.
Heritage Services Capital Plan	Looking after our vital heritage assets and improving disabled access so that all our residents and visitors can enjoy all of the Baths.
Sept ‘13
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Guidance for Listed Buildings	Helping residents in hard to heat homes, with how to make their home warmer and cut their bills.
Childcare Sufficiency Assessment	Confirmation that we are providing the right level of care for our children, and providing an evidence-base for future child-care modelling.
Empty Property Policy: Enforcement Action	Bringing empty properties back into use, providing homes for people who need them.
Nov ‘13
Capital Allocation for 2 yr olds	Distributing money from a Lib Dem success in Government, ensuring a better start in life for all 2 year olds.
Re-structuring of Children’s Centres	Implementing a cut, yes, but ensuring that no centres close and that communities receive provision that they need.
Standards for hackney carriages and private hire licences	Improving standard of taxi drivers, levelling the playing field and ensuring that cabbies are clear about what is acceptable dress.
Local Development Scheme	Ensuring that we have a development scheme that matches our ambitions, providing homes and jobs for our residents.
Dec ‘13
Heritage Services Collections Policy	Protecting our assets, ensuring that our policy doesn’t jeopardise the significant Capital Grants we receive from bodies like HLF.
Homelessness Strategy	A strategy to help those in most need back into housing.
Schools Carbon Reduction Programme	Helping our schools be more green, reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings still further.
Change of Control: Thermae Development Company	Technical document, but it safeguards the Council’s investment in this building, ensuring continued tourist revenue and safeguarding local jobs.
Cycle City Ambition Grant Bid	Providing an important cycle link, making green travel more convenient, and improving public realm for local residents and businesses.
Advice and Information Services Strategy	We got a bit bounced into this, but we now have a strategy that will ensure adequate provision of advice services for those most vulnerable.

 

 

 

Library event highlights adventures of “Life in the Bus Lane”

The tales of a local author, whose cross-country travels by bus inspired an eco-friendly internet campaign, can be heard at Saltford Library as part of Bath & North East Somerset Council’s “After Hours” campaign to promote the wider use of libraries.

Pat Lunt, of Odd Down, Bath, took a month-long trip around England on public service buses as a way of doing something unusual and enjoyable.

On Friday 1 March, from 10.15am to 12noon, he will talk about the book he subsequently published – “Life in the Bus Lane: An English Odyssey by Bus” – and the fascinating direction his life then took.

What started out as just a slightly whacky idea for a holiday has developed in scope for Pat. He now also has his own website (Click Here) and a continuing project that encourages people to hop on a bus for a day out (or longer), leaving their cars at home.

Come and join Pat Lunt  for an intriguing insight into one man’s intrepid travels by bus to the four corners of the country, visiting destinations ranging from the Scottish borders to the wilds of Cornwall and most places in between! The event is free and people are welcome to turn up to Saltford Library for 10.15am on Friday 1 March.

Budget 2013: Highly valued services protected – list published by Council

Services for the public protected, Council Tax frozen, and investment in local homes and jobs were the key priorities approved by Bath & North East Somerset Council tonight at its 2013/14 budget setting meeting. A list of just some of the services highly valued by the community that will continue in 2013/14 have been published to increase public awareness of those which are protected.

Councillor Paul Crossley (Lib-Dem, Southdown), Leader of Council, said, “This has been a challenging budget to balance with a combination of the national economic crisis, increases to the numbers of people who are young and old, and rising costs.

“However, as a result of making back office savings of around £25 million over recent years with more to come, living within our means, and taking some difficult decisions, Bath & North East Somerset Council is protecting the vast majority of services to the public. We are publishing this list so that people are more aware of the everyday services that will continue next year.

“There are tens of thousands of people across the area who benefit from these services, whether that is having a continued weekly bin collection or highly specialised package of home care to maintain their independence or use a supported bus service. The services to the public that we are protecting are highly valued by local people and play an important part in their everyday lives and local communities.”

Our priority – Protecting frontline services in 2013/14

To make the budget balance, annual reductions are planned of around £3 million currently planned for each of the next three years, which is equivalent to about 1.3% of our total budget each year – many services to the public continue. This list represents just some of those protected in 2013/14.

Supporting vulnerable people and families

 

We will continue to fund:

 

1.    The existing 2,200 care packages and placements to maintain the independence of older people and disabled;

 

2.    1,100 people to use our Personal Budget programme giving them choice over their care packages;

 

3.    The existing Handyperson home improvement services for around 2,000 people through Care and Repair;

 

4.    Social care for around 750 of the most vulnerable young people in our society;

 

5.    Foster care for 135 children and young people;

 

6.    All eight Children’s Centres kept open;

 

7.    Delivery of around 53,000 community meals to older and vulnerable people;

 

8.    A Community Alarm Service to more than 1,300 people to older and vulnerable to get help quickly;

 

9.    Our award winning Independent Living Service which supports 340 people to maintain their independence;

 

10. The transportation for 150 people to support them to access adult day care services;

 

11. The Virtual School for Children In Care service for around 150 vulnerable children and young people;

 

12. Support for around 100 young people who leave care to give them the opportunity of a positive future.

 

A better quality of life in our communities

 

We will continue to fund:

 

13. Weekly waste and recycling collections for all 72,000 households with a new small electrical item collection service;

 

14. Around 40 lollipop patrols keeping children and parents safe from traffic;

 

15. All 52 street cleaners retained to maintain our high standards;

 

16. All three Recycling Centre’s with existing opening times;

 

17. All eight library branches for people to read and learn;

 

18. All three leisure centres kept open to help people keep fit and healthy;

 

19. The existing four Youth Centre’s kept open for young people to socialise and learn the skills they need for adult life;

 

20. Our network of 103 CCTV cameras operating 24 hours a day supporting a safe and secure environment;

 

21. A network of over 16,000 streetlights that will be turned-on to keep the public and motorists safe during the hours of darkness;

 

22. Existing winter roads maintenance commitments including nine gritting vehicles that salt over 260 miles of our road network, over 400 grit bins, and 16 snow warden pilots;

 

23. Repairs to around 2,000 potholes on our roads – and have the money to do more should severe weather strike;

 

24. A scheme for 78 schools to cut their energy costs and carbon emissions through practical and financial support.

 

The day-to-day funding of schools and teachers is separate from the Council’s spending.

 

Supporting people to live, work, and learn

 

We will continue to fund:

 

25. Over 50 bus services that wouldn’t otherwise operate;

 

26. Support for 60 people who are either care leavers or long-term unemployed to get into a work placement;

 

27. Hundreds more business clinics and workshops for companies looking to start-up;

 

28. Support for the private sector to increase the take-up of apprenticeships by around 5%;

 

29. Transport services for around 1,800 eligible young people every day to get to our local schools;

 

30. Our School Meals Service which, alongside our schools, serves-up 900,000 meals for Primary School children;

 

31. Free entry for all residents to the Fashion Museum, Roman Baths, and most exhibits at the Victoria Art Gallery;

 

32. Places for 900 children and 200 adults on our Bikeability scheme which encourages safe cycling;

 

33.  All three One Stop Shops in Bath, Keynsham, and Midsomer Norton kept open and improved.

 

The pressure from the combination of Government funding reductions, demographic change, and rising costs will continue in the future. This may require further prioritisation of our services.

 

Our Priority – Investing in homes and jobs for local people

 

The Council is also investing in a range of projects to provide new homes, new jobs, and better infrastructure to the area.

 

Councillor David Bellotti (Lib-Dem, Lyncombe), Cabinet Member for Resources, said, “Whilst protecting frontline services and freezing Council Tax, we must also make sensible investments into the fabric of our communities so that once the national economic slowdown is over our district is in the best possible position to advantage of the recovery through providing new homes, more jobs, and better transport.”

 

The projects include:

 

• Progressing the Bath ‘City of Ideas’ Enterprise Area through a combined total of over £27 million to regenerate key sites along the River Avon with employment space and places to live, including affordable homes;

 

• Completing a £34 million revamp of Keynsham town centre that will encourage private sector investment into the community;

 

• Regenerating communities, including Radstock where an upgrade of the road network will support new homes and jobs, and London Road, Bath;

 

• Continuing the £27 million upgrade of Bath’s transport network to tackle congestion, improve air quality, and encourage economic growth;

 

• £4 million on school improvement and expansion projects.

 

Find out more

 

Detailed information about the budget, including how the Council is making back office savings and the full medium term financial plans for each service in the Council is available at www.bathnes.gov.uk/budget2013

The Council will meet on Tuesday night (19 February) to vote on next year’s budget proposals from the Liberal Democrat administration.

The Lib Dems are proposing a listening budget which prioritises the frontline services that are most important to residents and protects services for the most vulnerable, whilst still achieving a further year of frozen Council tax.

Key services, which residents value most, are being protected. Collections of rubbish and recycling will remain weekly. Funding for bus services will continue. No funding cuts for the youth service are proposed. All library branches will remain open. No parking charges will be introduced in car parks which are currently free to use. The street cleaning budget has been protected.

Council tax in B&NES has been frozen since the Liberal Democrats took control of the Council from the Conservatives in 2011. Unlike many neighbouring Councils, who are proposing a hike next year, the Lib Dem administration is proposing a further year of frozen Council tax, in recognition of the continuing difficult economic times.

The Liberal Democrats are also prioritising sensible capital investment which will help to support the local economy and provide the conditions for more growth and, ultimately, more jobs for local people.

Local projects to encourage growth include infrastructure developments to open up new sites for housing and workplaces, such as flood alleviation for the Avon in Bath and regeneration schemes, such as the London Road project and Radstock regeneration fund.

 

To find out more about the budget:

·         Visit our website: http://www.bathlibdems.org.uk/budget

·         Follow our Twitter hashtag: #listeningbudget2013

·         Watch the Cabinet meeting at which the budget was approved to go forward to the Council: http://tinyurl.com/a83jbjl (the budget discussion starts at 58:32)

·         Read the full proposals on the Council’s website: http://tinyurl.com/ba7outc

As Liberal Democrat Leader of Bath and NE Somerset Council I have introduced a pilot programme to webcast some of the Council meetings. The first pilot was the meeting of the Cabinet on 13/02/2013.

The webcast can be seen at   CLICK THIS LINK

The Guildhall was packed for the first two items of school building programme and our budget proposals. The Liberal Democrat cabinet is proposing for a second year in a row a 0% Council Tax rise.

My notes for the meeting are as follows:-

Cabinet Meeting Notes – 6.2.13

 

 

Agenda Item 12: Financial Plan 2013/14 – 2015/16, Budget and Council Tax 2013/14

 

• Our proposal puts people first and communities at the heart of everything we do whilst ensuring our most vulnerable residents are given the support that they need.

 

• Because the Council has made back office savings of more than £25 million over recent years, delivered balanced budgets, and maintained a strong level of reserves, we are one of the few town halls in the region to propose freezing Council Tax whilst making sensible investment into our local communities.

 

• Our £151 million investment programme includes projects for Keynsham town centre’s regeneration, the creation the Bath ‘City of Ideas’ Enterprise Area, and the upgrade of the area’s public transport network.

 

• The Cabinet is listening to feedback from local people about their priorities. As a result, our proposal keeps free parking at sites where there is currently no charge outside Bath, maintains Recycling Centre opening times as they are, and preserved virtually all of our supported bus services.

 

You can then pick some selected items from the following list:

 

Supporting the most vulnerable people and families

 

• The £260 million over the next three years that we will spend on adult social care must be focused on the most vulnerable people, promoting their independence through improved community services to ensure that residents, where possible, stay at home;
• An extra £3.25 million has been set aside for people with the highest care needs over the next three years;
• £4 million to fund school expansion in response to increases in the local birth rate and population growth;

 

New places to live and work

 

• Progressing the Bath ‘City of Ideas’ Enterprise Area through a combined total of over £27 million to regenerate key sites along the River Avon with employment space and places to live, including affordable homes;

• Completing a £34 million revamp of Keynsham town centre that will encourage private sector investment into the community;

 

A better quality of life in our communities

 

• Retaining weekly bins collections, freezing most car parking charges, and protecting the street cleaning budget;
• Completing the £32 million Bath Transportation Package;
• Investing £500,000 in cycle routes and £500,000 to continue rolling out 20 mph zones;
• £4.9 million in 2013/14 on a combination of road surface improvements and safety schemes;
• £2 million for Odd Down playing fields and cycle track;
• £225,000 in 2013/14 to improve the equipment in our playgrounds with further investment proposed over coming years.

 

Agenda Item 13: Bath & North East Somerset Core Strategy: Proposed Changes

 

• The Core Strategy is a key document for the Council and local communities because;

 

• It provides clarity on where and how new development takes place in the district;

 

• It helps to ensure we meet our needs for new housing, social facilities and infrastructure;

 

• It gives us control on the quality and standard of new development;

 

• I am pleased that we have been making good progress on addressing the concerns raised by the Inspector last year and that Full Council will have the opportunity to consider any amendments which are needed to the Core Strategy later this month;

 

• In amending the Core Strategy, we must seek to balance the need to generate prosperity whilst recognising the very special place that B&NES is;

 

• However in doing this we must acknowledge that there may some difficult decisions s to make, but we will seek to do  this in a way which brings greatest benefit to as many people as possible

 

Agenda Item 14: Sustainable Construction & Retrofitting Supplementary Planning Document

 

• This is new local guidance for B&NES homeowners/small scale build projects on how to build sustainably. It joins up planning and building control consent advice.

 

• Supports aspirations for increasing renewable energy take–up on a domestic scale (key element of Core Strategy renewable energy target).

 

• Supports the Council’s Green Deal Project – to increase take up of domestic energy saving measures to reduce CO2 emissions.

 

• Linked with the initiation of the community project – Bath Green Homes – collaboration between the Council, Bath Preservation Trust and Transition Bath. With local business sponsorship (Main Sponsors: Curo Housing & Future Supply plus many other support sponsors including local branch of the RIBA and local Colleges) and volunteer involvement. Now entering its 2^nd year.

 

• Supports local economic objectives for increasing green jobs and training opportunities as well as the health agenda around tackling fuel poverty and reducing cold home hazards (the later costs NHS in B&NES £3.8m per year)

 

Agenda Item 15: Highway Adoption Charges

 

• The report recommends altering the charging structure for the technical approval and supervision of developers’ highways works (under Sections 38 and 278 of the Highways Act of 1980, and Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990);

 

• This will enable the costs of required officer time to be fully met by the developments they technically approve and supervise (instead of these costs falling against the Council’s highways budgets);

 

• This will ensure that development related new roads and new transport infrastructure will satisfy the Council’s standards, thereby reducing future potential liability issues when adopting new roads and infrastructure as well-built infrastructure lasts longer helping to build good neighbourhoods and a stronger economy;

 

• The proposed charging system is fairer because it better reflects the demands on officer time comparatively reducing the cost rates for larger developments and increasing the rates for smaller developments.

 

 

Agenda Item 16: Primary School Expansion

 

• The Council must respond to an increase in population and local birth rates by increasing the numbers of school places in our area;

 

• Some local authorities regionally and across the country have realised this trend is taking place too late meaning that children and parents lose out because the school places simply are not available at the school that they want;

 

• These proposals ensure that we are ahead of the game and responding to population trends at the schools that are most in need of additional places and support the principle of parental choice;

 

• Our consultation has been extensive and we have captured the views of a wide number of local residents – although we appreciate that we may need to think about issues such as getting transport access right at the schools we are proposing for expansion.

 

Agenda Item 17: Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring, Cash Limits and Virements – April 2012 to December 2012

 

• Continued reductions in the projected revenue overspend position from that reported in September. The overspend has reduced from £1.6 million to £213,000. This equates to around 0.05% of gross budgeted expenditure.

 

• As previously agreed, provisions remain within appropriate reserves to offset this level of overspend should it be required at year end.

 

• The majority of key savings from the 2012/13 budget have been delivered.

 

• Good progress being made on capital projects, including Keynsham Regeneration, St Gregory’s and St Marks Joint 6^th form Centre and Ralph Allen Applied Learning Centre.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

 

Agenda Item 18: Treasury Management Monitoring Report to 31st December 2012

 

• Investments remain focussed on main UK banks, Local Authorities and highly rated Money Market Funds with emphasis on security and liquidity.

 

•  Council continues to avoid holding any direct investments with banks in the Eurozone.

 

• Investment Returns remain in line with budget.

 

• Based on current Borrowing and Investment rates, it is envisaged that we will continue to utilise the Council’s cash flow balances to meet approved capital expenditure and delay draw down of any new borrowing.

 

Agenda Item 19: Treasury Management Strategy Statement & Annual Investment Strategy 2013/14

 

• Report sets out proposed operational boundaries related to the Council’s treasury management activities – investing and borrowing.

 

• Borrowing limits are linked to the Council’s proposed capital programme – although actual decisions on borrowing will depend on the Council’s cash levels and interest rates.

 

• Current debt portfolio will be reviewed with a view to providing revenue savings.

 

• Advisor predicting it could be 2016 before UK bank rate increases from the current 0.50%, Council budgeting to achieve 0.75% on investments in 2013/14 by increasing duration where appropriate.

 

Agenda Item 20: Supported Bus Services

 

• These proposals represent an excellent deal for Bath & North East Somerset Council and local bus passengers, many of whose livelihoods and quality of life depend upon these services;

 

• Improving the supported bus service network at a time when public spending is shrinking has taken a lot of hard work by the Council. We are doing more for less;

 

• Bus operators have also played a significant part by reviewing operations and submitting tender bids that recognise the tough financial position;

 

• Through supported bus service funding, the Council provides money for 50 services that otherwise would not operate commercially giving thousands of passengers access to jobs and facilities.

 

Roman Baths wins gold tourism excellence award

The Roman Baths, run by Bath & North East Somerset Council, has won gold in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2012-13.

The award, in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category, was officially presented to members of the Roman Baths team by the stand-up comedian Lloyd Griffith at a prestigious ceremony held at Cornwall’s Eden Project on 8 February.

The Roman Baths is the only large visitor attraction in the Somerset and Avon area to receive a medal in the awards. It faced stiff competition from a very high standard of entries including The National Maritime Museum and National Trust Tudor house Cotehele (both in Cornwall), and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. The South West Tourism Excellence Awards judging panel based its decision on recommendations from the category judges and mystery shoppers.

The Roman Baths achieved the highest scores for “commitment to excellence in customer experience”, “sustainability” and “commitment to excellence in improvements”. The official report highlighted a number of positive aspects of the Roman Baths visitor experience, including:

*  An iconic building in a memorable setting.
*  Following several years of major investment the museum and baths are very well presented and interpreted. Audio guides with a range of commentaries for different age groups, interests and languages are easy to use and informative.
*  Video presentations bring the various areas to life as they would have been in Roman times, with great effect.
*  Regular free guided tours with knowledgeable staff; and costumed characters entertain around the main bath.
*  The new Roman Baths Kitchen café, opened in May 2012, offers a good range of food throughout the day. Good service, quality furniture and a changing menu.

Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “We’re delighted that the Roman Baths has improved on its ‘Highly Commended’ status in the Access for All category of last year’s awards by taking first place in the prestigious Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award.”
Councillor Paul Crossley (Lib-Dem, Southdown) Leader of Council, added, “It shows Bath & North East Somerset Council’s continuing commitment to making this nationally important visitor attraction accessible and exciting for everyone to enjoy. The Roman Baths team has worked incredibly hard and rightly deserve this success. I also wish them the best of luck for the Visit England national awards which they now go forward to.”
A total of 300 entries were considered for the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, with all entrants undergoing a rigorous short-listing process and 164 going on to be visited by a team of over 30 judges and mystery shoppers.

For more information about Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Roman Baths visit www.romanbaths.co.uk<http://www.romanbaths.co.uk>