Victor Brownlees

Answered by Victor Brownlees

We are reviewing all the services we currently provide in order to: 1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013 2) to rationalise... Show more »We are reviewing all the services we currently provide in order to:

1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013

2) to rationalise and improve processes and;

3) to explore better ways of delivering services

Part of the rationale behind this will be to protect services we provide directly to our residents. As our savings proposals move forward, if there are any proposals that affect these "frontline" services, we will not make any changes without first consulting with the people who use these services, giving the opportunity to scrutinise any proposals and, as has happened as part of this budget process, suggest alternatives which in many cases the Council has changed proposals to take account of these suggestions. We are also committed to continuing our budget consultation throughout the year to help shape our future spending plans to ensure that these reflect people's priorities.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

The level of council tax increase was an essential part of an extensive consultation process that we undertook before we set this year's budget. For example, 85% of respondents on our community panel ... Show more »The level of council tax increase was an essential part of an extensive consultation process that we undertook before we set this year's budget. For example, 85% of respondents on our community panel supported a tax increase at this level. Of those who opposed the proposed 1.9% increase, two thirds wanted a lower or zero increase. While a higher increase closer in line with current inflation rate would help to reduce the level of cuts, we would be capped by the Government if we proposed a very significant increase. However, despite having the lowest council tax for equivalent services in the region, we recognise that household budgets are under a great deal of pressure at the moment and that many people already struggle to pay essential bills including council tax. Show less »

Answered by Victor Brownlees

We are reviewing all the services we provide in order to: 1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013 2) to rationalise... Show more »

We are reviewing all the services we provide in order to:

1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013

2) to rationalise and improve processes and;

3) to explore better ways of delivering services. 

We will be a smaller council at the end of this. We cannot make savings of this scale without making a number of posts redundant. At this stage, we don’t know how many that will be or in what areas.  However, as managers complete service reviews we are likely to be putting numbers of posts and staff ‘at risk’ and will be keeping our staff fully informed. As part of the review process, we are exploring, with the unions, alternatives to redundancy and maximising opportunities to delete vacancies and take advantage of natural wastage.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

The parish council’s are independent bodies in their own right and work with the Council under our Parish Charter. Consequently Telford & Wrekin Council is not in a position to tell them what software... Show more »

The parish council’s are independent bodies in their own right and work with the Council under our Parish Charter. Consequently Telford & Wrekin Council is not in a position to tell them what software to use or tell them how to respond to the open source debate that reccurs across the public sector. However Wordpress, like any other open source product is never completely free and comes with its own costs in terms of developing skills, maintaining and improving functionality and support for bespoke developments. These skills often rely heavily on individuals which are often difficult to retain and replicate.  

We are currently building a web site using a new content management system, carefully selected after a full evaluation of the market place, and when this work is complete we will be pursuing discussions with the Parishes to enable us to host their sites on our infrastructure.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

The Southwater development is primarily driven by private sector and funded by the private sector. What this is about from my point of view is creating a real and living town centre within the heart of... Show more »

The Southwater development is primarily driven by private sector and funded by the private sector. What this is about from my point of view is creating a real and living town centre within the heart of Telford –something the town has never had since it was created. Southwater will become a real focal point for the borough and our aim is to drive footfall by concentrating services in this key area to create a living town centre.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

We are reviewing all the services we currently provide in order to: 1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013 2) to rationalise... Show more »We are reviewing all the services we currently provide in order to:

1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013

2) to rationalise and improve processes and;

3) to explore better ways of delivering services

Part of the rationale behind this will be to protect services we provide directly to our residents. As our savings proposals move forward, if there are any proposals that affect these "frontline" services, we will not make any changes without first consulting with the people who use these services, giving the opportunity to scrutinise any proposals and, as has happened as part of this budget process, suggest alternatives which in many cases the Council has changed proposals to take account of these suggestions. We are also committed to continuing our budget consultation throughout the year to help shape our future spending plans to ensure that these reflect people's priorities.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

The level of council tax increase was an essential part of an extensive consultation process that we undertook before we set this year's budget. For example, 85% of respondents on our community panel ... Show more »The level of council tax increase was an essential part of an extensive consultation process that we undertook before we set this year's budget. For example, 85% of respondents on our community panel supported a tax increase at this level. Of those who opposed the proposed 1.9% increase, two thirds wanted a lower or zero increase. While a higher increase closer in line with current inflation rate would help to reduce the level of cuts, we would be capped by the Government if we proposed a very significant increase. However, despite having the lowest council tax for equivalent services in the region, we recognise that household budgets are under a great deal of pressure at the moment and that many people already struggle to pay essential bills including council tax. Show less »

Answered by Victor Brownlees

We are reviewing all the services we provide in order to: 1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013 2) to rationalise... Show more »

We are reviewing all the services we provide in order to:

1) meet savings targets – we know that we as Council will have to save between nearly £11 million and £19 million by 2013

2) to rationalise and improve processes and;

3) to explore better ways of delivering services. 

We will be a smaller council at the end of this. We cannot make savings of this scale without making a number of posts redundant. At this stage, we don’t know how many that will be or in what areas.  However, as managers complete service reviews we are likely to be putting numbers of posts and staff ‘at risk’ and will be keeping our staff fully informed. As part of the review process, we are exploring, with the unions, alternatives to redundancy and maximising opportunities to delete vacancies and take advantage of natural wastage.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

The parish council’s are independent bodies in their own right and work with the Council under our Parish Charter. Consequently Telford & Wrekin Council is not in a position to tell them what software... Show more »

The parish council’s are independent bodies in their own right and work with the Council under our Parish Charter. Consequently Telford & Wrekin Council is not in a position to tell them what software to use or tell them how to respond to the open source debate that reccurs across the public sector. However Wordpress, like any other open source product is never completely free and comes with its own costs in terms of developing skills, maintaining and improving functionality and support for bespoke developments. These skills often rely heavily on individuals which are often difficult to retain and replicate.  

We are currently building a web site using a new content management system, carefully selected after a full evaluation of the market place, and when this work is complete we will be pursuing discussions with the Parishes to enable us to host their sites on our infrastructure.

Answered by Victor Brownlees

The Southwater development is primarily driven by private sector and funded by the private sector. What this is about from my point of view is creating a real and living town centre within the heart of... Show more »

The Southwater development is primarily driven by private sector and funded by the private sector. What this is about from my point of view is creating a real and living town centre within the heart of Telford –something the town has never had since it was created. Southwater will become a real focal point for the borough and our aim is to drive footfall by concentrating services in this key area to create a living town centre.