Q

Was Council tax frozen last year, and if so, will it be frozen again this year?  I suggest people need information on the costs before you get a response on a generalised basis.  I support going for joint services.

A

Last year and the year before, the Government gave funding to Councils, provided they did not increase Council Tax, and the indications are that there is a similar proposal for the next financial year. 

Contracts in Children’s Services, for example, rise year on year, but Council tax did not go up. 

Q

There are certain areas in Wirral that have a high level of social problems etc and you need resources if you are having to fund them.  Is there a vehicle to lobby to say there are extraneous circumstances in Wirral that place a lot more pressure on services?

A

Council officers follow Council policies and do the best they can to stay within budget.  It is up to the political parties to lobby the Government. Wirral has a good track record of successfully bidding for grants, and has recently received a grant to support specific families in Wirral. 

Q

Sounds as if we are reaching Armageddon with all kinds of services expected to be cut.

Q

You could consider putting the rates up.  A progressive tax to put the rates up.

A

Council tax is only 13% of our income.  No Council can put the council tax up because there is a freeze from central government. 

Q

You need to make the survey easy to get as big a response as possible.  Question 2 asks people which of 12/15 items are important, but there’s no information.  It may be on the Internet, but you have to look for it.  You could have made the questionnaire larger and provide more information to help people to decide what is important and what is not.

Also, the start time of 6.30 pm doesn’t give much time to people who are working to get to this meeting.  The start time should be at least 7 pm.

A

We used to have a 7 pm start, and there are more people at this meeting than there were then.

[Area co-ordinator]:  The reason we didn’t have a bigger questionnaire is because people tend not to fill it in.  The reason we didn’t include monetary values against everything is because the information is available separately on the Internet, for example, the Streetscene budget, and copies will be sent out to people on request, and because it would add considerably to the cost.  Also, if there is a monetary value, people would fill in the questionnaire in a different way and base their responses on cost, instead of what is important to them.

Q

[Community representative]:  I am hugely concerned about this questionnaire.  The area coordinator mentioned only 227 questionnaires have come in from this area.  It would have been helpful to have a succinct list of the areas of expenditure saying this is where we spend the money and this is what we are asking you to prioritise.  What will the questionnaire be used for?  As a basis of a mandate for the Council?  As one of the people who attended the Council meeting on Monday, I’m not sure it is valid to have a questionnaire.  I want to know what it’s going to be used for.

A

[Area co-ordinator]:  Legally, we have to consult with our residents whenever we are going to make any changes to our services.  There would be an outcry if services just stopped.  The reason we are consulting is because we want to know what matters to people.  Every comment will be analyzed and fed back to the relevant department so they know what is important to people.  A list of options will be drawn up for further consultation with the community.

Many people don’t care – they think it doesn’t affect them, but they need to understand how important it is.  A questionnaire has not been sent to every household because of the expense involved, and even so there would not be a guaranteed response.

Q

Do you use local free newspapers for publicity?

A

We give the Press stories to publish, but they tend not to print the ‘good news’ stories and focus on ‘bad news’.

Q

The problem is there is no incentive to fill one in.  If there was a reward or a worthwhile prize you would be inundated with replies.  People always ask, ‘What’s in it for me?’  Its apathy, and you can’t beat apathy. 

Q

One question that’s not in the questionnaire is about how the £17 million overspend can be reduced.  You would have a 99% response if you asked if all Councillors and Council employees should forego their expenses entirely until there is no deficit.  If the allowances stopped it would focus people’s minds more on reducing the £17 million. 

A

[Chair]  Councillors took a 5% decrease in their expenses and many councillors don’t claim travelling expenses for journeys within Wirral.  You can check every Councillor’s expenses at the end of the year – we’ll all accountable.

Q

Councillors deserve their expenses; it is expensive returning phone calls and visits etc.  It’s dangerous to say that all Councillors should have their expenses frozen or taken away.  It’s a hard enough job being a councillor and to say you are not going to receive any expenses would be unreasonable.

Q

[Community representative].  Neighbourhood funding.  Has last year’s underspend been cut?

A

[Area co-ordinator]:  We spent it all in this year, before the freeze. The £20,000 for road safety is a Government grant.