Stroud Budgets

As noted in the last post the Tories rejected looking at ethical investment last night - astonishing - the rest of the meeting was the District Council budget - and as noted I didn't get to the meeting but have just watched it on the webcast.

Photos: trees in Randwick woods last week

Budgets can be complex - I have spent a couple of hours with the Treasurer trying to get a better understanding and hours looking through the papers - but I'm still a way off getting my head around these figures - indeed parts of the budget are so complex they have to be sent to London for checking by auditors - none of this makes it easy for elected councillors to get a grasp of what is really going on.

In short there are some good bits like the new environmental measures, but they don't go far enough. Two key ideas for example that need exploring over the next year are firstly improving benefit take-up in the area as this is money from central government and will help the poorest sections of our community and secondly the Council borrowing for measures that pay back like renewables. Anyway hopefully will be able to explore more poossibilities for next year.

Stroud Town Council have also set their budget this week - loads less money and power but still making a difference - see news item here. In sharp contrast Greens on the London Assembly hold some of the balance of power and have had an extraodinary success for the third year running. Below is their news release:

GREENS SECURE £150 MILLION POUND BUDGET BOOST FOR GREEN INITIATIVES IN LONDON

Green group on London Assembly ensure Mayor's budget "provides a serious framework for tackling change in London" The London Mayor has pledged millions of pounds towards action on climate change in return for the crucial support for his annual budget from Green Group members Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones. This will be the third year in a row that Ken Livingstone has come to such an agreement.

Darren and Jenny have welcomed the Mayor’s adoption of his package of proposals on energy conservation, renewables and traffic reduction. The projects agreed by the Mayor will cost around £150m in total during the coming year. These projects build on the success of Green's previous budget initiatives.

The £150m includes many projects included in previous budget rounds, which have become a mainstream part of the GLAs work: - Energy in buildings: £8m minimum. - TfL Climate Change Fund: £8.3m - Travel Demand Management: £30m. - Cycling: £38.2m - Food: £1.5m - Green Grid: £0.360m - Road safety: £53.4m - Speed awareness: £7m. - Walking - funding to boroughs: £9.2m.

Darren Johnson, said: "The Mayor has taken on board our key demands and the result is a budget that provides a serious framework for tackling change in London. Any Assembly Member who cares about climate change would be mad not to vote for it."

Jenny Jones said: "This budget agreement builds on London’s success in reducing the proportion of journeys made by car. We want to promote cycling and walking in London as the healthier and more environmental option. We want cleaner buses and safer roads. We want London to lead the way on climate change by showing that an environmentally friendly transport system is also the most efficient transport system.”