It is now just a couple of weeks until polling day on
Thursday 4th May when people right across Cornwall will have their chance to
elect their local representatives to Cornwall Council. The Lib Dems have been in charge for the last
four years with the Independent bloc supporting them.
Cornwall Council has a very large budget of round £1.2
billion per year but a lot of people feel that they don't always get their
priorities right. They say they can't find money for the things that really
matter, like adult social care, but then they can always find money for pet
projects like spending £536,000 on a bid to make Truro the "European
Capital of Culture" - even though we will have left the EU by then and are
therefore unlikely to be successful.
The Council is not getting its approach to social care
support right at the moment. I have seen
many parents of disabled children or carers of adults with special needs who
have previously benefited from quite modest support payments to help with a few
hours a week of respite care or three hours a week from personal
assistants. It just helps them keep
things together. But all too often that
small amount of support is being pulled away by Cornwall Council which is
leading to anxiety. It is also a false
economy because when funds are tight we should be looking for more ways to
provide a small amount of money that can make a big difference and reduce the
need for more expensive care options later on.
Cornwall Council have it back to front at the moment.
Planning is another area where change is required. In the last few years, the Council has had a
poor track record in defending Cornwall from urban sprawl and inappropriate
development on green field sites. They
do not pay enough attention to the need for infrastructure and services to
support new development.
Local Council elections are always very close in this
area so anything can happen. Although I
am a Conservative, I also have a lot of respect for everyone who puts
themselves up for election whatever Party they represent and also to all the
volunteers who give up their time to help deliver leaflets. So, whichever way you decide to vote, make
sure you do vote.
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