Clewer & Dedworth, Homepage News

WANT TO INFLUENCE HOW RBWM’S £4M WINDFALL IS SPENT IN 2023/34? WE SHOW YOU HOW AND WHY?

Christmas has come early this year and residents have the opportunity to influence how RBWM spends an extra £4m windfall in 2023/34, and £3m in 2024/25.

And we are going to help you claim some of that over the next three days;

• Today we will tell you “What’s on offer?”, “How to take part in the survey” and “best to get what you want – 3 key issues for success?”,

• LATER, in four separate posts what you could appropriately ask for from each of the four key areas of Council Operation; Children’s & Adult’s Services; Place Services; Governance, Law, Strategy & Public Health Services; Resources activities

We will also focus on areas that are dear to our heart to help you delve deeper if you wish to including Chilrdens Services, and Planning/Environment & Climate.

NB We even have hard copy versions of the Survey form for you linked to this post.

KEY LESSON 1 – PLEASE ASK FOR SOMETHING as this could be a once-in-a-lifetime windfall. Next year it will be spent by the politicians unless we are in leadership 😉

Come back and check our posts every day to find out more detail about each question.

Whether you have comments on each area or only s single, focused issue, HAVE YOUR SAY.

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WHAT’S ON OFFER WITH THE BUDGET?

Here’s the bad news?

The Council’s services have been cut to the bone, the legal minimum, including the services it provides to the most vulnerable people in our Borough. No niceties here just grim reality with hundreds of families suffering and even the necessary cut.

Secondly, your comments have to be in by the DEADLINE of 24 January 2023

What’s the good news?

  1. The Council and YOU have a windfall gain of £4m to spend on “necessities and niceties”, and a further £3m to spend in coming years so, you do not have to find funds or cut other services to pay for your suggestions
  2. Officers TAKE ON BOARD YOUR SUGGESTIONS on how to spend this money if you complete the survey and, pass the qualifying criteria
  3. We are about to show you HOW BEST TO GET WHAT YOU WANT

What areas are up for improvement?

Everything.

You can make suggestions that cover any area. There are four broad areas and, in All areas of the Council are What do you think that RBWM could and should do better on? Here’s an outline of what you could change with your £4m;

  • Children’s & Adult’s Services
  • Place Services
  • Governance, Law, Strategy & Public Health Services
  • Resources activities

HOW TO TAKE PART IN THE SURVEY?

You can complete the Budget Consultation 2323/24 Survey;

HOW BEST TO GET WHAT YOU WANT – 3 KEY POINTS NOT TO FORGET

  1. Say what you want, ideally based on your poor experience of certain council services. You can also, if you wish, mainly focusing on cut down existing services – see below & later posts
  2. Make sure it ticks at least one box of the Corporate Plan criteria – see next post
  3. Get Others to complete the survey as well and say what they want. The stronger the response on an issue, the more chance something will happen.

What questions will you be asked?

Each major have your say section has the same style of questions

  1. Have you used XXXXX Services in the past year? Multiple choice
  2. To what extent do you agree with the budget proposals for XXXXX Services? Multiple choice
  3. Do you have any comments or concerns about specific budget proposals for XXXXX? This is the key write-what-you-want section that allows you to MAKE YOUR SUGGESTIONS
  4. What overall impact will these proposals have on you and/or your family? Multiple choice

What are the Corporate Plan criteria?

The Corporate Plan is the yardstick by which ALL DECISIONS ARE ASSESSED; The ring to rule all rings, “the one ring to rule them all“

KEY LESSON 2 – SAY HOW YOUR SUGGESTION FITS IN WITH ONE OF THE POINTS OR MORE ON THE CORPORATE PLAN

If you don’t like the Corporate Pan, tell the Council and be ready to change the Corporate Plan during its annual Consultation Process – the WWRA and the LibDems will help the Council improve its next Corporate Plan for you.

The current Corporate Plan has three tiers or levels;

Corporate Plan Level 1

1. Thriving communities Where families and individuals are empowered to achieve their ambitions and fulfil their potential.

2. Inspiring places Supporting the borough’s future prosperity and sustainability. A council trusted to deliver its promises

Corporate Plan Level 2 – a refinement of Level 1

A. A ladder of housing opportunity, to support better life chances for all.

B. Quality infrastructure that connects neighbourhoods and businesses and allows them to prosper.

C. Taking action to tackle climate change and its consequences, and improving our natural environment.

Corporate Plan Level 3

i. Empower and enable individuals, communities and businesses to maximise their potential.

ii. Invest in prevention, and intervene early to address problems before they escalate.

iii. Shape our service-delivery around our communities’ diverse needs and put customers at the heart of all we do.

iv. Make the most effective use of resources – delivering the best value for money.

v. Promote awareness of a sustainable and biodiverse environment across all our decision-making. Invest in prevention, and intervene early to address problems before they escalate.

vi. Promote health and wellbeing, and focus on reducing inequalities, across all areas.

Get Others to also complete the survey and say what they want.

It is possible that the stronger the response on an issue, the more people who say the same thing, then the more chance that will happen.

I love this new element of democracy.

KEY LESSON 3 – GET OTHERS TO ALSO HAVE THEIR SAY.

WATCH OUT FOR OUR ARTICLES – WHICH WILL SET OUT KEY AREAS FOR CONCERN YOU CAN COMMENT ON

Are you interested in a specific issue such as Climate Change or SEN or Early Intervention or something else?

Our next four articles will go through each service and break it down for you

  • Children’s & Adult’s Services
  • Place Services
  • Governance, Law, Strategy & Public Health Services
  • Resources activities
  • Our final article will focus on issues that your WWRA Councillors have extra close to heart including Cost of Living Crisis, Improving failures in adult services, supporting the increasing number of vulnerable women, Lighting for safety, Environment & Climate Change, Planning, Children’s Services and Adults Services.

Want to know why we have extra cash? Read our post at shorturl.at/dnK79

See you later.

Accountably yours,

Wisdom

Cllr. Wisdom Da Costa

CREDITS

*Our thanks to local firm Quick Start Digital for hosting the survey forms

*Our thanks to RBWM officers for facilitating this exciting oportunity to spend £4m windfall gain.

*Photo by Tina Vanhove on Unsplash