DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL
CONSERVATIVE GROUP
Manifesto 2005 - 2009

Listening to Devon
Devon County Conservative
Manifesto 2005 -2009
2 April 2005

Leader’s message

Four years ago we asked the people of Devon to give the Conservatives at County Hall a chance to “make a difference” to the way in which your Council was run.

  You agreed, and ended eight years of Liberal Democrat control. We became the largest group on your Council and since then have played a lead role in an all Party administration. Our aim is to use our position to achieve the best for you and Devon .

 We see ourselves as the Low Tax, High Action, Value-for-Money Party.  We now seek  your support to take Conservative control of Devon . Our aim is simple to protect and improve front line services whilst stamping out waste and cutting bureaucracy.

Christine Channon

Better services-lower taxes-accountability

The Conservative vision for Devon .

Devon Conservative’s Key Principles

As Conservatives we  believe in the concept of giving people power through freedom, independence choice and opportunity. The individual, family and community lie at the centre of this empowerment and we believe that in Devon local government is the embodiment of local communities.

Devon Conservatives believe in a  reverse in the current trend where freedoms and responsibilities have been pulled away from local communities towards central government and other un-elected organisations.

Devon Conservatives believe that:

·    The best judges of the performance of Devon County Council are the people of Devon .

·   Improvement of public services in Devon must be focussed on the people of Devon they are the users of those services.

·   The best possible use of the Devon public’s money must be made in delivering services to the people of Devon .

·  All organisations spending  public money in Devon must ultimately be accountable to the people of Devon the quango state is incompatible with this principle and must be reduced.

·       At the heart of this lies the scrapping of the  un-elected Regional Assembly and the setting of a date for a European Constitution. Devon Conservatives would vote “NO”.

Taxing Less – and doing more

It is always tempting for Councils to spend more money but every pound the Council spends has been earned and paid for by someone else, be it the Devon Council Taxpayer, the Business Ratepayer  or the taxpayer nationally. We see it as our job as your Councillors to exercise  both discretion and caution in how we spend your money - better services, lower taxes:

·       Bureaucracy has become an  obsession in Labour’s world of  Local Government. Local Plans and costly endless inspections now dominate the work of our Councils.

·       Labour has adopted a position of thinking that they know what is best for everyone and have  forced Councils to deliver these targets.  However,  Audit Commission reports show that County Councils, particularly Conservative-run ones, have  performed well and so  Devon Conservatives believe that the best judge of performance comes via the ballot box and that inspection should  simply be a light touch

·       The money saved should be used to improve front-line services and cut Council Tax.

·       The future of local government finance is a thorny question. The Liberal Democrat solution of Local Income Tax (LIT) is discredited, unworkable and misleading. The average working family in Britain would be £630 per year WORSE OFF under LIT. In Devon the figure could be even higher.

·       We will restore security and dignity to pensioners.  Nationally pensions will be increased and we will cut the council tax bills of pensioners over 65, living alone or together—up to a maximum of £500

·       We need a fairer funding system that stops Labour shifting Devon ’s money to their “friends in the north”.

·       Above all, Devon Conservatives will resist further attempts by the Government to push additional burdens, responsibilities and costs upon local authorities without proper and adequate funding mechanisms.

·       We will improve Devon ’s economic well-being through  development of skills, and endeavour to achieve a better match between skill levels and the requirement of providers.

·       We will work to enhance skills which make a positive contribution to sustainable development such as food/farming, tourism and culture.

Educating Devon ’s children and working with our youth

Devon ’s children are Devon ’s future. A Conservative County Council would recognise this and work accordingly. We believe that the best people to run schools, are schools. Here in Devon we would:

·       Give Head Teachers control over  discipline.

·       Set up a local fund for capital schemes in schools which would allow discretion at local level to deliver small schemes of their choice.

·       We will encourage excellence at all levels in our schools, with special help for those with special needs and ‘looked after children’.

·       We will encourage young people who have left school without basic skills and qualifications through higher education to achieve access to full-time employment.

·       We will encourage healthy eating  in schools by setting up some pilot schemes and provide more  exercise and sport - team and individual.

·       We will lead and support initiatives to tackle the under-age sales of alcohol, tobacco and solvents.

·       We will encourage young people to stay in Devon by endeavouring to bring together all the strands that will enhance the quality of young life, jobs, transport, recreation and affordable housing.

Supporting and caring for those who need help

‘Social Services’ as a term has come to include a multitude of different things.  A Conservative County Council would seek to ensure that the best possible use was made of taxpayer’s money to help all those young and old who need help and support in their daily lives.

·       We will create a stable and caring environment for children who are unable to live with their families - an area in which Conservatives believe we could make some improvement. Too many of our young people end up unskilled and unemployed. And too many end up in psychiatric hospitals and prison.

·       We will provide support for youth services - in particular those that seek to help young people take charge of their own lives through skills training, job provision and youth organisations. We will roll out the on-street bus provision to all districts.

·       We will improve care for the elderly and those with disabilities. We must modernise to meet demand and expectations. This will mean more day care, domiciliary care and specialist residential care for the elderly, infirm, frail and disabled. We must support those with learning difficulties and the mentally ill.

·       We will encourage the take up of direct payments, particularly amongst those with learning disabilities, mental health problems, adults over 65 and adult carers. Direct payments encourage independence and choice.

·       We will work together with local partnerships to improve outcomes for local people. 

Making our County an easier place to live

Devon is the finest County in Britain with, for many, a quality of life envied by visitors and outsiders alike, but there is much to be done to enhance and improve this. A Conservative County Council would lead this task:

·       We will continue the programme of road maintenance and footway improvement.

·       We will improve travel choices and reduce the congestion that now blights Exeter and many other towns.

·       We will work closely with local Councils on local highways issues – the mobile ‘lengthsmen’ scheme.

·       Tourism is a vital cornerstone of Devon ’s economy. Over 80% of our visitors arrive by road and who knows how many are deterred from coming at all by the congestion levels. We must further improve  roads like, the Newton Abbot/Torbay corridor.

·       We will improve access to the countryside. This is an important part of our local economy i.e. 33% of our visitor spending per annum. The South West Coastal Path alone contributes over £120 m to the Devon economy.

·       We will develop a Rights of Way Improvement Plan which will enhance and create cycle routes and cycle-hire facilities, bridleways and riding centres.

·       We will endeavour to link walking routes and ferry services with all other transport means, offering enjoyment of the countryside to Devonian and visitor alike.

And a safer and cleaner Devon for all

As far as the public are concerned, nothing describes the work of their Council better than the world around them. Devon Conservatives are determined that Devon will be an environment in which people feel safe, at home and proud. We also understand the need for access to your Council and the provision of a ‘joined up’ service by it:

·       The fear of crime is rife in Devon particularly amongst the elderly.

·       We will stop illegal traveller encampments and let local people decide where the provision of transit and permanent sites should be developed. We oppose the imposition of centralist. arbitrary quotas and statutory obligations on councils to provide sites.  They should be a local, plan-led process

·       A Conservative County Council will work with the police and the courts to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

·       We will take measures to remove and discourage litter and graffiti both in urban areas and the countryside.

·       We will designate an Executive member to be responsible for the ‘cultural’ development of Devon through libraries, the creative arts, heritage, leisure, sport and the environment.

·       We will form wider  and stronger partnerships with District authorities, the voluntary and private sectors to deliver these projects.

·       We will set up a contact centre which will provide access by telephone to information across all Authorities. We will work with District Councils to  share the  portal through which e-government can be accessed and information shared. Devon needs a single multi-access service which leaves no-one excluded. The internet and mediated access points are an important part of this.

·       We will promote the work of the voluntary sector in all manner of ways be it school governors, foster parents, youth workers, local environmentalists and all others who combine to work for a better Devon.

A sound and sustainable economy

Devon suffered badly under the Foot and Mouth epidemic and even now some residents are still suffering from the effects of this disaster.  The economy of Devon tends to divide with the A30 and there is still a lot of work to be done to equate the economic divide.  Conservatives promise:

·       To monitor DEFRA to ensure that protocols are in place so that any possible future outbreaks will be dealt effectively and rapidly

·       To provide opportunities for diversity are promoted for businesses which will  lose out on CAP subsidies

·       To promote small business and access to Broadband

·       To promote sustainable tourism

·       To protect the future of Exeter International Airport and ensure its development as the major airport in the South-West peninsula

·       To continue the growth of the Exeter Economic Development Area, through the promotion of Skypark

·       To work with the University of Exeter to promote the development of research, industry and business.

 This is the vision of the Devon County Conservative group for the next four years.  We accept that there are many challenges but with the support of the people of Devon we believe that our pledges are deliverable and we seek the opportunity to put them into action