Bucks County Cllr Anne Wight Report Nov 19 pt 3

When the problem lies with the electricity supplier

Street Lights continued...

Sometimes members of the public report failed lights to us that have stopped working due to an underground electrical supply fault. When this is the case, TfB is not able to repair the fault, because the cables are owned and maintained by the electricity companies for the area and only they are allowed to carry out repairs. However, TfB works closely with all three electricity companies who have equipment within the County to try and get these repaired as quickly as possible, but these repairs can be complex in nature and take some time to fix. This is why, occasionally, a reported street light could be out of service for some time. When this occurs, new temporary signs will be fixed to the lighting column to alert the public that TfB is aware of the problem but that they are waiting for the electricity company to address the issue. This will reduce the need for the public to repeat reporting such faults.

How to report a fault

Residents can report street lighting faults using the link below:

fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk

TfB does not maintain every streetlight in the County, however when trying to report a street lighting fault via fix my street, this will be made clear. It may be the responsibility of the Town or Parish Council in which case a link, which directs you to find owner is provided.

New Buckinghamshire Council Budget Priorities Consultation running until 25 November, 2019

The major services that our councils provide in Buckinghamshire play a part in all of our lives in some way on a daily basis. Whether that’s through waste and recycling collections, roads and transport, education and learning, health and social care, planning where new housing goes or making use of our many parks, libraries and leisure centres.

As we plan for the new Buckinghamshire Council, which will replace the county and district councils from April next year, it’s important that we take a look at our priorities and focus on the needs of all the people of Buckinghamshire and the future challenges we face as a county.

As one council, there will be many opportunities for us to bring services together better and improve the lives of our residents, businesses and communities.

We continue to face some very big challenges across the county:

• Our population is growing rapidly, which means more young children needing school places and more people needing our services .
• People are living longer, which means more elderly people needing help or care and the type of services that people need from us is getting more complex.
• The number of houses in the county is growing, which means more people who need every day services like waste and recycling collections, as well as the additional pressure on us to provide new roads, schools and other infrastructure to serve these new and growing communities.
• The lack of affordable housing means some people are struggling to afford to own or rent a home privately, which leads to an increase in people needing social housing.
• We are amongst the increasing number of councils who no longer receive any central government funding for day to day services.

As one council, there will be many opportunities to improve services, making it simpler and easier for you to get the services you need. In keeping the new council local, you will also be able to access information and advice about services from places close to where you live across the county.

There is no doubt that having one organisation across the council will reduce costs and duplication, but this will take time. We expect that over the next 4-5 years we will begin to see the fruits of coming together as one organisation, reducing costs by £18m by working smarter together.

But for now, we still have a job to do in balancing the books next year.

We have statutory responsibilities – things we that we must legally do, like safeguarding vulnerable children and adults, and providing schools and education. These are our biggest and growing areas of spending.

It is also important to note that the day to day money for running of our schools is not set or controlled by the council; this goes directly to schools from government.

We are now working to set the priorities and budget for the new Buckinghamshire Council for the next financial year, 2020/21 and beyond. In doing this we will need to make some difficult decisions about the level of spending across the board – making changes in how we provide some services by working smarter together, improving and ensuring a consistent level of service for residents across the whole county . We will also be investing in working closely with the community and local partners to ensure they are involved in decision-making and can influence the direction of the new council through new Community Boards.

We want to hear from you to help shape the new Buckinghamshire Council, tell us what you think we should be focusing on across all the services that you receive.

You can complete the online survey using the link below (open until 25 November) which will take less than 10 minutes. You can also drop into one of the main council offices or our main libraries to take part – these are Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Marlow and Princes Risborough.

We are ready and waiting to hear your views.

https://shadow.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/consultations/budget2020/

For more information on building the budget, residents can also look at the link below:

https://shadow.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/consultations/budget2020/building-the-budget/