AS THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS BITES, RA-INDEPENDENT COUNCILLORS  PROPOSE REFOCUSING YOUR FUND SURREY’S £100 MILLION TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND

In 2021 conservative County Councillor Mark Nuti announced that there was £100 million available for local communities and voluntary groups to bid for funding for local projects. The reality of Your Fund Surrey is that the fund does not rely on funds that the Council already has, but instead, SCC borrows the money at rapidly increasing interest rates which will impact on revenue going forward.  The cost of this falls fully on Surrey Council Taxpayers

There have been few applications from the most deprived areas of Surrey. In contrast there have been a significant number of applications from the most affluent areas.

Residents’ Association and Independent Councillors expressed their concerns about YFS in Tuesday’s Council Meeting. The leader of the RA/Independent group, Councillor Nick Darby proposed SCC to pause the spending until the fund is better aligned with the Council’s priorities.

Leader of the RA/Independent Group County Councillor Nick Darby said:

“Although I fully agree with the basic concept of Your Fund Surrey, there are a number of issues with the project’s timing and execution. When YFS was set up, the financial landscape of the United Kingdom was very different. Surrey County Council’s capital program is oversubscribed, as explained by officers. I do not suggest we abandon those who are nearly across the line with their applications. We need to set a figure at which we can pause YFS. This is now about affordability in the current set of financial crises we face. Making sure Surrey County Council can avoid cuts in services for Adult Social Care and Children is what we must focus on for now. We need to take time to refocus, reevaluate, to think about what we could do better.”

Residents’ Association and Independents Councillor Ernest Mallett said:

“When the leader first announced this scheme I was really excited about it, but two problems have arisen since then. The first thing is, the leader is not able to control the bureaucracy arising from running this scheme. It is really difficult to get an application approved. Second, we ran into a difficult financial situation. We keep criticising the central government for running unfunded schemes. YFS is unfunded in the same manner. We are borrowing money and spending millions of pounds from our revenue budget to pay for these projects. Personally I think this is unsustainable. I really feel that YFS is something we just cannot afford. The capital expenditure should be on things that will reduce ongoing costs.”

Expressing her frustration Councillor Jan Mason said:

“This money is being wasted. In the area I am representing there is no community centre, no clubs and most importantly, it is so densely built that there is no land to build new things.Some of you might get some lovely clubs, in middle – high income areas. What about low income areas, like the one that I am representing? My residents struggle to pay the rates and yet no one asked them whether they wished to spend Council money on projects for wealthy areas. They would rather have it spent on their roads and pathways.”

Despite affordability issues, the Conservative majority voted to continue with YFS without special regard for the scheme’s inherently high cost & effort of application which excludes those in the poorest areas, in the highest need who would benefit most.

For more information and comment:

County Councillor Nick Darby – 07719 728 725 or nick.darby@surreycc.gov.uk

County Councillor Jan Mason – 020 8397 7609 or JMason@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

County Councillor Ernest Mallett – Ernest.mallett@surreycc.gov.uk