Start the voting habit early

The House of Commons supported a motion put by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams this week to give the vote to 16 and 17 year olds.  Despite being passed with a large majority this proposal is not likely to become law because it was not a bill but a backbench motion.  Thanks to Conservative opposition to those under 18 voting young people are unlikely to be able to vote from age 16 in the near future.

I thought back through my own voting history and realised that, despite my interest in politics I didn't vote for an MP until I was 26.

There was a General Election the year before I turned 18.  I was living at home and studying for 'A' Levels.  If I had been able to vote in that election I would have done so.  A year later, around the time of taking my 'A' Levels, there were elections to the European Parliament.  I had passed my 18th birthday and voted in those elections.

At the time of the next General Election I was at University.  I had spent six months in a rented property and then returned to live with my parents for six months whilst undertaking a work placement.  In election week I went to stay with a friend in another part of the country.  I was registered to vote at my parent's address but as plans to visit a friend were made late in the day I didn't have time to apply for a postal vote.  I didn't vote.  I suspect that many young people are in a similar situation, moving around and making last minute plans in their late teens and early twenties.

It was then five years until the next General Election so I didn't vote on the national stage until I was 26 years old.  By that time I had stood as a local election candidate and voted in a further European election.

With General Elections now on a five year cycle and usually happening on the first Thursday in May a young person with an 18th birthday on the first Friday of May 2015 would not be likely to vote in a General Election until they were 23 years old.  Miss that one for some reason and they would be 28 years old.

A young person not eligible to vote until early 2016 would miss the 2015 General Election and wait until they were 22 to cast a vote in a national election.  

Surely the time to catch young people and engage them is at school or sixth form college.  Most will be voting in an area they have lived in for a time rather than voting in a town they may only spend a few years in whilst at university.

Why not give young people who are likely to be at home, with some stake in their local society a vote from age 16.  Not all will use their democratic right, not all will feel ready to vote but why not give young people the choice?

Sixteen is the time to get into the democratic habit.

Localising Council Tax - Government Shifts the Burden

Woking Council tonight approved its scheme to "localise" Council Tax.  Essentially this means the Council agreed which groups in the population who either have not previously paid Council Tax or have not paid full Council Tax will have to make at least a contribution to their Council Tax in future.

The Past
Until this year various groups in the population such as the unemployed, carers, those on low incomes and pensioners were entitled to council tax benefits.  These benefits were funded by the government who gave the money to local councils to run local services.

The Future
The Coalition government, in its wisdom, decreed that everyone of working age should pay something towards their Council Tax.  Pensioners were excluded from this latest wheeze and their Council Tax benefits remain unchanged.

Each Council has had to come up with a "Local Council Tax Support Scheme". The government offered a sample scheme and in Surrey the county worked with the boroughs to come up with a framework scheme.

Woking rejected the government scheme, even though if offered money to ease the scheme in for the first year, because of the wide ranging impact it would have had on those who would struggle to pay.

Woking has gone for its own variation of the Surrey framework.  The scheme has the following changes which will come into force from April 2013.

The second adult rebate scheme is removed
Currently if another adult lives with somebody who receives Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers allowance or Income-related employment and support allowance or has a low income they can claim Council Tax benefit.  This is removed.  This affects 25 people living in Woking.

Benefit is limited to level of Band D Council Tax
Council Tax benefit will only be paid for the amount due on a Band D property.  So if a resident lives in a Band E property they would need to pay the difference between the two bands.  This affects 160 Woking residents.  The difference between Band D and Band E Council Tax was £346.20 in 2012/13.  I made the point at the Council meeting that this may impact those who happen to live in a more expensive area who would need to find several hundred pounds more per year when food, gas and electric prices are already rising.

Minimum weekly benefit payment of £5
if the Council Tax benefit due is less than £5 a week it will not be paid.  Doesn't sound too bad but as I said at tonight's meeting this could be £200 a year for someone on a low income who is already struggling.  This affects 275 Woking residents.

Saving limit of £10,000
The amount of savings residents can have and still qualify for Council Tax benefit is reduced to £10,000.  This affects 43 Woking residents.

There is a hardship fund to help those who cannot pay what is due under the new scheme.  I made the point at the Council meeting this evening that this smacks of deserving and undeserving poor with those unable to pay having to plead with the Council for help with their bill.

I'm not happy with this scheme but it is sadly something that had to be done.  I am satisfied it is the best of a bad job.  Council officers in Woking really did work hard to find a scheme that had least impact.  The logic of charging more to those who have least is totally beyond me.

Woking Council has partially been able to reduce the impact for those on benefits or low incomes by making "technical changes" to Council Tax.  I will cover those changes in another blog post.

Beware Free Offers - they often come at a price

I had a phone call from my husband today letting me know a company called Landmark Security had telephoned and were offering us a "free" alarm system.  This call immediately rang alarm bells as I had received a similar call from a company called Direct Response last year.  They had also offered a "free" alarm system but a little investigation showed that this offer usually came with hefty charges.  I wrote about the experience to warn residents back in October and reported the company to local police, Trading Standards and the Telephone Preference Service.

I did a little searching on this latest company, who had told my husband that they were in the area and offering a limited number of "free" alarm systems.  It didn't take long to discover that the BBC programme Rogue Traders had investigated Landmark Security.  The Rogue Trader coverage came about after an elderly lady in Surrey had been charged over £7,000 for servicing and monitoring of a "free" alarm system.  The programme set up two scenarios using actors to illustrate tactics employed by the company.  These included spending up to three hours with prospective customers, insisting prospective customers sign up there and then to get a "free" system and accusing those who did not want to sign of wasting their time.

I am now reporting this company to Trading Standards and the Telephone Preference Service.  It is all too easy for us to ignore these calls but as we have TPS we should not receive the calls in the first place.  Older residents and those who live alone may see this as a good offer and could be persuaded to spend a lot of money.  An expert on the Rogue Trader programme says a burglar alarm system of the type offered costs on average under £600 in the South of England.

Before and After Bedser Bridge

A representative of the Basingtoke Canal Society kindly let me know at the end of last week that the new Bedser Bridge was to be lifted into place on Monday.  She had received notification that the canal was to be closed for the day to enable to bridge to be laid across the canal.

Walking to catch the train to work this morning I realised it was probably the last time I would see the canal without a bridge across it so I quickly snapped this shot of the clear canal.

I then saw during the day that the new bridge had been successfully lifted in to place.  I tried to photograph the bridge in place but it was a little too dark by the time I was coming home from work.  Hope Woking Council don't mind me using this picture of the new bridge in place.  I'll try and get one of the same shot later today.

The new bridge may be in place but it is far from open.  There still seems to be a fair bit of work to do on the Horsell side.  We were told the new bridge would be open in "early 2013" but my investigations late last year revealed it could be as late as April (a year after it closed) that we get the bridge back.

UPDATE
Managed to get the same picture as on Monday.  As I reviewed the shot I thought how well the new bridge fits into its environment.  Such a relief that people power won out and we didn't get the concrete monstrosity that was originally planned to go over the canal.

The Arrogance of Surrey's Conservative County Councillors

Does the arrogance of Surrey's Conservative County councillors know no bounds?

Farnham Caste - location for Surrey Conservative away days

1. At a time of contracting budgets, belt tightening and major challenges facing local government Surrey's ruling Conservatives took 26 Conservative councillors and county council staff for two days to Farnham Castle in November.  This working break received extensive press coverage both locally in the Surrey Advertiser and in the national media.  Press stories pointed out that Conservative Local Government Minister Eric Pickles recommends councils "cancel away days at posh hotels".  Mr Pickles recommends using a room in a council owned property or swapping a room with a neighbouring authority.  All very sensible cost saving measures.
2. Ignoring Mr Pickles's advice and seemly unphased by criticism Surrey's Conservatives are planning to do it all over again.  Same venue, another two days away with an overnight stay.  The Surrey Advertiser has the story.
3. The Surrey Advertiser explains that the event is in Leader David Hodge's diary.  It also gives the dates 6 to 7 June 2013.  In addition to the arrogance of spending taxpayers money on away days Conservative councillors are pre-empting the results of elections to the county council due to be held in May 2013.

UPDATE
Surrey County Council Conservatives have now cancelled the away day planned for June 2013.  Lib Dem Leader at the County Council Hazel Watson is still seeking answers on previous away days at the castle.  The County Council are listed on the castle's website as regular users.  It is thought there may have been trips to the castle since 2009.

Two opportunities to Cycle Woking in 2013

Two Woking Bike Events for 2013
Great news this week that the Woking Bikeathon is returning and that Pedal4Charity will take place again this year.

Woking Bikeathon
The Surrey Advertiser brought news of the return of the Bikeathon this week.  The popular cycle event was run by Leukemia Research until 2011.  After their decision to no longer run the event in Woking the Rotary Club has decided to take over the event.  It will take place on Sunday 12 May, setting off from Bishop David Brown School in Sheerwater.  The event will raise funds for local charities including Woking Hospice, the White Lodge Centre, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, The Children’s Society and Woking Community First Responders.

I took part in a very wet but enjoyable Bikeathon a few years ago and will celebrate the return of the popular event by taking part this year.

I understand there will be more details of the 2013 Bikeathon on the Rotary website in the future.

Pedal4Charity
Pedal4Charity today confirmed that their cycle event, run from The Cricketers in Horsell and raising money for Woking Hospice will be back for its 6th year on Sunday 15 September.

Last year this event and associated fundraising by The Cricketers during the year raised £45,000 for our local hospice facilities.

I didn't cycle in 2012, but I did go along and support the event.  I did the course in 2011, when I was lulled into a false sense of security by the relatively easy first half of the ride.  After the stop at the Rose and Crown in Thorpe there was rather harder ride across some very muddy ground.  I had aching thighs for some time afterwards. Despite this I have decided 2013 is the year for the double and aim to take part in Pedal4Charity as well.

Looking back at 2012 - the last quarter

The rain did not abate as one of the wettest years ever recorded entered its final quarter.  We had a very mild Chrismas period to end a hectic last three months of the year.

Woking trains were confirmed as some of the busiest.  The 7.32  from Woking to Waterloo is the second most overcrowded train in the country with a typical load 164% of capacity.

One side of the new bridge arrived at
Brewery Road in December

It was confirmed in December that the new bridge over the canal from Brewery Road to Woking town centre will not be open in December or January and could be as late as April (the date I learned is stipulated in Wilmott Dixon's contract).  However the new bridge has arrived and is on site ready to be put together.

A water main burst in Knaphill on Christmas Day  leaving residents in parts of Knaphill and Horsell without water or with lower than usual water pressure.

Another water supply pipe burst on the A320 on 31 December. Luckily no cars fell into the road and as it was during a holiday period traffic congestion was limited. It still meant residents of Horsell and Woking woke up to no water or low water pressure.  Fast work by Affinity Water meant water supplies were restored within a few hours but this latest pipe burst once again brought calls for action on the local water supply system.

Woking was plagued by arson in the latter part of 2012 with fires in an outbuilding of an Old Woking church, Toad Hall children's nursery and Mayford Village Hall.  It was particularly upsetting that each of the facilities affected provided services for young children.

Parts of Woking suffered from postal theft with local councillors and even our local MP getting involved to demand action from Royal Mail.

Bad news for Woking's retail revival when the Conservative Council announced increased town centre car parking charges against Lib Dem opposition.

The final great Horsell events to round off a fantastic year for the village were the 2nd Horsell Christmas Tree Festival and a revival of the Horsell Christmas Fair.

A small proportion of Woking residents took part in the election of Independent candidate Kevin Hurley as Surrey's first Police and Crime Commissioner. Just 1 in 10 of non-postal voters made it to a local polling station on 21 November.

Town Square in Woking was officially re-opened and re-named as Jubilee Square.

I visited Pares Woodland Garden, an amazing community project to return an overgrown piece of land behind Horsell village to public use.  The area will soon become a real community asset for all.

Woking Council was finally able to launch its Core Plan providing a basis for future planning and development decisions.

Lib Dem intervention was confirmed as successful at keeping Byfleet in the Woking parliamentary constituency. Woking Conservatives had been happy to lose Byfleet to a neighbouring constituency.

Surrey County Council confirmed they would make safety improvements at the Arthur’s Bridge / Lockfield Drive early in 2013.  These are accident prevention measures I first raised in 2010.

Horsell Co-op ended months of speculation by announcing it was moving premises across the High Street.

Our local water provider for Woking was renamed as Affinity.

Looking back at 2012 - third Quarter

Quarter three was a busy but soggy summer that flew by with so much happening.

July to September

Getting dug in at Woking Palace

I had my second ever day of archaeological digging at Woking’s very own ancient monument Woking Palace in Old Woking.

Lewis Hamilton announced he was leaving McLaren to drive for Mercedes in 2013.  Hamilton’s departure brought to an end his 14 year association with the Woking team.

Eleven months after it last happened a car fell into a hole in the road on the A320 caused by a burst water main.  This was September 2012 and a similar incident had occurred on a different part of the same road in October 2011.

There is a lot written everywhere about the Olympics and Paralympics so I won’t say much other than it was an incredible time, great to see the cycle races going through the three villages of Byfleet, West Byfleet and Pyrford and to watch amazing successes on television including Mo’s racing successes, David Weir, Ellie Simmonds in the pool, the track cyclists, the rowers and the sailors and Andy Murray and Laura Robson on the tennis court.  I managed to get tickets to Wimbledon Centre Court where the whole family had a fabulous day watching Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Lleyton Hewitt and Serena Williams wipe her opponent off the court.

Early in July Veolia Water (now Affinity) finally dropped their hosepipe ban as we slipped into an increasingly wet summer.

Woking had its first Party in the Park to launch the Olympics.  A great event with lots of local groups participating and great music from local bands.