Council has agreed that they wish to take advantage of any new opportunities to change the face of Local Government which the Localism Bill promised by the Coalition Government, offers. Liberal Democrats succeeded in convincing the Council to press ahead as soon as they know what they are.

In putting the proposal forward on behalf of the Lib Dem Group, Pat Hockey said “We must make it clear that this isn’t just about the Council, it is about us working with partners in the widest possible sense – representatives of local residents, Business, Parish and Town Councils, voluntary and community groups, Trade Unions, Health Authority and anybody else who feels they are a partner. Together we must find out what the priorities are, agree a vision for South Gloucestershire and work out how to deliver it. It could mean completely abandoning the way some of us have worked as Councillors for years”. She added “We must take into consideration the severe cutbacks in expenditure facing the Council.  A vision is not a deliverable vision if it does not recognise the available funding but we mustn’t let this overshadow what is an exciting time. Among our partners we hope there will be entrepreneurs and people with ideas for innovation.”

Cllr. Neil Halsall who had been involved with a review looking at how Council Meetings can be made more effective said “Our Council Meetings are often boring because they deal with top down statutory legal and policy issues. Our next Council meeting on December 15^th is an ideal time for all the Councillors who don’t take a lead in such matters to have a big discussion about the future of the Council.” 

Speaking in the debate, Dave Hockey said “The current consultation on the budget for 2011-12 invites local residents and groups, amongst other things, to confirm which council service they rate as their top priority. It will be interesting to see the results received so far from this consultation so that we can take them into account when we first look into the new opportunities provided by the Localism Bill for the Council and its partners”.