Liberal Democrats set their agenda for the future (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

Liberal Democrats set their agenda for the future

September 12, 2007 4:35 PM

Liberal Democrat County Councillors set out their clear priorities in yesterday's very long County Council discussion on the draft Sustainable Communities Strategy. This important strategy being produced by the Oxfordshire Partnership will develop priorities for services delivered by all public authorities in Oxfordshire.

Liberal Democrats set out the issues that they thought had been overlooked or insufficiently emphasised in the draft document being discussed. Cllr Mitchell, who chairs the Oxfordshire Partnership, promised to highlight issues raised to the attention of the Partnership at their meeting today. Although there was some consensus, one of the Liberal Democrats' concerns was the lack of real measures to reduce the environmental impact of car travel. Other concerns expressed included the following:

Cllr Janet Godden raised the issue of fear of crime being more of a problem than the actual, very low crime figures in Oxfordshire. She pointed out how sad it was that people felt that they are afraid to go out in the dark.

Cllr Jean Fooks pointed out that there needed to be more help for families with disabled children. She said, "Every child can, given the right environment, contribute to society and feel valued as a person. We must get this right."

Cllr Chris Wise concentrated on the needs of the most vulnerable people in our communities - the frail elderly, families on low incomes, and people with disabilities or mental health problems, all of whom face social exclusion and varying degrees of poverty. He said, "There is a stratum of very poor people in rural areas who are increasingly isolated and excluded and whom the Government has simply ignored. The Partnership needs to do all it can to reduce rural poverty and address inequalities and the needs of vulnerable people."

Finally, Cllr Zoé Patrick regretted that in the highlighted priorities of the paper there was no mention of the need for infrastructure to enable communities to be truly sustainable. Speaking about the need to plan for facilities ranging from sheltered housing for elderly people to nurseries, from public transport to community use of schools, she said, "This is a real opportunity to make things right, to plan properly for the future and to take the lead in Oxfordshire."