Devon County Council’s Leader John Hart says the Council wants to engage better with people and give communities more choice and control over the way local services are shaped and delivered.
It has a new draft strategy, setting out how the Council will go about its business of engagement, and is inviting people to tell them what they think about it and how it might be improved upon.
Engagement, with the public and communities, businesses, other public and statutory authorities, voluntary sector organisations and a whole host more, is at the heart of the Council’s decision...
The mystery - how can Labour-controlled Exeter City Council claim to keep on "investing" in Exeter when they are always saying that funding is being cut?
Firstly, the funding isn't being cut. Although all Councils are enduring cuts in their base budget, Exeter is enjoying a government incentive scheme called the "New Homes Bonus". This is a fund which is generous and gives the Council cash in return for building houses. Exeter is doing this in abundance, and these funds are greater than the cuts Labour keep talking about. According to the Council's own...
Devon County Council Lib Dem Leader Brian Greenslade has announced he is stepping aside as Group Leader ahead of County elections in May 2013 after 23 years in the post.
He will be succeeded by Tiverton East County Councillor Des Hannon (pictured) with effect from the new year.
Councillor Greenslade will continue as Chairman of the Corporate Services Scrutiny and as leader of North Devon Council.
All eyes and ears will be on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, today (Wednesday 5th December) as he presents his Autumn Statement 2012 against the backdrop of an economy still struggling to recover from the longest and deepest recession in generations. The Statement provides an update on the Government’s plans for the economy based on the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. These forecasts are published alongside the Autumn Statement on 5th December. Mr Osborne will give his views on the outlook for the UK economy, the state of the public finances and...
Sweeping changes to the benefits system, due to come into force next year, could see a rise in the number children being taken into care and more homeless people in Exeter, according to charities and welfare organisations in the city.
Earlier this year the Government announced a series of reforms designed to target those avoiding work because benefits are more lucrative for them.
However at a summit of Exeter groups last week, concerns were expressed that the some of the changes will affect the most vulnerable.
The Exeter Green Party says claims about the benefits that John Lewis will bring to the city have been "hugely exaggerated".
In a public statement it also says environmental and social issues have either been an afterthought or ignored.
Below is the document in full taken from the party's website:
The opening of John Lewis in Exeter has resulted in some extraordinary claims about the benefits to the local economy. Andrew Bell , Exeter Green Party Policy Officer offers a reality check.
Firstly, I have nothing against John Lewis as a company; indeed...
On 15 November, 37 police and crime commissioners will be elected in England along with four in Wales.
The PCCs, as they will be known, will be tasked with scrutinising their force and holding it to account. They will also set the budget, and hire and fire chief constables. The commissioners will be paid and are supposed to empower local people into having a say on how crime is tackled.
The candidates for Devon and Cornwall are (in alphabetical order)...
Europe's leaders are poised this morning to cut the European Union's budget for the first time in its 56-year history following a major victory for David Cameron.
A broad framework was reported to have been agreed, but hard bargaining is still expected at the Brussels summit. The discussion have been all the more precarious because any one of the 27 member states can veto a budget deal.
Cameron, who had demanded a freeze in real terms in the near-€1tn budget, was planning to claim victory after the European council president proposed a €34.4bn cut over the next seven years...
