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A copy of Cllr Ayesha Azad's budget statement presented to Council on Thursday 10 February 2022 is published below.
“It is a great privilege to address this council for my second year introducing a Business Plan, Budget and Council Tax proposal as Leader of the Council.
“My first one was delivered in very different circumstances.
“We were all sat at home on Zoom, remotely discussing the issues we face and taking decisions without being present in the chamber.
“Some of us may have been juggling work and home schooling, looking forward to our first vaccinations and hoping that COVID-19 would prove to be a short-lived phenomenon that would disappear once the vaccine programme was rolled out and normal life could return.
“We all regret that COVID-19 has turned out to be a trickier adversary than perhaps we hoped then.
“But we have all begun down the path of learning to live with the virus and freed up our economy to begin recovery.
“The government has kept businesses and schools open, removed restrictions and vastly improved testing as well as helping the NHS achieve better clinical outcomes.
“That has eased the operating environment for the council. I would like to pay tribute to all council staff, in whichever department or team they may work, who have helped the organisation and those residents who may depend upon it, to weather the storm of the past two years.
“There was much to be proud of in 2020 and so too 2021.
“The challenges of 2020 were immense.
“I am incredibly proud of the way that this council has risen to those challenges.
“Since the last budget, the council has a new Chief Executive, Director of Planning and Director of Legal Services.
“This new corporate leadership has immersed itself in the culture of positive change and wholesale revisions have been made to the council’s business and governance procedures.
“We have instituted the Fit for the Future programme, identifying more than £4m of savings over the next three years with minimal impact on services.
“This programme aims to get the council back on its feet after exceptional use of reserves in 2020 and to ensure that by 2025/6, those reserves are back in place.
“This would enable the council to weather any unforeseen crises or events of global proportion.
“The council has also embarked on a programme of digital transformation, appointing a Head of Digital Transformation to drive out savings by bringing our service delivery online wherever possible without compromising its quality.
“This is vital work and there is much to be done but I am grateful for their work so far.
Financial review
“The financial review highlighted the importance of having the skills – and in sufficient bandwidth – to manage the considerable portfolio of assets the council now holds.
“This was identified as a key aspect in the EY report.
“We will be investing in suitably skilled members of staff to help manage those assets and the risks associated with them.
“Every piece of governance attached to asset and risk management is also being reviewed to ensure that it is robust enough to meet the challenges identified in the EY report.
“In my speech last year, I also committed to a programme of openness and transparency as well as resident engagement.
“The reviews held this year on planning, finance and housing have enjoyed my administration’s full cooperation. We have supported them to ensure any lessons of the past are learned.
Resident engagement
“Turning to resident engagement, the Woking Residents’ Panel has grown in size since its first meeting on 7 July [2021] and has been engaged in, for example, the development of the Town Centre Masterplan.
“Adding to this success, in November and December I went out to meet residents in Knaphill, Hoe Valley, Byfleet, Goldsworth Park, Sheerwater and the town centre. I also visited Woking College to hold a session at my old college with students there.
“That engagement felt very authentic and our feedback on the sessions was excellent. Attendees reported that they were worthwhile and that they would engage in a similar programme again.
“I left each meeting with an idea or point that I hadn’t considered. Thank you to all residents who attended these sessions or filled out the online survey.
“The views expressed by residents will be incorporated into the council’s Corporate Strategy as promised. My administration will continue this conversation during the next municipal year.
Development
“Part of our recovery from COVID-19 that I spoke about last year was the completion of Victoria Square. It was hugely disappointing that this development was not able to open in November as planned due to supply and staffing issues.
“Completion of this project is part of levelling up our local economy with a balance of infrastructure, council support and housing development.
“Businesses need customers, customers need jobs and somewhere to live. The council needs both to thrive to underpin its services to residents with the incomes they provide.
“We are in the home strait with this project and I am eagerly anticipating the opening of Victoria Square, occupation of the residential units as well as Marks & Spencer coming to Woking in the spring.
“I am also pleased to announce the opening of the southbound Victoria Way this morning. This has been a tremendously frustrating experience for many drivers.
“The delays and congestion this has caused have been inconvenient – but the council has worked hard to get this problem resolved and road reopened.
“Away from the town centre, we have seen great performance this year in several key council areas. It is great to be able to report that as of November, the council had delivered 174 affordable homes in the borough this year.
“This year is on course to deliver twice as many as our 2022 target.
“I would like to thank Louise Strongitharm and Cllrs Debbie Harlow and Gary Elson for this superb achievement, which makes a huge difference to families in our community who need somewhere to call home.
Climate change
“Similarly, great strides have been made in the battle against Climate Change with the agreement of the Tackling Climate Change Locally paper.
“That paper sets out in detail proposed local actions to bring about the change we committed to as a council when we declared a Climate Emergency in 2019.
“Through the Thameswey group of companies, we continue to deliver sustainable technology and green energy to businesses and residents – in the future, we will commit to greater availability of public EV charging points both in our car parks and on-street.
Garden waste collections
“I am also pleased to say that the green waste collection, which has suffered hugely at the hands of the HGV driver shortage, is now in a place where we can give certainty to subscribers.
“Many residents who we persuaded to help us improve recycling rates have been let down by this failure. While the council is not the organisation delivering the service, I recognise we bear accountability as the owner of the service.
“The council always seeks to provide the best service it can but sometimes there are things that it cannot control.
“It is good to see a clear path ahead now – the service will collect again in the weeks commencing 21 and 28 February and then revert to a monthly collection from 28 March onwards.
“I’d like to thank Cllr Kevin Davis for his determination in pursuing resumption of this service.
More to come
“From investing in economic and social infrastructure to providing a huge set of discretionary services targeted at improving the health and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable in our society, Woking is a council that has never stood still.
“And just as we think that things are already as busy as they can get, we need to change up another gear in 2022/23.
“There is more financial review work to be done into the Thameswey group and how the council harnesses its operations, as I announced last week.
“It has a sterling record of delivery but it is vital we take stock and make a fresh assessment of its business model and plans.
“That work is central to our long-term financial planning and significant progress will be made during this municipal year.
“For the first time, this council has sought to open its objective-setting to direct resident input and clearly state its aims in a Corporate Strategy.
“This document will also allow the public to measure progress that the council makes against what it has promised to do.
“It is also my intention that the views of residents will be embedded into other council decision-making as a standard item in our reports.
“The HIF bid remains in the pipeline and Cllr Colin Kemp has been doing amazing work keeping everyone updated on progress with this project.
“I know there are residents impacted by some of the proposals involved. I want to reassure them that I am listening and will be attending the rescheduled engagement session to hear for myself their perspective and views.
Council Tax
“Turning to the budget in front of us, the proposal this evening is for a Band D council tax of £255.46, an increase of £5 or just over 2%.
“This is the equivalent of £4.91 per week as the cost of having bins collected – with every other statutory service thrown in for free.
“I realised that no increase is ever welcomed, especially at this time when families are under such pressure.
“But I believe that this council provides value for money when the amount that it delivers for residents is considered.
- Investment in our local economy.
- Asking local people what they think and putting those priorities first.
- Providing housing to those who need it.
- Doing our bit to tackle climate change.
- Protecting and enhancing green spaces.
- Providing infrastructure through Thameswey.
“And doing all of that while providing non-statutory services such as social prescribing and the handyperson services that make a practical difference to people.
“We’ve never stood still, Mr Mayor, and we shouldn’t now.
“This year and next, we have:
- protected vital services
- recalibrated the organisation’s approach to finance and governance
- thrown open the doors to scrutiny and
- put residents’ input at the heart of our future priorities.
“That is the council I set out to create and promised to residents.
“That is the council that we are seeing emerge.
“And that is the reason that I commend this budget to members this evening.”
Cllr Ayesha Azad
Leader of Woking Borough Council