Arnold Woolley.com

Welcome to My Website

Welcome indeed to my website, which is part of my efforts to keep local residents and other interested parties, up to date with what concerns and effects us all, the political and administrative governance of our localities and the nation. As we get towards the end of May, with better weather ahead of us and the mid-summer equinox looming all too fast, Flintshire's elected county councillors are actually only just commencing the fresh municipal year of 2010 to 2011. On that score, at the Annual Meeting held on 11th May, 2010, the 46 councillors who together form the ruling political coalition, of Independents, LibDems and Conservatives, re-elected me, for a third year, as political Leader of the council.

I am deeply conscious of the responsibility that goes with that role at any time, let alone a time of considerable austerity such as this and other local authorities face for the coming several years. Having said that, I am also most grateful for the continuing trust and support that fellow members have given me after two years in the position.

My website has been updated lately, with assorted bits and pieces that I feel you need to know about, in Buckley Town, Flintshire County and Wales National terms. If you have any questions, contact me on arnoldwoolley@hotmail.com, or arnold.woolley@flintshire.gov.uk. If you are happier with telephone conversations, try me on my home number, (01254) 549421, or at the office on (01352) 752108, or (01352) 752121.

Every economy that can be made, will be made. Every service area will come under examination, including Education and Social Services. If you wish to read more on this topic, visit my latest newsletters, by clicking on to the "News" heading to the left of this page.

Boundaries Commission proposals

There are proposals to reduce the numbers of councillors by about 12-15% and save money for WAG. Detailed information of the initial proposals can be obtained by going to look at www.boundarycommissionwales.gsi.uk.

Flintshire has now received the draft proposals made by the commission. The commission has recommended cutting the number of county councillors from 70 to 60 and removing every one of the single councillor wards. Larger wards, made by joining present wards, are being proposed. Some of those will have 3 or even 4 county council seats to be competed for, if the Minister is minded to accept the proposals. I might add that those proposals have met with considerable opposition from members of all shades of political opinion. That is because the exercise is seen as simply another way of saving money for the WAG while further removing the "local" from the phrase "local government." Whatever, alternative proposals have been submitted by the combined efforts of members, headed by Cllr Robin Baker, aided by Officers. We - and you - can now only wait to see if the WAG is truly intent upon sustaining and enriching the role of local government and the voice of the people, or simply getting rid of it. Time will tell!

WLGA News Release

Here can be found a copy a a press release from the WLGA in response to the WAG announcement of money to tackle potholes, despite reducing the road maintenance budget.

WAG Financial Settlement

Information on the WAG financial settlement for the county can be found here. From the information you can see the increases and decreases in money available for individual sectors. Also a letter in .pdf form to the various County Leaders throughout Wales about the local government revenue settlement, from Brian Gibbons AM, who was Minister for Local Government and Social Justice until he was replaced in December 2009 by Carl Sergeant, A.M., can be found here .

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE REPORT 2010-2011. Final Settlement - Councils can be found here .

A Cabinet Written Statement - FINAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE AND CAPITAL SETTLEMENTS 2010-11 can be found here.

I feel the public should have access to the above information as it affects us all living in Wales and how the WAG financial settlement is applied to Flintshire. There is a lot of information there and it is a bit daunting to read through it all but it is relevant.

Outstanding investments

Here is the latest schedule of investments that Flintshire County Council has.

Local Government in Wales

A Welsh Local Government survey published in March 2009, concerning the effects of the economic slowdown on Welsh councils indicated that 11 of the 22 local authorities will make job cuts during 2009-2010. 300 job cuts are expected in the South East Wales authorities and over 200 in the authorities in South West Wales. However, more than half of the 22 local authorities in Wales expect the present recession to result in greatly reduced employment levels over the next few years, with around 2000 compulsory redundancies likely to come before 2011.

In addition, the councils anticipate a loss of nearly £35 Million of investment income monies during the 2009-2010 financial year alone. This is from the loss of interest on investments, loss of planning application revenues and the overall effects of the economic slowdown.

Flintshire County Council Awards

Flintshire county Council has won two Excellence Wales awards which recognise good practice and service delivery. Flintshire was the only Council in Wales to win a highly commended award for improvements to the whole authority and a second award for its work with children , young people and older people.

Council Housing Future

All Council housing tenants within Flintshire will be balloted on whether they want to transfer to a new social landlord or to stay with the council. The Welsh Assembly Government requires all social landlords to bring all of their homes up to a standard called the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS).

As a result, a lot of work needs to be done and a lot of money spent in order to meet the WHQS requirements. A ballot is expected to be held by early 2011 and there will be ample communication and consultation before then with tenants and their associations so that everyone has the information they need to make an informed decision about the future of their homes.

Primary Authority Scheme

Flintshire County Council is one of the first councils within the UK, and the first in Wales to enter into a partnership agreement with a local major retailing chain, Iceland Foods Ltd, under the governments new Primary Authority Scheme. Lord Carter, Minister for Regulatory Reform, welcomes the official signing of the partnership agreement citing Flintshire as amongst the "most innovative Council" in taking the process forward.

The partnership scheme enables businesses and local authorities to work together to cut through bureaucracy, create stronger and more consistent working relationships and save valuable time and money.

The partnerships will also mean better co-ordination of local inspection and enforcement activity, as well as reducing red tape.

Primary Authority Partnerships will be available to any business that trades across two or more council boundaries, regardless of size.

Bistre East Ward

For government information on the Ward of Bistre East, and a map of the area covered please click here to see a ward profile

Brunswick Road Jubilee Clock Buckley Cross Jubilee

Many of the links in this site are to .PDF documents. To read these you will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. If you do not already have it, you can download it from here.