Achievements Outlined as Cllr Mark Harris resumes formal Leadership of Council (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

Achievements Outlined as Cllr Mark Harris resumes formal Leadership of Council

May 24, 2005 11:52 PM

As Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Mark Harris formally took over the mantle of Leader of Council at last nights annual meeting of Leeds City Council he took the opportunity both to look back at the first year of the Lib Dem/Conservative/Green administration on the Council, and also to look forward to the coming year.

Cllr Harris said "The administration has had to tackle some major issues and deal with a legacy of underinvestment and botched major projects during its first year, but at the same time we have been able to make some major advances. In our second year, with our own budget behind us, I hope we can take some major steps forward towards further improving the services which local people receive.

"Highlights of the year must include the Council being rated as excellent by the Audit Commission through its Comprehensive Performance Assessment. Part of the reason for this was our being able to show that we would tackle waste and inefficiencies throughout the Council, and we have already identified £16 million worth of savings which can be redirected to front line services. In Social Services we have been able to tackle the massive overspend we found on taking control last year. An additional £14 million was redirected to ensure frontline services were maintained. For the coming year we have increased the Social Services budget by £18.3 million which we hope will improve and safeguard services.

"Elsewhere we have been able to make a start on tackling the massive backlog of road repairs which we inherited. Here we have put an additional £8 million of capital finance into this years budget as well as committing £17.9 million to eliminate the backlog by 2011 and adopt many private roads across the city.

"We've also followed through on our commitment to increase the number of PCSOs across the City, an extra £395,000 has ensured there are at least two for each of the City's 33 wards.

"But, we still have many things left to do, chief amongst them is closing the gap between the different levels of services, the different levels of attainment and the different levels of expectation between the many diverse areas of Leeds. 'Closing the Gap' has been an objective for many over the years but we are determined to put the resources and effort into achieving this aim. To that end the administration has created a new portfolio to take the lead in this key areas, and specific Lead Members will be responsible for driving the issue forward in each of the Council's Departments. Throughout the City there are pockets of deprivation which need to be addressed, areas which do not receive the services they deserve and areas which have been neglected by previous administrations.

"My personal aim, in the second year of our joint administration, is to ensure this issue receives the priority it deserves, and to be able to say that I have done my best to let everyone have a better opportunity to achieve their aims and enjoy a successful and enjoyable life.

Cllr Mark Harris took over as Leader of Council from Cllr Andrew Carter as part of the agreement between the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Greens Council Groups to form a joint administration which came into effect last June.

The balance of parties in the administration is Liberal Democrat 26, Conservative 24 and Green 3.