The party expects these reforms to raise an additional £15 billion per year, though this is likely to grow as the rate of wealth passed down increases in the coming years.
Liberal Democrat members will debate and vote on the proposals at the party's Autumn Conference in Brighton next week.
The report - "Taxing Land, Not Investment" - calls for the abolition of business rates and its replacement with a tax on land values, the Commercial Landowner Levy (CLL). The levy would remove buildings and machinery from calculations and tax only the land value of commercial sites, boosting investment and cutting taxes for businesses in nine out of ten English local authorities.
Spelthorne Liberal Democrats are delighted to see that investment is finally being made to provide high quality leisure facilities in the Borough. However, we are very concerned by the current plans proposed by Conservative run Spelthorne Borough Council, to build a new leisure centre on the Staines Park site.
County Councillors in Surrey have agreed that children's mental health and special needs provision should be the subject of detailed study in partnership with universities and others so that current and future demand for these services can be met. Cllr Chris Botten, Leader of the Lib Dems at SCC moved an amended motion at yesterday's Council meeting, which was passed unanimously, calling for future needs to be understood in the context of current unacceptable waiting lists for CAMHS treatment and a severe shortage of SEND places in the County.
Liberal Democrat county councillors are calling for urgent improvements to Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services, known as CAMHS, in the county. Surrey County Council currently commissions these services from Surrey & Borders NHS Trust but there has been strong criticism of the long waiting times for routine assessments and appointments. Liberal Democrat county councillors have tabled a motion on CAMHS to be discussed at Council next week.
On 18th June 2018, the Home Office issued a letter to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, regarding Ahmed Hassan's interaction with the police and Home Office, prior to the Parsons Green bombing incident in September 2017. Commenting on the letter, Cllr Hazel Watson (Liberal Democrat, Dorking Hills) said today:
A consultation has opened on the first draft of the 'LDF' (Local Development Framework). This is the blueprint of what happens to Spelthorne over the next 10 years or more. Green Belt and Housing are at the heart of it. With the Conservative government ruthlessly driving the over-development agenda demanded by the big builders, it is essential that local residents make their voice heard.
Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey have heavily criticised the Conservative-administration at County Hall after Conservative Councillors awarded themselves thousands of pounds of extra allowances in a vote at Council yesterday. The vote means that 4 new Deputy Cabinet positions will be created, at a cost of £40K a year, as well as extra allowances for committee vice-chairs. Liberal Democrat County Councillors opposed these increases and voted against them at County Hall.
Cllr Chris Botten, Leader of the Liberal Democrats at Surrey County Council, said:
Liberal Democrat county councillors have expressed their concern after it was revealed that Surrey County Council is planning to reduce spending on services by nearly £200m by the end of 2019/20. The figures were released in a report to the Council's Cabinet earlier this week, alongside the Conservative-administration's decision to hire consultants, at an undisclosed sum, to assist with the County Council's "programme management and change capacity" project.
