Carol Pepper

About Carol

Councillor Carol Pepper is the current Vice Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council.

She was elected to represent the Arnold North division in June 2009. Arnold North is a two-member division also represented by County Councillor Ged Clarke. Carol previously served as a Nottinghamshire County Councillor between 1989 and 2005 and has also served for thirty years on Gedling Borough Council. She was the Mayor of Gedling Borough in 1987-88. 

Upon her re-election to County Hall, Carol was appointed as the Business Manager for the Conservative Group. This role, formerly known as Chief Whip, involves the allocation and organisation of the committee duties and outside body responsibilities of all Conservative councillors.

Carol has lived in the Arnold area for more than 40 years and through her work as a councillor has been involved in a wide range of community initiatives and projects. She says she particularly enjoys helping local people to solve problems and access the services they require.

In her spare time, Carol enjoys gardening, cooking and especially watching Nottingham Forest Football Club.     

 

Carol's latest news... 

Council plans to adopt a committee system

Pending approval at the Council’s Annual General Meeting on 17^th May 2012, Nottinghamshire County Council plans to exercise its new power under the Localism Act 2011 to adopt a committee system of decision-making. This will replace the current Leader and Cabinet model adopted under the Local Government Act 2000.

The rationale for a committee system is that it is the most democratic and transparent form of governance. It ensures all 67 democratically elected Councillors are able to fully participate in decision-making and shaping the policy of the Council. It ensures greater transparency in that all reports are publicly available prior to any decision being made, and all decision-making meetings are held in public.

Reports were taken to the Full Council meetings in January and March (Item 11), with final approval being sought, as stated above, in May.

(Posted 17/4/2012)

Council tax frozen again in 2012/13 

At the Nottinghamshire County Council budget meeting on 23^rd February it was agreed to freeze county council tax for a third consecutive year. With public finances under strain across the country, the council has saved £87 million so far, £44 million of which has been reinvested directly into frontline services. In the coming financial year we will spend: -

• £2.8 million more safeguarding children;
• £5.2 million more on care for older people;
• £2.7 million more on adults with mental health & learning disabilities;
• £1.4 million more on adults with physical disabilities; and
• £1 million more to support young carers.

 

 We are also committed to invest £289 million in capital over three years on:-

• Improving school buildings;
• Modernising day centres;
• New youth clubs;
• Improving libraries;
• Improved broadband services;
• Improved roads and pathways;
• New and improved bus stations.

 

Councillor Reg Adair is the council's Cabinet Member for Finance & Property. In his speech presenting the budget, he outlined the results of the council's budget consultation. In response to public feedback, we are: - 

• providing additional library opening hours at 15 locations across the county;
• holding Meals at Home charges at £3.95 for 2012/13; and
• not increasing charges for Blue Badge holders in 2012/13, unlike many other local authorities. 

 

(Posted 28/2/2012)  

Success!  The A453 gets the green light!

I am absolutely delighted by the Chancellor’s announcement that the Government is fast-tracking the widening of the A453. This is the best Christmas gift that businesses and residents in Nottinghamshire could have, bringing a £540m boost to the East Midlands economy.  

In May this year, Nottinghamshire County Council pledged £20m towards the scheme if it was bought forward. Since that pledge was made, the campaign to widen the road has garnered support from the local business community and other local councils, including a pledge of £500,000 towards the scheme from Rushcliffe Borough Council in October.

The A453 has been on the Council’s wishlist since the 1970s. At last it is going to happen and I am thrilled for local businesses and commuters alike. I want to particularly thank East Midlands Airport, Boots, RH Freight, Hardstaffs, the Nottingham Post newspaper and partner authorities for their support in this campaign.

In the five years up to October 2010, there were 185 accidents involving personal injury on just the Nottinghamshire part of the A453. The Nottinghamshire section of the road is the second most congested part of the national road network after a short section of the M25. This congestion has been costing larger businesses as much as £100,000 a year because of increased fuel usage, difficulty reaching customers, abandoned journeys and accident costs.

Finally, we can look forward to smoother and safer journeys on this vital road link through Nottinghamshire from the M1 and I am immensely pleased that the Government has listened to our determined campaign.  

(Posted 30/11/2011)

A Grisly History of Nottinghamshire!

On 16^th November, as Vice Chairman of the County Council I was pleased to help launch a new book for children revealing the gory details of the bloody and gruesome history of Nottinghamshire. The book is the Council's first local history book for children, and is entitled 'A Grisly History of Nottinghamshire in 10 Spine-chilling Chapters'. The book has been written by local children’s author Michael Cox, and is illustrated by Clive Goddard. It has been published by the council’s Libraries, Archives and Information Publications Group.

The book covers the history of Nottinghamshire in ten grisly and humorous chapters and wonderful illustrations. It reveals:-

• Which horrid king dangled screaming children from the walls of Nottingham Castle until they were dead;
• Why the River Trent ran red with blood on one sunny summer afternoon in 1487;
• How a posse of blood-thirsty Nottinghamshire ‘hard-cases’ massacred woolly mammoths;
• Which Nottinghamshire town was blasted to bits in three bloody sieges then devastated by a gruesome plague!

 

Present at the launch were 30 children from Arnold's Robert Mellors Primary School who were captivated by tales from the book. Far from being overawed, children are fascinated by such stories which are told in a fun and humorous way. Any publication that encourages a child's enthusiasm for reading should be welcomed and this book would make an ideal Christmas present for youngsters aged 10-14.

A Grisly History of Nottinghamshire’ can be bought for £5.95 from Nottinghamshire Archives and major libraries. It can also be purchased by post by sending a cheque for £8.95 (including £3.00 for postage and packaging) payable to Nottinghamshire County Council to: Libraries, Archives and Information, 4th Floor, County Hall, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7QP.

(Posted 17/11/2011)

Budget Conversation underway

Nottinghamshire County Council has announced proposals for its 2012/13 budget. 

Nottinghamshire residents are invited to give feedback on the budget proposals and take part in our Budget Conversation, which is open until Friday 29^th January 2012. The results of last year's consultation led us to change some of our proposals and we will be listening very carefully once again. Please let us know your views.

(Posted 17/11/2011)

Well done Ryan!

At a time when the reputation of our young people has suffered from the poor behaviour of just a few, I'm delighted to report a good news story that is far more representative of the vast majority.

A teenager from Arnold who has overcome severe dyslexia and used his own experiences and sporting prowess to help others as a community volunteer is the Gedling winner of the first Nottinghamshire Outstanding Achievement 4Uth Awards. The award is a Nottinghamshire County Council initiative which aims to celebrate the achievements of young people across the county.

Ryan Pemberton, 18, will now have to wait until 30^th September to find out if he’s bagged the overall county award as he goes head-to-head with the six other district finalists.

Ryan was nominated by Gedling Play Forum’s resource centre co-ordinator Lesley Rhodes who’s known Ryan since he first came to the centre for two weeks’ work experience when he was 14.

Lesley explained: "I’m absolutely delighted for him. It’s thoroughly deserved. Ryan suffers with severe dyslexia. He originally came to the Forum on work experience when he was struggling to find a suitable placement.

"He used to come in every Thursday after school and now he’s at college, he’s been helping all day on Tuesdays before going on to The Daybrook Crew junior youth club to lend a hand there. He’s also helped out a lot with our Play Days.”

(Posted 15/8/2011)

£2.5 million boost for Supporting People

Despite local budget pressures and a reduced grant from central Government, Nottinghamshire County Council has invested an extra £2.5 million in its Supporting People programme.

Supporting People is a national programme that provides housing related support to help vulnerable people live independently. It will see its Government grant in Nottinghamshire reduced to £17.6 million this year, threatening the County Council’s previous year’s Supporting People spend of £22.5 million.

However, thanks to a new £1.5 million investment from the local NHS, plus a further £1 million diverted from the County Council budget, the Government’s allocation has been given a vital boost in Nottinghamshire. This limits the reduction in the County’s Supporting People budget to just over 10%, from £22.5 million to £20.11 million. The restricted budget reduction has also been made possible by the County Council’s decision early this year, following public consultation, to keep its savings on Supporting People to £10 million over the next three years rather than two higher reduction options of £12.5 million and £15 million.

These funding measures support feedback gained from a second, two-month public consultation on Supporting People services this year (in Feb/March), to form new proposals which went before Full Council on 30^th June 2011. These proposals ensure that:-

• Most accommodation based services continue to be funded, albeit at reduced levels;
• ‘Floating support’ services, which offer support to people in their own homes, will be delivered consistently across issues of homelessness prevention and offender, drug and alcohol, gypsy and traveller and young people’s services;
• Mental health services are reviewed and delivered more efficiently;
• Young people’s services are reviewed for greater efficiency;
• Community alarm and warden services for older people are replaced with a new short term service targeted at helping vulnerable people to remain independent in their own homes.

 

We’ve talked to those who use the services, to our District Council partners, to project providers and voluntary and community groups, including church leaders, to find ways to make savings through efficiencies. We will target the money at front line services that meet the needs of those who are most vulnerable and in greatest need.

Nottinghamshire was successful in securing Government money under Supporting People when the programme first started eight years ago but we’ve seen this central funding steadily fall by nearly £11 million since that time. We believe that after the £10 million savings have been made, the level of funding in Nottinghamshire for these services will still compare well with other Council areas.

(Posted 20/7/2011)

More grass cuts

Nottinghamshire County Council is increasing the number of times it will be cutting grass verges this year.

As part of this year’s budget savings it was originally intended to reduce the frequency of routine grass cutting in urban areas from six to four times a year. However, we have listened to public feedback and have now increased that frequency to five cuts. In rural areas the frequency remains at two cuts a year.

At the same time we have issued guidelines for a growing number of residents who are happy to cut the grass verges outside their homes. Again, this is a direct result of feedback from the Council’s Big Budget Conversation consultation process, when hundreds of people said they would be prepared to cut verges if it helped to release money for use on other priorities, such a repairing potholes. 

The guidelines highlight what needs to be considered when cutting grass near the roadside.  They can be found online at: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/roadverges

(Posted 14/7/11)

Vice Chairman of the Council

At the Annual General Meeting of Nottinghamshire County Council on 19th May 2011 I was pleased and honoured to be elected by my council colleagues to the position of Vice Chairman of the County Council. I very much look forward to supporting the new Chairman of the Council, Councillor Keith Walker, as he undertakes his duties for the year. In the Vice Chairman's role I shall have the support of my husband, Terry. I am sure we will have the opportunity to meet people across Nottinghamshire and attend a number of great events.

(Posted 26/5/11)

Council Budget 2011/12   

At the Nottinghamshire County Council Budget Meeting on 24^th February 2011 I joined my Conservative colleagues in voting to freeze Council Tax for a second successive year. In doing so, I approved £4.1 million of changes to the Council’s original budget proposals in direct response to the outcomes of the Big Budget Conversation. Extra money has now been found from reserves for the Supporting People programme, grant aid to voluntary groups, libraries, country parks and welfare rights advice.

With less formula grant funding from the Government, Nottinghamshire County Council has to find more than £80 million of savings in 2011/12 by reducing management and administration costs and reviewing expenditure on non-essential services. Just over half of this is being reinvested to meet growing demand for our most vital services, including: -

• £15 million more for specialist foster care placements;
• £6.3 million more to look after adults with acute learning disabilities and mental health needs;

• £2.8 million more on children’s social workers;

• £2.8 million more on services for older people;
• £1.5 million more to care for adults with physical disabilities; and
• £1 million more for young carers.

 

The budget was approved at the Council meeting by 34 votes to 29.

(Posted 28/2/2011)

Gritter Twitter

Nottinghamshire County Council will now be advising the public of when the county’s roads will be gritted, using Twitter. During the cold weather last winter there were a number of calls to the Council’s Customer Service Centre asking when the roads would be gritted. Now people can sign up to the Council’s Gritter Twitter feed to receive the latest gritting alerts.

In an age of social networking and 24-hour news, the Council recognises the need to give people ‘live’ information that will help them plan their journey. You can sign up to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nottscc

(Posted 11/11/2010)

Improvement Programme latest 

At the full meeting of Nottinghamshire County Council on 21^st October I joined my Conservative colleagues in supporting the recommendations for action contained within the Nottinghamshire County Council Improvement Plan Progress Report.

The Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Martin Suthers set out the financial challenges facing local authorities across the country and stated that Nottinghamshire County Council needed to save £150 million over the next three years.  

He said this would require savings of £69 million in 2011/12, to be achieved through a series of major initiatives including reprioritisation of services, improvements in business management and a review of property owned by the Council. 

Of this £69 million, it is intended to reinvest £39 million largely in services for our most vulnerable service users. The council has faced a 59% increase in children’s social care referrals over the last year and a 25% increase in the number of children in care over the last two years.  

For Children and Young People, a proposed reinvestment of £22.5 million will provide:-

• more specialist foster placements for children

• more support to young carers
• more children’s social workers
• development of free school transport for secondary school children.

  

Our Adult Social Care & Health services are under similar pressure, with 500 extra people aged over 80 and 4,000 extra people over the age of 65 in Nottinghamshire every year. Our proposed reinvestment of £13 million in 2011/12 will provide: - 

• the care and support services necessary to meet this increased demand
• more support for adults with physical disabilities
• more support for adults with learning disabilities and mental health needs
• extra resources for independent sector care.

 

I joined my Conservative colleagues in arguing that Nottinghamshire County Council must live within its means and ensure frontline statutory services are maintained.

(Posted 5/11/2010)

Bulb planting 

On Friday 22^nd October I was pleased to help the children from Killisick Junior School in planting spring bulbs on the recreation field on Killisick Road. Fortunately, the weather that day was good so we didn't end up knee deep in mud. We are all looking forward to a wonderful floral display next year.

(Posted 5/11/2010) 

Chairman's Summer Event

On 17^th July I was pleased to attend a special Summer Event held at County Hall by the Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Tom Pettengell. The Chairman's Summer Event is organised to allow councillors to invite guests who have made an outstanding contribution to their local communities. In keeping with the new Government's vision of the Big Society, it is an opportunity to say thank you to volunteers who work hard to make Nottinghamshire a better place.

My guests on the night were Peter Bryan, Chairman of the Arnold Killisick Residents' Association and his wife Judy; and Diane Plewinska and Betty Anderson from the Warren Action Group.

(Posted 30.7.10)

Improvement Programme

Like every council in the country, Nottinghamshire County Council faces ongoing, significant and unavoidable increases in demand for key services. At the same time, it faces an unprecedented and long-term reduction in the resources available to it. Present forecasts are that the Council must reduce its current expenditure by at least £88m, or 18% of its revenue budget, over the next three financial years. Most of this reduction will be used to fund increased demand in other service areas. £30m of reductions have already been identified for 2010/11, leaving a further £58m to be found in 2011/12 and 2012/13.

In the past, reductions have been achieved through a process of allocating savings targets across departments. However, the scale of the financial challenge is now such that a more strategic approach is needed to achieve reductions in a structured and consistent way.

At the County Council meeting on 25^th February 2010 the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Martin Suthers gained approval for a new Improvement Programme to deliver these aims, called ‘One Council - One Business - One Plan’. This will involve an estimated investment of £21 million over five years to deliver total aggregated savings of over £200m over a five year period.

The Improvement Programme will include: -

• a complete overhaul of the Council’s approach to procurement

• implementation of an integrated Business Management System and changes in processes

• rationalisation of the Council’s property portfolio and improvement in flexible ways of working

• a fundamental review of all services followed by a comprehensive programme of organisational redesign

• departmental improvement programmes that deliver service-specific developments and

• the Chief Executive’s own programme to deliver improvements in partnership working, communications and organisational development. 

 

The aim of ‘One Council-One Business-One Plan’ is to drive out inefficiency, target resources, minimise the impact on service delivery and create an organisation that is fit for purpose and financially sustainable in the long term. 

(Posted 8/3/10)

New Stategic Plan

Nottinghamshire County Council's new Strategic Plan 2010-2014 sets out our promise to the people of Nottinghamshire; our priorities for the next four years; and how we aim to support the people of our county to be aspirational, independent and to share with us responsibility for the future.

This Plan complements the wider Nottinghamshire Sustainable Community Strategy which is the collective plan that outlines how organisations in the county will work together to promote and deliver a better Nottinghamshire.

Our plan is ambitious. It is a plan based on what local people tell us they want, and what they want to see happen. The success of our plan relies on us working well together with local people and organisations. Whilst we face challenging financial times, nevertheless we have opportunities to promote and deliver a better future for Nottinghamshire.

(Posted 8/3/10)

Gritting

The exceptionally cold weather which affected Nottinghamshire and most other parts of the UK between December and February led to unprecedented pressures on local authority gritting supplies. Nottinghamshire County Council possessed stockpiles far exceeding Government recommendations and was able to keep its priority routes gritted even when other councils had exhausted their supplies. The biggest difficulty was obtaining replacement supplies, given the exceptional pressure on the two national companies who supply the country’s salt. 

Taking these events into account, it was agreed at the recent County Council budget meeting to increase the gritting budget by £50,000 for 2010/11. It is also intended to use 6mm rather than 10mm salt, which will improve spread rate and increase our gritting capacity still further. 

(Posted 8/3/10)

The Tempest at Killisick Junior School

On Friday 16^th October I joined children at Killisick Junior School to see a performance of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', specially adapted by Nick Wood to be accessible to a young (8-11 year-old) audience. This was a co-production by the Nottingham Playhouse Roundabout Theatre-in-Education and the Krazy Kat Theatre Company, a group that specialises in producing flamboyant, witty and unusual shows for adults and young people.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable event, with participants having the opportunity to interpret what they had seen through workshops and role play. The children were clearly engaged by what these activities and I am sure this served to develop their appreciation of the dramatic arts.  

(Posted 21/10/09)

Workplace Parking Levy (WPL)

Also at the Nottinghamshire County Council meeting on 24^th September 2009, the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways, Councillor Richard Jackson stated that the new Conservative county administration is opposed to Nottingham City Council's proposals for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). He expressed concern about the financial impact such a Levy could have on County residents who work in the City and stated his belief that the WPL would be unlikely to cut congestion. Councillor Jackson argued that the scheme could lead to significant parking problems in the County area, frighten off economic investment in the City and County and hit business confidence at a time when it needs to be nurtured. 

(Posted 5/10/09)

 

Carol's latest Councillors' Divisional Fund awards...

Following a decision taken by Council on 19^th May 2011, each County Councillor now has an annual fund of £10,000 to support worthy initiatives in the division they represent. 

The Councillors' Divisional Fund aims to make use of each councillor's 'grass roots' knowledge to identify projects, events, people and clubs that work hard to benefit and promote their local area, but often lack access to resources. Even a small amount of funding can sometimes make a huge difference. 

If you know of a deserving initiative in the West Bridgford West division that might be eligible to receive a CDF grant, please do contact me. You can click the following link to read the eligibility guidance criteria.   

Here are some of those I've been able to help so far: - 

Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme: help for a local constituent to undertake an 'Expedition to Yorkshire' as part of the scheme

Duke Of Edinburgh Award Scheme: a grant to help a local resident to complete the 3 peaks challenge

Gedling Area Duke of Edinburgh Award Association: some of my CDF has gone to this association help young people to achieve their awards

Arnold Local Area Forum: a grant to help towards the production of newsletters and a magazine

Arnold Killisick Residents' Association: a contribution to support a community day 

Killisick Junior School: to pay for transport costs for a school visit to the theatre, allowing students the opportunity to experience an alternative form of learning

Science on Stage: a contribution to support a performance at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham. Science on Stage works with youth groups, choirs and dance groups in Nottingham to put magic and drama into the world of science. Over the last ten years it has brought electrifying shows and performances to concert halls and stages across the city and the county. Scientific concepts have inspired music and dance to leave young and old performers with great memories and a hunger for more. Science on Stage is now an established part of the performing arts scene in the East Midlands.

 

Carol's committees...

My current committee service includes: -

Administration

Audit

Pensions

Personnel