28/9/2010 - Council Leader hears children`s priorities at Cockermouth library

Cumbria County Council's Leader is visiting Cockermouth library tomorrow (Wednesday Septmber 29th) to hear what young people think the county council's priorities should be in the face of public sector spending cuts.

Cllr Eddie Martin will hold a Q&A session with pupils from Fairfield Junior School at 10.30am as part of the county council's ongoing consultation on how it should reshape its services in the current financial climate.

The media opportunity will be held in the reading area of Cockermouth library, an area revamped and redesigned after the November floods forced the library to move into temporary premises until reopening in April 2010. Local charities including the Rotary Club and Lions contributed to help pay for the furniture in the reading area - an excellent example of local people helping out to deliver public services. Cockermouth library is also a thriving local hub of the community, with an extremely active young reader's scene. This year it had more young readers completing the library service's Summer Reading Challenge for children than any other library of its size.

The Leader will also read the children a story - highlighting the importance of primary school children hearing male voices read stories. Most primary school teachers are women and research shows that children, especially boys, are encourged to read if their dads or grandads read to them as well. 

The session will be followed by a photo and interview opportunity for journalists at approximately 11am.

This month Cumbria County Council began consulting local people and key stakeholders earlier than ever before to capture feedback on what the council's priorities should be in the challenging times ahead.

The first phase of consultation on the 2011-2014 Council Plan is helping the county council understand which services are valued and needed the most, and how services could be delivered differently in the future. 

The initial consultation lasts until October 11th, when the feedback will help shape more detailed proposals on how the council's services could change, which will then be consulted on later in the autumn.

The coalition Government has already outlined its plans to reduce public expenditure by an average of 25% and will publish the Comprehensive Spending Review on October 20th, which will give a clearer indication of how much the county council's budget will be reduced by.

The anticipated scale of the reductions in government spending will inevitably mean that the council will have to make some difficult decisions on how to strengthen an efficiencies drive which has already seen the county council saving £24m in cashable efficiencies over the last two years.

The county council is working hard to capture the opinions of as many people as possible, including young people, as part of this consultation.

Cllr Eddie Martin, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:

"Sometimes young minds can generate excellent ideas and offer real clarity and purpose in what we should be doing. The council doesn't have all the answers to the difficult questions we face. We want the difficult decisions on what are 'essentials' or 'extras' to truly reflect the views of local people, because they're the ones that use our services."

People can get involved in the consultation by visiting the county council's website 

Cumbria County Council's Leader is visiting Cockermouth library tomorrow (Wednesday Septmber 29th) to hear what young people think the county council's priorities should be in the face of public sector spending cuts.

Cllr Eddie Martin will hold a Q&A session with pupils from Fairfield Junior School at 10.30am as part of the county council's ongoing consultation on how it should reshape its services in the current financial climate.

The media opportunity will be held in the reading area of Cockermouth library, an area revamped and redesigned after the November floods forced the library to move into temporary premises until reopening in April 2010. Local charities including the Rotary Club and Lions contributed to help pay for the furniture in the reading area - an excellent example of local people helping out to deliver public services. Cockermouth library is also a thriving local hub of the community, with an extremely active young reader's scene. This year it had more young readers completing the library service's Summer Reading Challenge for children than any other library of its size.

The Leader will also read the children a story - highlighting the importance of primary school children hearing male voices read stories. Most primary school teachers are women and research shows that children, especially boys, are encourged to read if their dads or grandads read to them as well. 

The session will be followed by a photo and interview opportunity for journalists at approximately 11am.

This month Cumbria County Council began consulting local people and key stakeholders earlier than ever before to capture feedback on what the council's priorities should be in the challenging times ahead.

The first phase of consultation on the 2011-2014 Council Plan is helping the county council understand which services are valued and needed the most, and how services could be delivered differently in the future. 

The initial consultation lasts until October 11th, when the feedback will help shape more detailed proposals on how the council's services could change, which will then be consulted on later in the autumn.

The coalition Government has already outlined its plans to reduce public expenditure by an average of 25% and will publish the Comprehensive Spending Review on October 20th, which will give a clearer indication of how much the county council's budget will be reduced by.

The anticipated scale of the reductions in government spending will inevitably mean that the council will have to make some difficult decisions on how to strengthen an efficiencies drive which has already seen the county council saving £24m in cashable efficiencies over the last two years.

The county council is working hard to capture the opinions of as many people as possible, including young people, as part of this consultation.

Cllr Eddie Martin, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:

"Sometimes young minds can generate excellent ideas and offer real clarity and purpose in what we should be doing. The council doesn't have all the answers to the difficult questions we face. We want the difficult decisions on what are 'essentials' or 'extras' to truly reflect the views of local people, because they're the ones that use our services."

People can get involved in the consultation by visiting the county council's website www.cumbria.gov.uk (direct link http://cumbriacc.ning.com/). Paper copies of the consultation document are also available through libraries, council offices, Local Links and children's centres. 

ENDS

Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 226332