Fiona White

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Guildford West Learn more

Give credit where credit is due

by fionawhite on 17 August, 2020

While we have been trying to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic all across the country councils, voluntary organisations and community activists have been making extra efforts to help out people in need. That includes supporting those who have been shielding because of health issues or who are vulnerable for other reasons. Everyone who can has played their part.

That is why it is particularly galling that the Leader of Surrey County Council has sent a letter to households across Surrey taking credit for all the good work that has been taking place with only a passing reference to “partners”.

So let’s have a look at some of these claims.
*the letter refers to direct contact with 39793 vulnerable and shielding residents, including over 30000 calls. It makes no mention of the over 17000 calls to vulnerable shielded residents and 6082 calls to other vulnerable residents by Guildford Borough Council staff.
*it does not talk about the nearly 4000 telephone calls to GBC vulnerable people’s helpline or the 3500+ calls to GBC Housing Advice Services
*while it includes a reference to Surrey having delivered 1830 food boxes it does not refer to the 3581 food parcel deliveries from GBC to residents or the fact that 2327 food parcels were delivered county-wide from Guildford Spectrum
*it was GBC staff that I saw preparing food parcels on a Saturday morning when I was at the Park Barn Centre a few weeks ago. No mention of them in Surrey’s letter
*GBC staff ran a community services hub from the Park Barn Centre and set up a satellite hub in Japonica Court in Ash. No recognition of that by the SCC Leader
*the Leader does not mention the many community groups who helped out their neighbours and friends by collecting prescriptions or going shopping for people in their own communities or the people who gave up their time to organise that help

All these things that happened in Guildford were also happening across Surrey, with borough and district councils and voluntary and community groups working long hours and happy to do it to help people who needed help. All of them just referred to as “partners”.

I know that the Leader of Surrey County Council wants to have his own single unitary authority for the whole of the county but claiming credit for other people’s work is disrepectful of all those people at borough council and voluntary level who worked tirelessly and often without breaks to get us all through an emergency.
To quote a comment on my facebook page, the letter reads like “a Unitary Authority advert masquerading as a public service leaflet.”

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