Four Lib Dem motions passed at Cambridgeshire County Council meeting

Four Lib Dem motions were passed at the recent full meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council.

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha highlighted the crisis facing primary care services across Cambridgeshire. As a fast-growing county, the pressures which are visible in GP surgeries across the country are particularly acute in Cambridgeshire, as our population increases.

Councillors agreed that delivery of GP practices was not keeping pace with Cambridgeshire’s population growth, and that capital funding has not delivered the necessary new General Practice infrastructure.

The motion calls for the council’s Chief Executive, Dr Stephen Moir, to write to Cambridgeshire MPs, the Secretaries of State for Health and Social Care, and Housing Communities and Local Government. The letter will ask for better planning and delivery of GP infrastructure, alert them to the shortcomings in planning and resourcing of GPs in Cambridgeshire and ask for a joined-up approach across government departments to make sure that high growth areas are not put at a disadvantage.

Cllr Ros Hathorn highlighted the national significance of the Fens and the urgent need for long-term flood prevention and climate change funding over the next 100 years.

The Fens are one of the most economically and environmentally important low-lying areas in the UK, and councillors expressed strong support for greater recognition and investment in their long-term protection.

Hundreds of thousands of Cambridgeshire residents live in the Fens. It was noted that managing water in the Fens across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire is estimated to deliver more than £58bn worth of benefits to people, properties, businesses, critical infrastructure, agricultural land, as well as bringing indirect benefits to the local economy. It also calls for a letter from the Council’s leader to all political group leaders in Lincolnshire and Norfolk, inviting them to work with the council to tackle the issue.

Another motion was put forward by Cllr Edna Murphy called for a solution to tackle the issue of fly-tipping on Cambridgeshire’s major roads. She explained that that under current arrangements, City and District councils are responsible for clearing waste from trunk roads such as the A14 and A11 within Cambridgeshire, however, they must first apply to National Highways to close the roads, which can cause significant delays as they offer times which are impractical and costly for local councils to comply with.

The motion, which was unanimously endorsed, will result in a letter from the Chief Executive to the Minister of State for Transport, copying in members of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership (RECAP), explaining the need for a more efficient system to deal with roadside fly-tipping.

Finally councillors also supported a motion from Cllr Alison Whelan reaffirming the Council’s commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. The motion included support for women and girls, trans men and women, and non-binary individuals, particularly in protecting against gender-based violence and systemic discrimination.

Cllr Yannifer Malinowski, seconding Cllr Whelan’s motion, gave a passionate, personal plea in support of trans rights; “Supporting this motion is the least we can do in the wake of this hostile interpretation of the misguided and misquoted Supreme Court Ruling. It will make such a difference for people out there like me to hear that at least someone, somewhere, in a position of power, actually cares and gives a damn about our lives, and about the challenges now facing our community.”

The successful passage of these important motions serves to demonstrate the hard work of Liberal Democrat councillors who now control the county council following the local election results earlier this year.