Liberal Democrat Pledges and Manifesto Commitments for Oxford City Council - 2010

A fair deal for everyone in Oxford

1. FAIRNESS and VALUE FOR MONEY

Pledge:

• We will invest more on key services, not empty offices

Objectives

• We will keep council tax down and give value for money

• We will remove surplus Council Office Space

• We will invest more in front-line services

• We will hold Citizens' Juries on the Council Budget

2. POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Pledge:

• We will set up a forum for residents' groups to hold the council to account

Objectives:

• We will give more power, and budgets, to local people through Area Committees

• We will listen to people's views and value them

• We will encourage people to contribute to local decisions including planning policy

• We will ensure Council papers are written in clear language

3. INCREASE the QUALITY AND QUANTITY of HOUSING ACROSS THE CITY

Pledge:

• We will start a programme of pro-active inspections to tackle the worst landlords

• We will continue to support, and implement, compulsory licensing of houses of multiple occupation

• We will support good landlords with pro-active inspections to tackle the worst

• We will produce a yearly handbook for tenants including students

• We will work to regenerate our estates, ensuring community involvement, increasing affordable housing and providing the right infrastructure

4. SAFER COMMUNITIES

Pledge:

• We will reverse Labour's cuts to Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Street Wardens, to ensure every part of the City is covered

Objectives:

• We will ensure that police are visible in all communities and to help people feel safer

5. HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT

Pledge:

• We will introduce tougher standards of energy conservation for buildings seeking planning approval

Objectives:

• We will work to improve the local environment

• We will increase renewable energy generation in the city with better advice and guidance to householders

• We will increase the priority given to adapting to Climate Change

• We will reduce the City Council's carbon emissions from its own premises

• We will stop the delays in increasing the scale of food waste collection

• We will ensure that all Council departments are as energy efficient as possible

6. FIGHTING POVERTY

Pledge:

• We will invest to combat fuel poverty

Objectives:

• We will promote more apprenticeships and university work placements in the Council, its partners and other employers

• We will work with advice centres to get people into work and to encourage people in financial difficulty to take up the benefits to which they are entitled

• We will work to provide tenancy support for the most vulnerable Council tenants

OTHER LONGSTANDING COMMITTMENTS

• We support the development of the Westgate and West End

• We will work to support those homeless and at risk of homelessness by increasing opportunities back into mainstream society for those homeless and at risk of homelessness by supporting projects like the Old Fire Station

• We will work to deliver the Barton West project

• We recognise the need for affordable housing and a review of the green belt to find the most sustainable sites for housing

• We support the development of land south of Grenoble Road provided the right infrastructure is put in place

• We support the building of a new Skate Park

• We support the building of a combined pool and ice rink in the Cowley area

• We will seek to introduce a one stop shop - "bringing the Council closer to you".