The debate at Woking Debates, held in the United Reform Church, on 27th Jan 2024 was:

“How is Woking Borough Council going to protect vulnerable residents from the forthcoming cuts?”

My response to that question outlined the work being done by officers, the executive, and local councillors to rescue services wherever they can.

Unpacking the Question

I am going to start by unpacking the title ‘how is Woking Borough Council going to protect vulnerable residents from the forthcoming cuts?’ Inherent in that question is that cuts or, to put it another way, reduced spending, unavoidably results in a removal or reduction of services.

Naturally, in Woking, dealing with the fall-out of a financial situation of this scale, the Council will not be able to do everything it did previously. However, it has not been my experience in the private sector that the more that is spent on a product or service, the better it is or the less that is spent, the worse it is.

Local and National Government

The second part of unpacking the question is that Woking Borough Council does not support the vulnerable in isolation. Woking fits into a framework of national and local government, each with responsibilities to protect the vulnerable. 

Nationally, government are responsible for policy, legislation such as laws against discrimination, welfare systems, and the health service. It is also responsible for the distribution of resources to other groups and to local authorities through the local government finance settlement. 

Specifically, Woking, is part of a two-tier local authority.  Surrey County Council are responsible for social care, and support to vulnerable adults and children including day and residential care including. Woking Borough Council is responsible for Housing and Homelessness. This is where Woking actually  fulfils its responsibilities to the vulnerable.

In addition, district councils often provide other forms of support including community centres, outreach, advocacy, and early interventions such as family support, and social prescribing. This is often achieved through partnerships. Effective councils’ partner with other local authorities, the NHS, voluntary organisations, charities, churches, and community groups to expand their reach and effectiveness in support of vulnerable residents.

The First Debate: Woking’s Finances – How painful will the recovery be?

In my first Woking debate titled ‘Woking’s finances – how painful will the recover be?’ I asked a rhetorical question. 

‘Why would we, The Woking Lib Dems, want to run a Council ultimately under the control of commissioners? Why would we want to spend less, wrestle with unpredictable income, upend the council budget, and engage in a David and Goliath negotiation with government?’

I talked about government appointed commissioners making good and judicious decisions but that local councillors such as Cllr Ian Johnson, and Cllr Amanda Booth, both here today would make both judicious and compassionate decisions.

Judicious and Compassionate

And we have seen this working in practice. It would have been judicious to commit only in our statutory responsibilities as a district council. Instead, the council has been motivated to do the work to identify creative alternatives to many of the services it already offered.

Community Centres and Sports Pavilions

Firstly, community centres. There are around ten separate conversations with community enterprises on the transfer and operation of four community centres. 

Community enterprises have a social purpose rather than a commercial one. They have access to funding and other resources not available to councils. Community interest companies (CICS) often generate some form of income themselves, and charities have access to donations and grant funding.

Transferring a community asset requires careful planning, management, and investment through a process called Community Asset Transfer (CAT). The council have worked with the Local Government Association and Local Authority Partnerships to develop the process and policies required to do this. The council has also secured funding to progress CAT conversations including those at the Vyne, Parkview, Moorcroft and, as we have heard from Amanda, St Marys.

Our ambition is to repeat the success seen by the many councils that have already engaged in Community Asset Transfers. Gateshead, for example, have passed almost 50 buildings and spaces to communities since 2012. Their experience, and they’re not alone, has been that groups can often take under-used spaces and create flourishing local hubs used by communities committed to and invested in their success. Examples include what is now a thriving bowling club, run with support from a local group and Age Concern.

Community Grants

Then community grants recipients. The council has repurposed some existing funding to help Citizens Advice develop a sustainable funding model. Citizen’s advice provide a diverse range of services across debt, benefits, work, and legal. They do this particularly well in Woking. I met with the National Lottery Community Fund this week, who were in Council offices meeting some of our third sector partners, and they observed that Citizens Advice organisations typically also have a diverse range of funders.

Citizens Advice will not be able to do all that they did previously, and they are still faced with an imperative to do things differently just as the Council is. However, as recently as their November AGM, they had put in place contingency plans to close. This funding contributes towards preventing that. 

A new, Debt Coordinator post will also be introduced. This role will work with Citizens Advice and help develop capacity in other voluntary groups. We have engaged with Woking churches who offer excellent, and extensive debt advice.

Another beneficiary of repurposed funding is the Lightbox. They are reorienting themselves to be a regional cultural hub generating income from commercial activities, increasing venue hire, providing space to local artists, and expanding their retail offer. In addition to attracting visitors, the Lightbox are also involved in community outreach including working with Schools, Action for Carers, LinkAble Women’s Centre, Women that have come into contact with the Criminal Justice System including Send HMP, Catalyst Womens Support Centre, and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Social Prescribing and Hospital Discharge 

And reaching out to other local authority partners who are able to deliver the service more sustainably. This includes social prescribing and the hospital discharge team which are both being delivered through Spelthorne Council.

Family Centres, and Family Support Services

Then the council has worked with Surrey County Council who have identified new partners to provide family centres, and family support services.

Front Line Services

Then on to front line services. Residents contact the council 8,000 times each month on council tax, and housing benefits mostly by telephone. When they do, they have a choice of 106 different email addresses, 92 different telephone numbers and a bewildering web site.

Council staff are working with outdated systems, insufficient training, and inadequate resources. That means our residents, including the vulnerable, do not always get the full support they need when they need it. Staff, and residents are being failed.

The council has been able to secure funding to fix antiquated systems, better train staff, and improve back-office processes that will create savings but also better support residents in need and, we intend, reduce some of the pull-on Citizens Advice.

Resolving issues, when possible, first time, is better for everyone and reduces costs. Allowing those that want to, to self-service online reduces costs and creates more time for staff to work on complex issues, and to support vulnerable residents that need individual support.

Cost Neutral Services

In addition to funding transformation, working with community enterprises and other partners, the council has rescued some services by increasing fees and charges but benchmarked against other authorities such that we can deliver them cost neutral. This means the council is operating, in many ways, like a non-profit or not for profit organisation. This has been the principle behind sustaining the Pool in the Park but has also been applied to other council services such as community meals and careline, a service that supports independent living for the elderly. Woking will continue operating government supported schemes including refugee support, and HomeLink for those that need home adaptations.

Housing

Finally, and for me most significant, housing.

Tom Peters once said that strategy is about what an organisation chooses not to do as much as what it does do. This council was not focused on the right things. It was distracted from its primary obligation to support the vulnerable through housing.

The council has around 3,300 homes excluding Sheerwater. Many residents experience inadequate service on basic maintenance such as boiler repairs. After years of neglect, many homes have fallen below the decent homes standard. The council self-referred to the regulator for social housing last year.

Meanwhile, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was administered badly. Central costs were historically misallocated, and their proper allocation has resulted in a c. £2m adjustment in favour of the HRA. A future capital program of £37 million is being planned, almost £17m in year 1 for fire safety works and to return homes to a decent standard. By the way, the council funding for Housing, has historically been around £4M.

Wrap-Up

Let me close and summarise. The council is working with community enterprises on community centres, and sports pavilions. It’s working with grant recipients on their transformation and supporting them with UKSPF funding. It’s introducing a debt co-ordinator post. It’s worked with local authority partners to continue family centres, family support services, social prescribing, and hospital discharge. It has facilitated discussions between our third sector partners and funders such as the National Lottery Community Fund ( A fund that awarded over £500m in 2021) It’s facilitated meetings between third sector partners and charities to identify opportunities for collaboration.

It’s also improving the quality of front line service for everyone to create space for those with additional needs, and it’s continuing to deliver services such as community meals on a cost neutral basis. And it’s trying to do in 8 months what councils nationally have been doing for a decade.

Finally, it’s investing more than it has ever done before on what it should have been doing all along and I would argue that there is little more important to a vulnerable person than a decent, safe, home.

The council is cutting costs but, on balance and in the long-term, I would argue not cutting its responsibilities to the vulnerable.

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