David Taylor

About David

Councillor David Taylor is a former Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council (2009-10) and has been a  County Councillor since 1989. He represents the Beauvale division which includes the borough wards of Brinsley and Greasley (Giltbrook & Newthorpe), and the Beauvale ward of Greasley Parish Council. He is a member of Brinsley Parish Council and was a member of Broxtowe Borough Council for 19 years, including a year as Mayor of Broxtowe in 1987/88.

He is married to Glenice with 4 grown-up children and 4 grandchildren. He qualified as a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) in 1962 and embarked on a 37-year career in local government finance. He concluded this as Chief Internal Auditor at Rushcliffe Borough Council.

David famously describes himself as "an active opponent of political correctness". Apart from his political and professional life he is a keen cricket fan and has been a Member of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club since 1947. 

David is available to meet constituents at any convenient time at a suitable venue. His contact details are displayed on the left of this page.  

David's latest Councillors' Divisional Fund awards...

Each Nottinghamshire County Councillor now has an annual fund of £10,000 to support worthy initiatives in the division they represent. The Councillors' Divisional Fund aims to make use of each councillor's 'grass roots' knowledge to identify projects, events, people and clubs that work hard to benefit and promote their local area, but often lack access to resources. Even a small amount of funding can sometimes make a huge difference. 

If you know of a deserving initiative in the Beauvale division that might be eligible to receive a CDF grant, please contact me. You can click the following link to read the eligibility guidance criteria.   

Follow this link to the Councillors' Divisional Fund web page to see some of the latest projects I have been able to support.

David's latest news...

Council tax frozen for the fourth consecutive year

At the Nottinghamshire County Council budget meeting on 28^th February 2013, Conservative councillors voted to freeze county council tax for a fourth consecutive year.

In the 2013/14 financial year, Nottinghamshire County Council will be investing: - 

• an extra £13.3 million in services to children and young people;

• an extra £17.9 million in adult social care;

• an extra £3 million on the county’s highways;

• an extra £500,000 for a Youth Employment Strategy; and

• an extra £700,000 for our ‘Olympic Legacy’ sports development fund.

This followed our ‘Big Budget Conversation’ consultation process, in which 65% of Nottinghamshire respondents supported a council tax freeze, with only 21% against. Further information on the results of the Big Budget Conversation can be found in Appendix A to the budget report.

Nottinghamshire County Council is now spending over £40 million more on services to vulnerable adults than it was four years ago, and over £35 million more on services to vulnerable children.

(Posted 8/3/2013)

Secondary school admissions

The application process for children transferring from primary schools to secondary schools across the county in September 2013 is under way. Letters from Nottinghamshire County Council setting out the procedure for applying, key dates for noting and their child’s unique ID number are in the process of being sent out to parents and carers across Nottinghamshire.

Parents and carers can now start applying for a secondary school place and the Council's committee chairman for children and young people’s services, Councillor Philip Owen, is urging as many as possible to apply online at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/admissions. 

The closing date for applications is Wednesday, 31st October 2012. For more information about the application process, schools, the number of places available or how places are allocated, please visit the website at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/admissions or call 01623 433499.

(Posted 20/8/2012)

Major progress on handling youth crime

Nottinghamshire County Council is making major progress in the way it handles youth offending across the county, according to the results of a latest Government inspection.

Under a new regime, which involved probation inspectors examining a 62-case sample of the Council’s 360 youth offending cases, it's been judged as managing 80 per cent of them excellently - or 'taking all reasonable action'.

The inspection looked at how cases were handled in terms of keeping the risks of youth offenders re-offending or causing further harm to others to a minimum. It also explored how well the Council did with keeping the youngsters themselves safe.

(Posted 31/7/2012)

Get it in writing!

As Vice Chairman of the Community Safety Committee I'd like to warn Nottinghamshire residents of the dangers of paying traders cash-in-hand without any written agreement by the County Council’s Trading Standards team. Only having a verbal agreement with a trader doing work around the home places a customer at greater risk of being a victim of shoddy workmanship or unsafe improvements.

A written agreement places you in better position if you need to challenge a trader about the quality of their work or insist they correct any problems. It is also more likely to give the consumer cancellation rights that they are legally entitled to.

Verbal agreements have the potential for dispute about what was actually included in the agreed works and problems can follow if the trader tries to charge extra for work the consumer thought was covered in the original price.  Trading Standards officers are more likely to be able to bring the likes of cowboy builders to justice if the customer has a written agreement that was made before the work started.”

The Council’s Buy with Confidence directory has local 370 traders which have been vetted and approved by local Trading Standards officers. For more information visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or phone Citizen’s Advice consumer service on 08454 04 05 06.

(Posted 30/7/2012)

Beware of doorstep traders

Nottinghamshire residents are being warned not to buy from doorstep traders over the summer period following 201 complaints received by the County Council’s Trading Standards team in the last 12 months. In a push to protect the vulnerable the Council is joining forces with the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) Summer Doorstep Selling campaign, empowering local residents to deal with untoward doorstep sellers. 

Research conducted on behalf of the OFT highlights the elderly as being particularly at risk of doorstep selling scams. One in five people over the age of 70 who were interviewed admitted to not being confident in deciding whether to employ a tradesperson and a fifth of those questioned could not see through pressure sales tactics such as having to pay cash in advance or having to make a quick decision to get a good deal. 

Our advice on doorstep traders is simple – do not buy from them and don’t be afraid to say no. Many can be unscrupulous and use a range of persuasive tactics to sell seemingly irresistible offers to unsuspecting and often vulnerable people in their homes. For more advice or information visit http://www.adviceguide.org.uk or call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06.

(Posted 30/7/2012)

Council adopts a committee system

With approval at the Council’s Annual General Meeting on 17^th May 2012, Nottinghamshire County Council exercised its new power under the Localism Act 2011 to adopt a committee system of decision-making. This replaces the Leader and Cabinet model adopted under the Local Government Act 2000.

The rationale for a committee system is that it is the most democratic and transparent form of governance. It ensures all 67 democratically elected Councillors are able to fully participate in decision-making and shaping the policy of the Council. It ensures greater transparency in that all reports are publicly available prior to any decision being made, and most decision-making meetings are held in public.

Reports were taken to the Full Council meetings in January and March, with final approval being given, as stated above, in May.

(Updated 27/7/2012)

Council tax frozen again in 2012/13 

At the Nottinghamshire County Council budget meeting on 23^rd February it was agreed to freeze county council tax for a third consecutive year. With public finances under strain across the country, the council has saved £87 million so far, £44 million of which has been reinvested directly into frontline services. In the coming financial year we will spend: -

• £2.8 million more safeguarding children;
• £5.2 million more on care for older people;
• £2.7 million more on adults with mental health & learning disabilities;
• £1.4 million more on adults with physical disabilities; and
• £1 million more to support young carers.

 We are also committed to invest £289 million in capital over three years on:-

• Improving school buildings;
• Modernising day centres;
• New youth clubs;
• Improving libraries;
• Improved broadband services;
• Improved roads and pathways;
• New and improved bus stations.

Councillor Reg Adair is the council's Cabinet Member for Finance & Property. In his speech presenting the budget, he outlined the results of the council's budget consultation. In response to public feedback, we are: - 

• providing additional library opening hours at 15 locations across the county;
• holding Meals at Home charges at £3.95 for 2012/13; and
• not increasing charges for Blue Badge holders in 2012/13, unlike many other local authorities. 

(Posted 28/2/2012)  

£2.5 million boost for Supporting People

Despite local budget pressures and a reduced grant from central Government, Nottinghamshire County Council has invested an extra £2.5 million in its Supporting People programme.

Supporting People is a national programme that provides housing related support to help vulnerable people live independently. It will see its Government grant in Nottinghamshire reduced to £17.6 million this year, threatening the County Council’s previous year’s Supporting People spend of £22.5 million.

However, thanks to a new £1.5 million investment from the local NHS, plus a further £1 million diverted from the County Council budget, the Government’s allocation has been given a vital boost in Nottinghamshire. This limits the reduction in the County’s Supporting People budget to just over 10%, from £22.5 million to £20.11 million. The restricted budget reduction has also been made possible by the County Council’s decision early this year, following public consultation, to keep its savings on Supporting People to £10 million over the next three years rather than two higher reduction options of £12.5 million and £15 million.

These funding measures support feedback gained from a second, two-month public consultation on Supporting People services this year (in Feb/March), to form new proposals which went before Full Council on 30^th June 2011. These proposals ensure that:-

• Most accommodation based services continue to be funded, albeit at reduced levels;
• ‘Floating support’ services, which offer support to people in their own homes, will be delivered consistently across issues of homelessness prevention and offender, drug and alcohol, gypsy and traveller and young people’s services;
• Mental health services are reviewed and delivered more efficiently;
• Young people’s services are reviewed for greater efficiency;
• Community alarm and warden services for older people are replaced with a new short term service targeted at helping vulnerable people to remain independent in their own homes.

We’ve talked to those who use the services, to our District Council partners, to project providers and voluntary and community groups, including church leaders, to find ways to make savings through efficiencies. We will target the money at front line services that meet the needs of those who are most vulnerable and in greatest need.

Nottinghamshire was successful in securing Government money under Supporting People when the programme first started eight years ago but we’ve seen this central funding steadily fall by nearly £11 million since that time. We believe that after the £10 million savings have been made, the level of funding in Nottinghamshire for these services will still compare well with other Council areas.

(Posted 20/7/2011)

School buildings investment

I am delighted to report that Brinsley Primary & Nursery in Beauvale division is one of the schools set to benefit from the first phase of Nottinghamshire County Council's new £100 million programme to refurbish and improve school buildings.

At the Annual General Meeting of Nottinghamshire County Council on 19^th May, the Cabinet Member for Children & Young People's Services, Councillor Philip Owen set out the full Schools Capital Refurbishment Programme List, covering three years up to 2014.

In line with the "Three R's" set out by the Government for school building works (Refresh, Refurbish, Re-use), Nottinghamshire County Council has set the criteria to prioritise the schools most in need of improvements for the first year. The condition of roofs, external walls and windows, electrical arrangements and mechanical issues such as boilers have been considered. 

More in-depth surveys of the schools in the first year list will take place from June and works on a small number of schools will begin during the summer holidays. The Council started a review of school buildings across the county following the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The County Council will be funding around £30m of the programme with the remaining money coming from the authority’s Government grant for school maintenance.

(Posted 1/6/2011)

Crossing safer in Brinsley

After 30 years of trying, I am delighted that a crossing and central reservation have finally been installed on Church Lane in Brinsley, between Broad Lane and Moor Road. Local residents and children in particular can at last cross more safely to the Council's playing field facilities and village hall. I want to place on record special thanks to the Cabinet Member for Transport & Highways, Councillor Richard Jackson, who visited Brinsley and gave this project his support. Thanks also go to Brinsley Parish Council and Broxtowe Borough Councillor John Booth for their help with this campaign.

(Posted 25/5/2011)