Published: 13 March 2025
County Councillor Report
GCC Cllr Susan Williams
Gloucestershire County Council Budget
Gloucestershire County Council approved the budget for 25/26 at the full council meeting. The council is in a good financial position, unlike many councils. It is able to continue support for existing services as well as make significant investments across the county.
The spending plans for 2025/26 will see spending rise by more than £48.2 million on 2024/25 levels, to over £665 million.
- The budget includes significant investment into the council’s priority areas of Highways, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Adult Services, Infrastructure, and the Environment.
- An ongoing £10 million towards delivering on the council’s £100 million four-year commitment to go on improving Gloucestershire roads, with a greater focus in 2025/26 on tackling rural roads.
- A total £22.2 million towards increasing capacity and improving school buildings and facilities of schools across the county, including £12.8 million towards a new 200 place special school.
- Young people with SEND and their families will be supported with an extra £2.1 million.
- £7.5 million towards the future construction of three new adult care homes is being set aside in 2025/26, with further investment planned in future years.
- Household Waste Recycling Centres in the county will see improvements with a £1.3 million injection.
The budget will raise £20.3 million to help fund services through a council tax increase of 2.99 per cent. It would also see £7.9 million raised specifically to support work with the most vulnerable adults in the county through a further 2 per cent increase in the adult social care precept.
Despite this increase the council still expects to have one of the lowest council tax levels of any county council. A number of amendments to the budget were adopted as part of the council’s spending plans for 2025/26. Do look at the Gloucestershire County Council website for details .
Election May 2025
Following a letter from the Ministry of Local Government, Housing and Communities, the County Council elections will go ahead on 1 st May 2025.
The Pre-Election Period will begin on 25th March at the latest. This is no longer referred to as ‘purdah’. The term “purdah” has been phased out by some public bodies and departments in the UK due to its historical and cultural connotations. The word originally refers to a practice of secluding women from men, which outdated and potentially offensive.
Central Government, the LGA and Gloucestershire County Council no longer use it – preferring the ‘Pre-Election Period’.
New Chief Executive appointed and approved
Jo Walker is currently Chief Executive of North Somerset Council, a unitary authority, a role she has held for the past six years, which included providing effective leadership through Covid, ensuring service continuity for residents.
As part of her current role, Jo is also a Chief Executive representative for the West of England working with both the West of England Combined Authority and the Western Gateway regional partnership, securing millions of pounds in central government funding to enhance the economic and social landscape, delivering inward investment, local infrastructure, and housing in North Somerset to improve outcomes for local people.
Jo Walker also sits on the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board for the past six years and has Chaired the Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Health System Transformation Board, to influence change that will reduce health inequalities for North Somerset residents and communities. She is also the lead Chief Executive in the Southwest for Finance and Children’s Services, advocating and lobbying government officials and ministers on behalf of all South West Councils.
Jo started her career at Gloucestershire County Council as a graduate trainee and worked her way up to become Director of Highways, Transport and Waste and then Director of Finance and Corporate Services, before leaving to become Chief Executive at North Somerset Council. Jo is expected to take up her position on 19th May.
Standards seize £5,000 of illegal tobacco and vapes from shop in Stroud Trading
Following reports from concerned parents that a shop was selling vapes to under 18s, trading standards officers visited the shop in January 2025.
They followed this up with a covert test purchase of illegal Richmond branded cigarettes, confirming their suspicions that the shop also sold illegal tobacco.
A further inspection at the shop on 7th February 2025 failed to locate any illegal products in the shop but officers were suspicious that illegal items were being stored in nearby vehicles.
The trading standards officers subsequently identified a suspect vehicle and waited nearby. Within minutes, a man opened the vehicle and got in. The officers approached the man in the vehicle and made themselves known to him before beginning a search. They found 488 packets of illegal and counterfeit cigarettes, 110 pouches of illegal and counterfeit hand rolling tobacco and 137 illegal and oversized vapes. The officers seized the items and a mobile phone.
Police also received a report of cannabis being found in a vehicle close to the scene. The drugs were seized but no arrests have been made.
The trading standards investigation is continuing.
Become An On-Call Firefighter
On-call firefighters make up a large proportion of the operational workforce at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) and are generally located in rural communities, within towns and villages.
Firefighters not only attend fires they also carry out community, prevention, and education work, which includes:
- Preventing fires and accidents from occurring in the first place.
- Educating the community by visiting schools, community centres and people in their own homes.
- Advising people about planning escape routes and fitting smoke alarms within their own homes in case of a fire.
- Actively seeking to understand and to value diverse individuals and groups.
GFRS is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to putting equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything it does. It welcomes applications from all members of the community. And although firefighters are required to have a good standard of fitness and practical ability, having a disability will not prevent you from applying as reasonable adjustments can be made.
On-call firefighters receive the same training as their full-time colleagues and there are opportunities to receive additional training to enhance their skills and knowledge. They must live within five minutes of the on-call community fire station and be at least 18 years of age by the start of their employment. If this role is of interest to you, then look at the Gloucestershire County Council site for more information on the role.
Local News
I have arranged with Highways to collect signage left abandoned in the hedgerows.
We are also looking at posts with no signs and other damaged signs to improve the environment and tidy up.
After years of repeatedly urging Highways department to resurface the road, I am pleased to inform you that Portway Hill is due to be closed in April for resurfacing .
After 20 years of campaigning from the residents of Pitchcombe and their county councillors, I am pleased to report that the area along the A46 and B4073 will have the speed reduced to 40mph The signage and speed cameras are due to be erected in April. This was first brought to my attention in Autumn 2021. It has been a long journey and I am proud to be the county councillor that facilitated the change of speed. This is to reduce the risk of accidents ,improve air quality and environment.
Please also note frogs will be crossing the road at the Pitchcombe junction too during their migration.
There have again been areas where fly tipping is a problem. The Stroud District Council are aware of the specific areas and are alerted to the rubbish.
Please contact me if you have concerns in your areas and need items followed up.
01452770928 or e mail me: Susan.williams@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cllr Sue Williams, Gloucestershire County Council