Vincent Dobson

About Vincent

Vincent Dobson has given many years of service as a Conservative member of Nottinghamshire County Council. Between 1977 and 1989 he represented the Newark North division, and since 1993 he has represented Collingham division. He lives in Collingham village.

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

Vincent'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 Collingham 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.

Vincent'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)

New telephone number for Nottinghamshire County Council

Nottinghamshire County Council has launched a new telephone number 0300 500 80 80 which is cheaper than the previous 08449 number. The change to 0300 500 80 80 means that wherever you live in Nottinghamshire, you'll pay a local call rate when you get in touch with the Council. Calls to 0300 numbers are included in all-inclusive minutes and discount schemes offered by telecoms and mobile phone providers, meaning that some calls are even free of charge.

To celebrate, the County Council's Customer Service Centre has revealed some of the strangest requests it has received since it was launched in 2008, including a lady requesting an audience with The Queen and someone asking if it's okay to exercise their kestrel at a local tip!

(Posted 13/11/2012)

GCSE results up again in Nottinghamshire

On 23^rd August young people in schools across the county received the results of their GCSE examinations. 
The provisional results for Nottinghamshire based on 41 (out of 45) schools show that: -

• 62.3% of pupils obtained 5 or more A* - C grades including English and mathematics with figures up by 4.7 percentage points against last year's figures of 57.6%;

• 88% of pupils obtained 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE, an increase of 5.4 percentage points over last year (82.6%);
• The results across the county for those achieving 5 or more A* - G grades, including English and mathematics, stands at 96.2% up by 2.5 percentage points against last year (93.7% on 2011).

These results show that pupils have been working extremely hard with support from their teachers and on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council I would like to congratulate them for their hard work.

(Posted 24/8/2012)

Mons Pool archaeological dig

Archaeologists and local enthusiasts have carried out one final dig at the site of an ancient former settlement at Collingham. Scores of fascinating artefacts including pottery dating back to the Bronze Age and Neolithic period had already been recovered from the Mons Pool site during previous digs held over the last two years. This was the final opportunity to excavate the site before it becomes a quarry. Volunteer diggers joined archaeologists from Nottinghamshire County Council and the University of Salford's Centre for Applied Archaeology for the start of the dig on 6^th August and remained on site until 18^th August.

In addition to the dig, a wide range of events took place over the fortnight including the reconstruction and firing-up of a Romano-British kiln and demonstrations by a flint napper. The site was opened up to the public on Saturday 18^th August for guided tours and a chance to see some of the objects discovered during the digs.

Mons Pool is a multi-period settlement which it is believed was occupied as far back as the New Stone Age.
For further information visit the Nottinghamshire County Council Community Archaeology website, www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/learning/history/archaeology/communityarchaeology/

(Updated 21/8/2012)

Secondary school admissions

The application process for children transferring from primary schools to secondary schools across the county in September 2013 gets under way this week (w/c 13 August). 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)

Committee appointments

Following Nottinghamshire County Council's conversion to a committee system (see below) I have been appointed to serve on the Personnel Committee and the Joint City/County Health Scrutiny Committee.  

(Posted 31/7/2012)

Localism

In Nottinghamshire, the County Council is committed to local people being able to make decisions about the place where they live, communities being involved in the way that services are shaped and delivered and communities being proud of their local area. The Council’s Localism Policy sets out how we will meet these commitments.

Our approach aims to reach across the County and engage with all local communities either through parish/town councils or local community groups in a way that works best for them.  It is up to local communities to choose to be involved in this but we are encouraging them to become more ambitious about their local area.

(Posted 31/7/2012)

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)  

Newark bus station

Newark's brand new bus station was officially opened on Friday 11^th November. Part of the £50m Asda supermarket development on the town’s Potterdyke car park, the new state-of-the-art bus station is fully enclosed and boasts digital information screens, seating, CCTV for added security, toilets, baby changing area, vending machines and a staffed information point.

The new building is jointly owned by Nottinghamshire County Council – which will operate the bus station – and Newark and Sherwood District Council. Both worked alongside Asda on its development.

It has been estimated that there will be around 2,000 bus arrivals and departures a week – with around 25,000 passenger arrivals and departures over the same period.

(Posted 14/11/2011)

£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)