A few words from Bill Handley who will be stepping down as our District Councillor. Thank you for all your hard work and commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A reflection on the last eight years<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After eight years as one of your district councillors, five of which were as a member of the Council\u2019s Cabinet, I am not seeking re-election on 7th May and, going forward, fresh faces (hopefully Liberal Democrat!) will be serving you. I thought it would be good to reflect on my time as a district councillor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I will be leaving at a time when there are big changes afoot nationally in local government. South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) together with all of the other local authorities (including County Councils) are to be broken up and merged into larger, unitary authorities. At the time of writing, the identities of these unitary authorities are not known but we are promised that the government will take the decision very soon. The elections on 7th May 2026 are the statutory ones for borough and district councils, and the new administrations will operate for two years. In May 2027, members of the new unitary councils will be elected, initially in a shadow capacity while powers and responsibilities are transferred to (hopefully) give a smooth handover. SCDC and the other district councils will then cease to exist in 2028. I can see many potential downsides to the changes, one of which is making elected representatives less visible and accessible to residents because they will be representing much larger constituencies across a wider geographic area. A positive aspect will be that it will be much easier for residents to know where to go to speak or complain about council services because they\u2019ll all be under one roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For five years I was a member of SCDC Cabinet, first as the Lead for Environmental Services and then for Communities. I worked closely with South Cambs council officers and found them to be well-led, efficient and resolute. I have been angered when I have heard unfair criticism of them because it is us elected representatives that are there to \u2018take the flak\u2019 because we can defend ourselves and our decisions where even the most senior officers cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early in the Covid pandemic, together with Cambridgeshire\u2019s MPs and other councillors and officers with health responsibilities, I attended regular briefings held by senior health professionals from Cambs and Peterborough NHS. These were sombre affairs as they outlined the possible consequences based on best-case to worst-case scenarios. You can imagine my shock when I learned at one of these meetings that Over Community Centre was designated as a temporary mortuary, which would be used if NHS facilities were overwhelmed; that\u2019s how serious it was thought the pandemic might be if the worst happened but, thankfully, social isolation and vaccination contained the pandemic to the point that this was not needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Lead Member for Communities, helping people through the lockdown period was a priority and the setting up of food hubs with community-led distribution was part of the council\u2019s strategy. The kitchen at Over Day Centre was one of a number producing wholesome food for delivery to people who were vulnerable and for whom a trip to the shops for supplies would have been risky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other priorities for the Communities team were to mitigate the effects of the cost-of-living and the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) software was installed, which uses the council\u2019s own data to identify people who are not claiming benefits to which they are entitled, and this work has been hugely successful in helping people on low incomes get through the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The war in Ukraine was one of the most serious crises to occur during my tenure on the Cabinet and, under the government\u2019s Help for Ukraine scheme, the Communities team was quick to set up a district-wide support system for Ukrainian refugees escaping from Russian aggression. This, again, was hugely successful and South Cambs helped and housed one of the highest numbers of Ukrainian refugees in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people found the isolation of Covid lockdown very difficult and I was no different. Fortunately, I am an allotment-holder, and I found that working on my plot was very therapeutic and gave me opportunities not only for fresh air and exercise but also to speak with fellow growers face-to-face, albeit at a distance. I never forgot how much this helped me and one of the policies I am proud of is, when Lead Member for Communities, I secured a tranche of grant funding which was made available to community allotment societies across the district to help them improve and develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The grant-funding made available by SCDC to numerous community and green projects is another thing I am proud to have been part of. I was lucky to be working with a council that had been prudent with the management of its budgets and investments and, as a result, there has been money available for community grants that most other councils could not afford to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most controversial things that the council has done during my term of office is the introduction of a 4-day week for the council\u2019s staff. Greater Cambridge is growing rapidly, and the council has to compete with the private sector to recruit staff, without whom it cannot deliver its services. The problem is particularly acute for HGV drivers, vital for waste collection, and for qualified planners because they can command high wages in the private sector \u2013 pay that the council could not afford. Unable to compete on pay, the council considered it necessary to find other ways to offer attract suitably qualified people to the council. 4-day week working is becoming more common in the private sector where enlightened employers have opted to share the efficiency benefits of technology and improved working practices with their employees as well as shareholders. It has never previously been tried in the public sector and so the council undertook an in-depth trial to show that the policy would work. The previous Conservative government put as many obstacles in the council\u2019s way as it could during the trial and local Tories remain hostile even with overwhelming evidence that the policy was, and is, doing what it was designed to do. A 4-day working week has now become permanent at the council and it has led to improved services in almost all areas and has significantly improved staff recruitment and retention. Costs have been reduced: for example savings of \u00a3400K per year because there is less need for expensive agency staff. The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service which, before the 4-day week, struggled to fully discharge its obligations due to staff shortages, recently won a prestigious national award – Planning Authority of the Year 2025 – a massive achievement and something the council is immensely proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, some of the work a councillor does \u2013 casework – has to remain confidential. The cases are varied and can, sometimes, be difficult for the councillor as well as the person seeking help. It is usually a case of helping residents to understand the options open to them by signposting and providing lines of communication between them and officers. One of the earliest cases I was involved with was to help a resident and their children to get through acute (though, thankfully, temporary) financial problems which had led to the council appointing \u2018bailiffs\u2019 to recover council tax debt. It\u2019s a long and complicated story but the resident had strong mitigating circumstances which I was able to explain to the council and which, ultimately, led to a resolution that satisfied the needs of both the resident and the council. The resident went on to recover and thrive and the letter of thanks I later received was very touching and I was grateful for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what now? I will certainly be spending more time on my allotment, I volunteer at IWM Duxford, and I plan to become more involved there and Jacqui and I intend to do more travelling to see parts of our beautiful country that we haven\u2019t visited before. I will, still, maintain an interest in the activities of SCDC because I have seen, first hand, how dedicated the officers are there. It is a terrible shame that the council will no longer exist after 2028, and I hope that the government will make the right decisions to ensure that our district continues to enjoy the high levels of service to which they have become accustomed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill Handley<\/p>\n\n\n\n District Councillor for Over and Willingham A few words from Bill Handley who will be stepping down as our District Councillor. Thank you for all your hard work and commitment. A reflection on the last eight years After eight years as one of your district councillors, five of which were as a member of the Council\u2019s Cabinet, I am not seeking re-election on 7th May and, going forward, fresh faces (hopefully Liberal Democrat!) will be serving you. I thought it would be good to reflect on my time as a district councillor. I will be leaving at a time when there are big changes afoot nationally in local government. South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) together with all of the other local authorities (including County Councils) are to be broken up and merged into larger, unitary authorities. At the time of writing, the identities of these unitary authorities are not known but we are promised that the government will take the decision very soon. The elections on 7th May 2026 are the statutory ones for borough and district councils, and the new administrations will operate for two years. In May 2027, members of the new unitary councils will be elected, initially in a shadow capacity while powers and responsibilities are transferred to (hopefully) give a smooth handover. SCDC and the other district councils will then cease to exist in 2028. I can see many potential downsides to the changes, one of which is making elected representatives less visible and accessible to residents because they will be representing much larger constituencies across a wider geographic area. A positive aspect will be that it will be much easier for residents to know where to go to speak or complain about council services because they\u2019ll all be under one roof. For five years I was a member of SCDC Cabinet, first as the Lead for Environmental Services and then for Communities. I worked closely with South Cambs council officers and found them to be well-led, efficient and resolute. I have been angered when I have heard unfair criticism of them because it is us elected representatives that are there to \u2018take the flak\u2019 because we can defend ourselves and our decisions where even the most senior officers cannot. Early in the Covid pandemic, together with Cambridgeshire\u2019s MPs and other councillors and officers with health responsibilities, I attended regular briefings held by senior health professionals from Cambs and Peterborough NHS. These were sombre affairs as they outlined the possible consequences based on best-case to worst-case scenarios. You can imagine my shock when I learned at one of these meetings that Over Community Centre was designated as a temporary mortuary, which would be used if NHS facilities were overwhelmed; that\u2019s how serious it was thought the pandemic might be if the worst happened but, thankfully, social isolation and vaccination contained the pandemic to the point that this was not needed. As Lead Member for Communities, helping people through the lockdown period was a priority and the setting up of food hubs with community-led distribution was part of the council\u2019s strategy. The kitchen at Over Day Centre was one of a number producing wholesome food for delivery to people who were vulnerable and for whom a trip to the shops for supplies would have been risky. Other priorities for the Communities team were to mitigate the effects of the cost-of-living and the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) software was installed, which uses the council\u2019s own data to identify people who are not claiming benefits to which they are entitled, and this work has been hugely successful in helping people on low incomes get through the crisis. The war in Ukraine was one of the most serious crises to occur during my tenure on the Cabinet and, under the government\u2019s Help for Ukraine scheme, the Communities team was quick to set up a district-wide support system for Ukrainian refugees escaping from Russian aggression. This, again, was hugely successful and South Cambs helped and housed one of the highest numbers of Ukrainian refugees in the country. Many people found the isolation of Covid lockdown very difficult and I was no different. Fortunately, I am an allotment-holder, and I found that working on my plot was very therapeutic and gave me opportunities not only for fresh air and exercise but also to speak with fellow growers face-to-face, albeit at a distance. I never forgot how much this helped me and one of the policies I am proud of is, when Lead Member for Communities, I secured a tranche of grant funding which was made available to community allotment societies across the district to help them improve and develop. The grant-funding made available by SCDC to numerous community and green projects is another thing I am proud to have been part of. I was lucky to be working with a council that had been prudent with the management of its budgets and investments and, as a result, there has been money available for community grants that most other councils could not afford to do. One of the most controversial things that the council has done during my term of office is the introduction of a 4-day week for the council\u2019s staff. Greater Cambridge is growing rapidly, and the council has to compete with the private sector to recruit staff, without whom it cannot deliver its services. The problem is particularly acute for HGV drivers, vital for waste collection, and for qualified planners because they can command high wages in the private sector \u2013 pay that the council could not afford. Unable to compete on pay, the council considered it necessary to find other ways to offer attract suitably qualified people to the council. 4-day week working is becoming more common in the private sector where enlightened employers have opted to share the efficiency benefits of technology and improved working practices with their employees as well as shareholders. It has never previously been tried in the public sector and so the council undertook an in-depth trial to show that the policy would work. The previous Conservative government put as many obstacles in the council\u2019s way as it could during the trial and local Tories remain hostile even with overwhelming evidence that the policy was, and is, doing what it was designed to do. A 4-day working week has now become permanent at the council and it has led to improved services in almost all areas and has significantly improved staff recruitment and retention. Costs have been reduced: for example savings of \u00a3400K per year because there is less need for expensive agency staff. The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service which, before the 4-day week, struggled to fully discharge its obligations due to staff shortages, recently won a prestigious national award – Planning Authority of the Year 2025 – a massive achievement and something the council is immensely proud of. Of course, some of the work a councillor does \u2013 casework – has to remain confidential. The cases are varied and can, sometimes, be difficult for the councillor as well as the person seeking help. It is usually a case of helping residents to understand the options open to them by signposting and providing lines of communication between them and officers. One of the earliest cases I was involved with was to help a resident and their children to get through acute (though, thankfully, temporary) financial problems which had led to the council appointing \u2018bailiffs\u2019 to recover council tax debt. It\u2019s a long and complicated story but the resident had strong mitigating circumstances which I was able to explain to the council and which, ultimately, led to a resolution that satisfied the needs of both the resident and the council. The resident went on to recover and thrive and the letter of thanks I later received was very touching and I was grateful for it. So, what now? I will certainly be spending more time on my allotment, I volunteer at IWM Duxford, and I plan to become more involved there and Jacqui and I intend to do more travelling to see parts of our beautiful country that we haven\u2019t visited before. I will, still, maintain an interest in the activities of SCDC because I have seen, first hand, how dedicated the officers are there. It is a terrible shame that the council will no longer exist after 2028, and I hope that the government will make the right decisions to ensure that our district continues to enjoy the high levels of service to which they have become accustomed. Bill Bill Handley District Councillor for Over and WillinghamPhone: 01954 200287 (leave a message). Email: cllr.handley@scambs.gov.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.jpeg?fit=187%2C164&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Tb23-1zp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6040,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6039\/revisions\/6040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Phone: 01954 200287 (leave a message). Email: cllr.handley@scambs.gov.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"