6 Weeks of...
This coming week sees the start of the school holidays and the "six weeks of Summer:" most schools will break up this Thursday, and start to go back 6 weeks later on September 1. It looks to be a busy Summer for events because many things that were stalled by Covid are on this year instead. Don't forget the Summer Reading Challenge is back at all 36 West Sussex Libraries. This year’s theme is Gadgeteers and aims to inspire children to see the science and innovation behind everyday objects, showing that reading and science is for everyone.
Families who receive Free School meals are entitled to vouchers in the holidays to help with lunches. West Sussex's Community Hub can also help, whether you are eligible for free school meals or not. If you need support, please call them on 0330 222 7980 - they are available 9am to 5pm, seven days a week. It's worth remembering that if your children have free schools meals, they are eligible for free holiday activities.
Keeping hydrated is particularly important in this hot weather, so it is a good idea to do all you can to help conserve water. We all know we should drink 2 litres a day, but did you know that, on average, we each use around 140 litres? In West Sussex our supply is classed as seriously ’stressed’. Water is also intrinsically linked to energy, with the industry contributing 6% of UK carbon emissions; reducing the amount of water we use each day will also reduce carbon emissions.
We have mentioned bird flu in our recent posts. There is a DeFRA survey aimed at anyone who keeps poultry (domestic birds such as chickens, geese and ducks, even if only kept as pets) at home. The objective is to help understand the experiences and practices of 'back yard' poultry keepers. Please complete it here.
The choice of this week's petition follows a heartfelt plea you may have come across on Social Media from a parent whose child was killed when travelling with a drunk driver. It wants people to think about their duty of care to minors. They believe that there were other adults present at the time who could have and stopped her entering a car with a driver they knew was intoxicated.
There is currently a National Phishing Campaign. Criminals impersonate trusted organisations by creating legitimate-looking messages and websites in order to trick people into opening the doors to their personal information. Once they have this information, it can be used to perpetrate fraud and cyber against you, or in your name. It still seems they are most likely to start with an unexpected email or text message. Whether it’s an email asking you to “verify” your bank account details, or a text message claiming you’ve been in close contact with someone that’s got COVID, the goal of a phishing attack is usually the same - to trick you into revealing personal and financial information: -
If you have any doubts about a message, contact the organisation directly using their official website.
If you suspect a scam, report it by forwarding the email to: report@phishing.gov.uk.
Most phone providers are part of a scheme that allows customers to report suspicious text messages for free by forwarding it to 7726.
If you’ve lost money or provided personal information as a result of a phishing scam, notify your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud.
CDC is improving its textiles, small electricals, and coffee pod collection trial by making it possible for residents to book their free kerbside collection online. The trial covers 75% of the District, and allows you to recycle unwanted textiles, broken small electrical items, and used coffee pods. Following feedback from residents and a review of the trial so far, CDC is changing the way it collects items and increasing the frequency of collections to fortnightly. This is the link for coffee pod collections.
It is the next Full CDC on Tuesday; the day before, we have a Local Plan briefing in the morning while I have Corporate Governance and Audit in the afternoon. Donna had full WSCC today which regrettably agreed to not allowing significant motions to be brought back within the 4 year Council term and not to automatically agenda at the next meeting ones that were not considered. Unfortunately filibustering by members of the Ruling Group prevented consideration of a motion to provide financial support to assist carers with transport costs due to the increase in fuel prices.
The State of Caring survey 2022 is now live. This is the most comprehensive research into the experience of carers in the UK. It creates a powerful body of evidence that highlights what caring looks like in the UK today and what needs to be done to ensure carers are supported. Last year, over 8,000 carers shared their experiences in the survey. This helped carers UK secure new rights for carers in the Health and Social Care Act 2022 in England, provide evidence of the need for a right to Carer’s Leave and campaign for cost of living support for carers across the UK.
In related news, you may have read that WSCC is paying a large sum each year for empty care beds. Donna asked the Cabinet Member at West Sussex to ensure that the bed mix was investigated, as she feels there is an imbalance between the need for nursing and residential home beds.
Finally: -
As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.
Tim
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