County Council news – April 2012

Cambridgeshire County Councilor John Reynolds


Police and Crime Commissioners

A County Council transformation group has been established as part of the programme leading up to elections for Police and Crime Commissioners in November this year. The County Council is working closely with Peterborough City Council, District Councils in Cambridgeshire and the Police Authority as part of this, and a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment on victims and offenders is being produced to aid the evidence base for the Commissioner.

Contact Centre

The Contact Centre is currently working hard to deliver to service levels for calls answered in 20 seconds. Calls answered in total remains high meaning that customers are being supported in their contact, but waiting longer to be answered. Calls patterns are irregular at present with large call peaks followed by periods with no or few calls. Investigations into understanding why the call patterns have changed continue, together with the best way to balance resource availability at appropriate times. A second set of apprentices have been recruited into the Contact Centre Operational service and are due to start their 12 month apprenticeship in customer service during May 2012.

Sham marriage

The Registration service continues to work with the UK Borders Agency to address the high level of sham marriages and the associated criminal activity. Arrests made in the Cambridge Register Office resulted in convictions and prison sentences for the perpetrators, and the arrest of a number of solicitors in London. The team continue to be vigilant, and further arrests were made during April.

Strategy and estates

The County farms estate rental income from its tenants has reached £3m pa for the first time in its history. This results from a rolling programme of rent reviews reflecting the improvements to farm profitability over recent years. Solar photo voltaic panels costing £160,000 have been put on barn roofs on farms at Ramsey, Parsons Drove, Littleport and Shingay. They have been funded through the Better Utilisation of Property Assets (BUPA) project and were installed before Feed in Tariffs were recently reduced.

Universally available information and advice about adult social care

All Adult Social Care information resources continue to be incorporated into Your Life, Your Choice www.yourlifeyourchoice.org.uk. Positive informal feedback has been received and web pages continue to be developed and updated based on feedback from users, staff & partner agencies. Quarterly review meetings show sustained increases in usage and corresponding decreases in CCC web page use and Contact Centre calls compared to previous years. We also actively support the Citizen’s Advice Bureau-led ‘Advicehub’, which continues to co-ordinate availability and quality of advice across the county. Its Partnership Forum has over 30 members, developing a public-facing website for easier referral and enhanced use of cambridgeshire.net.

Recycling awards

The recent successful Love Food Hate Waste campaign by RECAP Partnership which was based on grant scheme, community engagement, and high impact events, including the Feed the 1000 events, has been shortlisted for the National Recycling Award 2012 in Waste Minimisation Category


Recap Partnership

The Recap Partnership has launched its new campaign, Yes You CAN, promoting recycling of metals in household collections. Currently the majority of metals like cans, tins and foil trays end up in residual waste, limiting the value of recovered material for recycling. To promote the campaign the Partnership is organising the Yes You CAN recycling relay across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough between 24 and 28 May.

Evidence Bank

The Adult Social Care’s Evidence Bank has been launched on CamWeb http://camweb/as/ass/evidencebank. The Evidence Bank collects and shares stories and good practice about how staff working in Adult Social Care achieve positive outcomes for service users and carers, through the development of services and new approaches.

The Evidence Bank makes available information of good outcomes from our work to share with staff, managers, members and other organisations like the Care Quality Commission when needed. Case studies will be sought on an ongoing basis and those on CamWeb will be rotated and archived to give a library of good practice in Adult Social Care.

Clawing back the proceeds of crime

The County Council’s Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) has been successful in obtaining a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) confiscation order for £304,000 in a case brought by Norfolk Trading Standards against the sales representative of company Business Telecom Ltd.

Much of the amount recovered will be used to compensate the schools and businesses that were targeted and misled by the fraudster and his employer, including some in Cambridgeshire. The FIU is also assisting and supporting the Council's Planning Officers in a major case in respect of an illegal landfill in Cambridgeshire where confiscation is once more being considered to recover the income made from the illegal activities.

Cambridgeshire Competes' schedule of activities

The council has successfully secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to deliver an Olympic themed project called 'Cambridgeshire Competes'. It aims to explore Cambridgeshire's links with the Games and collect people’s memories of past Olympics to lodge in the County Council Archive.

There will be ten venues, five museums and five sports centres hosting an Olympic themed exhibition during the Games and these centres will be presenting a range of talks and practical activities for the general public to take part in. The Paralympic Flame will also be housed by some of the participating museums over the weekend of the 24-26 August and it will be visiting Grafham Water Centre on the 27 August. Please access the Cam Com Exhibition Schedule to see the latest proposals: www.cambridgeshirecompetes.org.uk/events.

Events for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics

Working alongside Cambridgeshire Constabulary to monitor resource impacts for emergency services has revealed over 300 Jubilee, Olympics and other community events planned in the county between June and September. Olympic legacy projects are being developed to support cross sector partnerships, to support cycling, health and wellbeing, disability sport and volunteering.


A14 study progress

The study has now completed its second phase which has proposed that a limited number of public transport, freight and highway packages should be taken into the third and final stage where they will be refined and assessed. From that work a recommended final multi –modal package and proposal will emerge for consideration by the Secretary of State, hopefully in July. The Local Authorities have been closely involved in the Study and are currently working with the DfT on funding options for the A14 improvements.

Better bus areas fund

Government confirmed at the end of March that our bid for £1.7 million bid for the Better Bus Area Fund was successful and this will unlock up to £5 million pounds of funding to support bus services in and around Cambridge. The money will help improve bus journeys, make it easier for passengers to access services and reduce pollution in the historic Cambridge city centre. The key element of the Better Bus Areas Fund bid is a package of measures within Cambridge city centre and on four of the key radial routes for bus services in the city (Hills Road, Mill Road, Histon Road and Milton Road). A programme is currently being developed which will include consultation with the public and key stakeholders on elements of the package to seek views on issues and options ahead of designing up any schemes.

Borrowing money from illegal money lenders

If you are having financial difficulties or wish to borrow money quickly, it may be tempting to borrow money from illegal money lenders,  known as ‘loan sharks’, who lend cash without asking questions about your financial situation.  Trading Standards urge you to avoid such lenders and assure you that there are safe, reliable lenders that you can use.

Loan sharks may call at your door or you might hear about them from other people. At first they seem friendly and helpful and it might seem like a quick and easy way to borrow money. The trouble is that these people usually charge huge interest on their loan, meaning you have to pay back much more than you borrowed and far more than you can afford.

With no paperwork to record what you are expected to repay, a loan of a few hundred pounds can soon lead to a demand to repay thousands of pounds - and the debt can quickly become too much to ever repay. If you struggle to keep up the repayments, loan sharks may use intimidation, threats and even violence to ensure you find the money somehow. It is believed that around 310,000 households in the UK currently owe money to loan sharks.

Luckily there are safe places you can borrow money from, even if you have financial difficulties. These lenders stick to the law, make it clear from the start the total amount you will need to repay and collect your repayments in a lawful way. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can advise you which lenders are most suitable for you. You can find your nearest Bureau by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk or by calling 08444 111 444.

The England Illegal Money Lending Team was set up because of the misery and fear that loan sharks cause. Cambridgeshire County Council are working with this team and local District Councils, to tackle loan sharks in the county, raise awareness of them and to support their victims.

If you know of any loan sharks operating in the area, the England Illegal Money Lending Team wants to hear from you.

Call 0300 555 2222, text 'loan shark + amessage' to 60003 or e-mail reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk. Lines are open 24/7 and your details will be kept confidential. If you already owe money to a loan shark the Illegal Money Lending team can offer advice and support. So don’t suffer in silence, contact the team using the details above.

Transport strategy for Cambridge

Work has begun on developing a transport strategy for Cambridge City and the South
Cambridgeshire area, with Members discussing the approach at the newly formed Strategic Transport & Spatial Planning Group.

The transport strategy will help to provide clarity for the future plans for transport and accessibility for Cambridge and will at the same time inform the preparation of the Local Planning Authorities’ development plans in an integrated way. The intention is to work closely with the partners in the development of this strategy in parallel with the development of their plans, to help inform consideration of issues and options and preferred options for future development.

The new transport strategy will also be important in terms of setting a longer-term vision for transport, and helping secure funding to deliver infrastructure. It is proposed to cover the time period of the next 25 years for the Development Plans. The expectation is that consultation on issues and options for the transport strategy will begin later in the summer to coincide with City and South Cambridgeshire Local Plan consultations.

Northstowe

The Northstowe Development Framework and the outline planning application for Phase 1 were submitted on the 27 February by the joint promoters Gallaghers and Homes and Communities Agency. The application, which includes proposals for 1,500 homes, a primary school, recycling centre and 3.5 ha of employment land, is now subject to public consultation.

The County Council is preparing its response to these documents as a statutory consultee and is finalising a timetable for determination of the proposals with South Cambridgeshire District Council.

These and other issues are presently being considered, particularly provision of a secondary education for the new community. It is expected that the Development Framework and the planning application will be presented to Cabinet on 22 May. It is expected that the Phase 1 application will be determined by the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee by the year end

Schools funding proposals signal big changes ahead

The Department for Education has launched proposals for consultation setting out how they plan to reform schools funding. There will not be a new national funding formula in 2013/14 but the department intends to work towards introducing one in the next spending review period. They have signalled the key principles that will underpin new arrangements. The proposed reforms are subject to consultation but could have significant implications for both schools and services. We are currently analysing the full impact on the local authority. www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00205795/written-ministerialstatement-school-funding-reform

Cycle Cambridge project

The County Council's Cycle Cambridge project has been selected as one of six finalists in the first Eurostar Ashden Award for Sustainable Travel. It beat off competition from 120 other projects across the UK, France and Belgium. Each of the finalists stand to win a share of £30,000 in prize money, when the ultimate winners are announced on 30 May 2012.

As one of Cycling England’s ‘Cycling Towns’ £9 million was invested into cycling in and around Cambridge between 2008 and 2011. The investment funded 14 new and improved cycle routes, events, promotions and cycle training for both adults and children. As a result, cycling levels increased markedly with a 14% increase in cycling trips between 2010 and 2011. Since the project finished in April 2011 work on cycling has continued as part of a European funded project called ‘Bike Friendly Cities’.

Community hubs

The Council and partners have been developing the concept of community hubs to join up public services at a local level, in ways that make sense to communities. From the County Council, library services have been a key part of this work but other services are heavily involved. Cabinet members and senior managers will review progress in May and focus on a number of specific community hubs being explored.

Buy with Confidence approved trader scheme from Trading Standards

At Cambridgeshire Trading Standards we have just introduced a new approved trader scheme, ‘Buy with Confidence’.  The scheme is designed to provide Cambridgeshire residents with a choice of traders, all of which have demonstrated a commitment to providing a high quality service and have been thoroughly checked by us. To expand our list of current members we are currently undertaking a recruitment drive.  If you are, or know of, a reliable trader in Cambridgeshire we want to hear from you!

How does a business join the scheme?

You can access further information and application forms at www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk. Alternatively you can ring Cambridgeshire Direct on 0345 0455206 to be sent an information pack.

Nominating a trader to join the scheme

If you know a trader that you would recommend, you can nominate them by emailing bwc@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or by calling Cambridgeshire Direct on 0345 0455206. We will do the rest.

How to use the scheme

There are a number of ways you can find traders on the scheme:

  • Visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk.
  • Telephone the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 08454 040506.
  • Visit your local library where staff can look up traders for you


Our checking procedure ensures the quality of our members but does not provide a price guarantee. We recommend that you still get three quotes to ensure you are happy with the price.

To find out more about the scheme, visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or contact Cambridgeshire Direct.

Child health profile

The latest child health profile information has been released by the Child and Maternal Health Observatory. In the majority of areas the health and wellbeing of children in Cambridgeshire compares favourably but some areas identified in the profile that could be of future possible concern for Cambridgeshire are:

  • First time entrants to the Youth Justice System
  • Rates of Immunisation and in particular for children in care
  • The rate of family homelessness
  • Children and young people using alcohol
  • Children and young people using drugs
  • Children killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents
    www.chimat.org.uk/profiles


Contact John Reynolds

       County Councillor John Reynolds
       4 Holly Trees
       Bar Hill
       Cambridge
       CB23 8SF 

       T  01954 200 571
       F  01954 200 571
       M  07720 379699
       E  john.reynolds@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

 Contact Cambridgeshire County Council


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