Swale Borough Council Among Best in Country for Tackling Rough Sleeping

Swale Borough Council had the second highest reduction in rough sleepers in the country, according to newly-released government figures.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s annual report showed that the number of people found sleeping rough in the borough fell by 69 per cent between 2018 and 2019, from 32 to 10.

Cllr Ben Martin, cabinet member for housing at the council said:

“It’s great to see the work we’re doing to tackle rough sleeping is having an impact, but this isn’t just about numbers, it’s about people.

There are a host of reasons someone can find themselves sleeping rough, and often they are complex and difficult to resolve.

This isn’t easy, and there’s still more to do, but we will continue to work with other agencies to try to get people off the streets and into permanent accommodation.

Last year we invested £150,000 to create a new support team that helped rough sleepers get into housing.

They help support people living on the streets by assessing their housing, social and healthcare needs, and working with partner agencies to help them move towards a more positive future.

We also worked with Riverside Housing Association to lease 24-units of accommodation at The Quays.

This year we received £218,000 from the Government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative and allocated £70,000 in the budget to continue the great work of the team.

Not only will we focus on initiatives that help those who are sleeping rough, but also those who are at risk of becoming homeless in the first place.”

The report shows a snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on one night in November 2018 and again in November 2019, then measures the difference.

To view the full report visit: here

Swale Borough council

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Medway Receives Nearly £5 million Government Funding for Medway Tunnel Improvement Works

Medway Council has been awarded nearly £5million of funding from the Department of Transport for works for the Medway Tunnel.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere has announced today (28th February) that 32 local authorities will receive investment for essential repair works, levelling up infrastructure, cutting congestion, improving road conditions and making journeys easier.

Medway has been awarded £4.972 million for capital investment works on the Medway Tunnel.

The funding will be spent on new ventilation fans, crash barriers, a vehicle monitoring system and slip road improvements.

Works are expected to begin later on this year and are due to be completed in the next five years.

Cllr Phil Filmer, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Frontline Services, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be awarded nearly £5million funding from the Department for Transport. This comes as a result of the continuous lobbying and meetings with the Transport Secretary by Medway Council for government funding for an essential part of Medway’s infrastructure. We are committed to keeping Medway moving.”

For more information about Medway’s highways visit: www.medway.gov.uk/highways

Medway Council

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Swale Borough Council - Support for Families and Households with Lower Incomes

Councillors have approved changes to the council tax reduction scheme at last night’s council meeting (26th Feb).

The scheme provides residents on low incomes with financial assistance with their council tax bills.

The changes mean that more than 5,000 people who qualify for the council tax support will only need to pay 20 per cent of their council tax bill instead of the current 25 per cent.

The process will also be streamlined making it easier for residents to use.

The cost for households who have non-dependant people living with them will also be reduced from £15 to £10 per week and child maintenance and child benefits will not be included as income.

The council carried out consultation on the proposed changes at the end of last year so people could give their views on what changes they wanted to see.

Cllr Derek Carnell, deputy cabinet member for finance at the council, said:

“We found that the current scheme has been confusing for residents to use, as well as being difficult for us to run.

These new changes will simplify the current scheme and provide extra support for those residents on a low income.

It is important to us that we do our very best to support those who need it, and the reduction to 20 per cent for those who qualify could make a big difference.”

Changes will come into effect on 1st April 2020.

For more information about council tax support visit: www.swale.gov.uk/council-tax

Swale Borough Council

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Latest 2020 Police Surgery Dates for Upchurch

PCSO John Cork holds regular Police Surgeries in Upchurch so residents can speak to him about any local Policing issues they may have.

Police Surgery dates for Upchurch are:

Saturday 14th March 2020 between 2:00pm and 3:00pm at Snaffles

CANCELLED - Saturday 18th April 2020 between 2:00pm and 3:00pm at Snaffles

If residents need to contact PSCO Cork before these dates they can ring the 101 number or John's mobile: 07772 226217

PCSO John Cork
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Swale Borough Council Agrees New Two-year Framework for Staying Put

Swale Borough Council has agreed a new two-year £2 million contractor framework for their in-house home improvement agency that helps elderly, vulnerable and less mobile residents stay in their homes.

Staying Put provides home adaptations and repairs to help elderly and vulnerable residents stay safe and reduce falls in their homes.

The new framework consists of 18 contractors that can carry out the service for the next two years, offering residents peace of mind and a competitive rate.

Staying put also helps residents who qualify apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to help pay for any adaptations and repairs they need.

Staying Put services include:

• Home adaptations - repair and install grab rails and key safes, lower door thresholds

• Home repairs - replace glass, fit draught excluders, repair doors and bannisters, and replace curtain rails

• Home safety - replace locks, install spy holes and door chains

• Home security - install smoke detectors, light bulbs and door hinges

Cllr Angela Harrison, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at the council, said:

“We’ve seen first hand how this service can make a difference to people’s lives.

Even making a minor change can give someone the opportunity to remain in their home instead of needing to stay in a hospital or other care facility.

We carried out more than 1,000 jobs last year, including the installation of grab rails, flush showers and accessible ramps.

We encourage anybody who would like advice or help to make changes in their home to get in touch and speak to our Staying Put team.”

Cllr Ben Martin, cabinet member for housing at the council, said:

“Staying Put is a fantastic service and we’re pleased to commit to helping residents for another two years.

It’s an important service that helps elderly, vulnerable and less mobile people stay in their homes with the necessary modifications.

Not only do we recommend suitable contractors at competitive prices, we also help people apply for funding and give advice on how they can modify their home to make it safer for them.

Falls can be dangerous, so we want to support vulnerable residents reduce the risk of hospitalisation by installing safety measures, home adaptations and general repairs.”

The new contractor framework will come into effect in April.

The full report can be read here

For more information about the Staying Put service visit www.swale.gov.uk/staying-put

Swale Borough Council

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Medway Council - Medway’s Budget Focuses Heavily on Supporting Families

Medway’s budget focuses heavily on supporting families

Children were at the heart of discussions during this year’s budget setting meeting for Medway.

On Thursday, 20th February, councillors met for the annual budget meeting to discuss and agree on how the local authority would spend its funding for the 2020/21 financial year.

Medway Council has more than 70 services, providing support and opportunities to residents living across the five towns. Council tax funds are used towards paying for local services for residents, such as schools, waste collections and roads.

Medway continues to offer its residents the lowest council tax rate in Kent, despite the difficult decision made during Thursday’s budget meeting to increase council tax to ensure the council can continue to provide a range of high-quality services for its residents. Council tax will increase by 3.994 per cent. This equates to an increase of just £1.09 a week and £56.53 for the year for a band D home, compared with the 2019/20 financial year.

Increased funds to support Medway’s children

During the meeting, full council set out its commitment to support all Medway children by allocating an additional £6million+ to Children’s Services for the year ahead. This brings the service’s budget to £46million to ensure that every child is given the support they need to thrive, be healthy and learn well throughout their childhood, and that those who find themselves in the care system are given the help and protection they need and deserve.

This strengthens Medway’s commitment to improve the vital service it delivers and will further bolster the council’s ongoing recruitment drive of permanent social workers, bringing down the costs of temporary agency staff and helping to reduce turnover. This will provide vulnerable children with the stable support they need from social care workers. The council is also developing the skills of its children’s services workforce through the implementation of the Signs of Safety Programme.

Speaking about the council’s commitment to supporting Medway’s children, Leader Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “Supporting Medway’s children is our top priority and the additional funding I have allocated to the service will help ensure each child’s needs are met, as well as help us give greater support to our most vulnerable children.

More children, through no fault of their own, find themselves in the care system and it’s imperative that we have the right resources in place to help ensure every child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

Caring for Medway’s older residents

Medway also set out its commitment to support its older residents with full council agreeing to increase the Adults Social Care budget by more than £2million to a total of £68million. This will help the council support the increased number of older people who need its support.

The budget includes funding of £55.5million to support people with care and support needs, of which around £17.2m will support older people and around £38.3m will fund care and support for working age adults.

Medway Council is committed to making the best use of its available resources to provide a high-quality adult social care service. Cllr Jarrett said: “Although supporting Medway’s children is our top priority, we are also committed to giving back to our older residents and delivering a top-quality service to vulnerable adults. We continue to innovate within our Adult Social Care service and invest in areas which promote independence and help people to live longer in the community.”

One example of Medway Council’s ongoing support to its vulnerable adults is through its investment in the Shared Lives service. Similar to foster carers, shared lives carers are paid to share their home, family and community life with an adult who is not able to live on their own, giving them independence and a support network.

Keeping Medway moving

Medway Council is responsible for the road network within Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Strood. This year’s budget dedicated an additional £1.5million to help maintain Medway’s highways.

The unitary authority looks after more than 800km of roads, 26,000 street columns and lights, 34,000 drainage gullies, as well as crash barriers, bollards and road signage. The highways budget, is used to maintain existing roads, pavements and street furniture, including lighting, as well as carry out repairs including potholes and road barriers.

Commenting on the council’s decision to invest more in Medway’s roads, Cllr Jarrett said: “We recognise the importance of maintaining and improving Medway’s road network including the Medway Tunnel, especially with the pressures of building more homes and consequently an increase in vehicles using our roads.

I was delighted with the news at the end of last year that our bid for funding to significantly improve road and rail connections in and around the Hoo Peninsula was successful. The £170million grant from the Housing Infrastructure Fund will ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place for Medway residents before preparing plans to develop more than 10,000 new homes on the peninsula.”

Protecting Medway’s open spaces

Last year Medway’s full council declared a climate change emergency and the council has been busy working on plans to support this movement. In October 2019, an electric bus was trialled in a bid to find ways to tackle concerns around climate change and to advocate smart technology.

Medway Council is also looking into ways to build on some of its existing environmentally friendly projects. Medway currently has almost 6,000 LED lanterns being used on street lighting across the five towns. The council is currently reviewing increasing the number of LED street lights due to their energy efficiency and to support its work around climate change.

The council has highlighted the importance of protecting its green spaces to help reduce the impact of climate change. Medway has the equivalent of 13.3 Hyde Parks and during the budget meeting, the Leader expressed his commitment to protect and maintain Medway’s parks and country parks.

Cllr Jarrett said: “While we continue to meet our challenging housing target, we are also focussed on protecting Medway’s much-loved open spaces. Residents will see more than one million bulbs flower in our grass verges over the coming months, and our ongoing work to maintain Medway’s parks and grass verges are helping towards our ambition of reducing emissions.”

Each year 70,000 bedding plants are planted across Medway’s parks and open spaces and 2,100 sites of shrubs in parks and highways are pruned. £3.6million has been set aside for the 2020/21 financial year for this work to continue to not only keep Medway an attractive place for its residents and visitors, but to protect the environment we live in.

Concluding on Medway’s budget setting meeting, the Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “We strive to provide high-quality services for our residents, whilst giving value for money and I am pleased that we can continue to do that with the lowest council tax in Kent. This is down to the hard-work and commitment of council staff and that is why we took the decision to increase pay by two per cent.

We are an innovative council and are regularly reviewing the ways we work to best meet our residents’ needs and deliver sustainable improvements. Our work over the next year will continue to focus on three key areas: the people, the place and Medway’s growth. However, I have stressed that our top priority is supporting Medway’s children; they are the future of Medway and deserve our support to have the best start in life.”

Medway Council

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