New arrangements to improve health and wellbeing for Devon’s communities were put before Devon County Council’s Cabinet in December.
The proposals, which involve setting up a Devon-wide Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board, will bring everyone responsible for shaping vital health and care services together to ensure that they reflect the needs of Devon’s communities.
Membership of the board will consist of leaders from across the local community, including County and District Councils, healthcare commissioners, General Practitioners and representatives of users including a new independent watchdog local Healthwatch, who will look at all health and wellbeing needs together.
The new board will be chaired by Devon County Council’s Lead Member for health, Councillor Andrea Davis.
Cllr Davis said: “The aim of the Health and Wellbeing Boards will be to improve services for the whole community, so people and communities can enjoy healthier lives, have a better experience of the health and care system, and have equality of access to services wherever they live in Devon.
“We will do this through what’s called a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, which will give us a picture of health and health needs across Devon’s communities.
“We can then address these needs through a new Devon Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which will help the council and its partners decide how best to use the money and resources available to improve people’s health and wellbeing.
"We are in a good position to create a really effective Health and Wellbeing Board in Devon, which builds on the strong and effective partnership working between the council and NHS Devon.
“We have already started to integrate services, with health professionals based alongside social care practitioners.
“This is the first time decisions about health and care will be made jointly through a strong and locally driven evidence base, local consultation and engagement with communities and service users, and with the challenge and direction of elected members, health experts and an independent watchdog.
“This means decisions about where and how money is spent reflects genuine need and demand and are taken in a more joined-up way.
Andrea Davis
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member Health and Children
Deputy Chairman Exmoor National Park
andrea.davis@devon.gov.uk
Get faster broadband across Devon and Somerset – how you can help
Connecting Devon and Somerset is issuing a call to arms, appealing to residents and businesses across both counties to help them get superfast broadband.
The project is a collaboration between Somerset County Council and Devon County Council alongside North Somerset Council, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council.
It aims to provide 100% broadband coverage of 2Mbps with a minimum of 85% superfast broadband at 24Mbps by 2015 and superfast broadband for all by 2020.
The campaign, which launches on 6 February, is asking everyone to respond to a survey requesting information on their current online activity. Questions will be about current broadband speeds, what you would be prepared to pay and what faster speeds will mean to you, your business and your community.
Information will be sent out by direct mail. Residents will be contacted by phone, and there will also be a phone number and website to enable people to participate in the survey at work, in the library, or wherever they can. The Councils need at least 10,000 responses.
The project has secured £31 million of funding from the government agency Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and both Somerset and Devon County Councils will be putting in up to £10 million each.
According to Ofcom, almost 18% of premises across both counties are getting less than 2 Mbps. In Somerset, just 4% of the county can access superfast broadband, while in Devon, with two major cities, that rises to 17%.
To find out more, go to the Connecting Devon and Somerset website.
DCC implements improvements to the Blue Badge parking scheme
Devon residents eligible for a Blue Badge will soon be able to apply online
The Blue Badge scheme is for people with severe mobility problems and allows Blue Badge holders to park close to their destination.
Online application is just one of a number of changes to the scheme which will be launched nationally in January 2012.
On 14th February 2011 the Government announced a major programme of reforms to the Blue Badge scheme to help ensure that disabled people have fair and equal access to the benefits the concession offers regardless of where they live, and to address current problems in relation to abuse and misuse of badges.
Information about anyone who is issued a Blue Badge that is valid from 1st January 2012 will be held on a secure national database. Newly designed more robust Badges with anti-fraud features will be issued from a UK central processing centre.
Local authorities have been granted permission to charge a maximum fee of £10 for the issue of a badge. Devon County Council does not currently charge a fee but is reviewing their policies in early 2012.
From 1 April 2012 in England, the regulations will change, requiring more people who are not automatically eligible for a Blue Badge to be assessed by a professionally trained mobility assessor when they apply for a badge.
The Blue Badge System is designed to help some of our most vulnerable residents in Devon and it's very important that we make it as fair and accessible as possible. There have been instances of misuse where badges have been forged or stolen so our aim is to stamp down on this as well as make sure everyone who needs a badge receives one.
From 1st January residents can apply on line at www.direct.gov.uk. There will also be an eligibility checker for those who want to find out if they are eligible for a badge.
Residents will still be able to apply over the telephone by calling Care Direct on 0845 1551 007.
Devon prepares for winter gritting
Winter gritting routes in Devon have been reviewed by Devon County Council to ensure the county is better prepared for winter than ever before.
Following the severe weather of the last three winters, routes linking to all secondary schools and bus and railway stations in the county have now been added to the main salting routes.
Devon County Council is also providing local Snow Warden volunteers with up to five tonnes of salt to use on their local public roads and footpaths, to ensure additional support for communities. Around 100 towns and parishes have so far expressed an interest in being part of the voluntary scheme. I am the only County Councillor with 100% take up apparently, so thank you for supporting the scheme. It is an experiment so we will need to review it after the winter so I can report back to County Hall.
Treating routes leading to all secondary schools and public transport stations has added an extra 23 miles (37km) to the primary precautionary salting network. However, there is a net reduction of 57 miles (90km) to the main salting routes as around 80 miles (128km) of minor roads to smaller communities will now be placed on the secondary salting network which is treated less often, but is salted when more severe winter weather is expected. All A and B roads will still be treated as part the primary network which now measures 1,645 miles (2,647km), covered by 37 routes instead of the previous 48.
In total, the combined primary and secondary salting routes will cover more miles of the county’s highway network than in any previous winter – treating around 2,023 miles (3,256km). The routes have been reviewed to ensure that they meet the winter service criteria approved by Cabinet last September.
No matter how prepared for winter you are it is always worth heeding the following advice:
- Avoid overnight travel unless absolutely essential as roads will always be more hazardous at night with less traffic and colder temperatures;
- Never assume a road has been salted. Remember that showers or rain will wash salt off roads leaving them prone to ice and, in extreme cold, even salting will not stop ice from forming;
- Allow additional time for your journey and reduce your speed;
- Drive with care and according to the conditions;
- If you have vulnerable or elderly neighbours, think about how they could possibly be helped through the cold spell;
- Listen to local radio for updates on current weather conditions.
Andrea Davis
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member Health and Children
Deputy Chairman Exmoor National Park
Children’s services in Devon County Council are continuing to perform well, with an outstanding adoption service and improving schools - according to a report published by Ofsted this week (Tues).
"This good performance has been maintained from 2010 to 2011," says the report.
"The very large majority of services, settings and institutions inspected by Ofsted are good or better and provision helps children and young people learn well and stay safe. The strengths and areas for development have not changed significantly from last year."
Over the past year inspectors from Ofsted visited around 640 individual services provided by Devon County Council and its partners for children and young people in Devon, including schools, early years settings and children's homes. They also interviewed staff, senior managers and children and their families.
Their report highlights the Council’s adoption service as outstanding and the fostering service good.
In their report, inspectors say: "Services and outcomes for looked after children and young people are good. The local authority and its partners have good capacity to improve. All local authority children’s homes are good or better. The very large majority of the commissioned services are also good or better."
The large majority of childminding and childcare settings and the majority of provision for children under five in nurseries and primary schools were found to be good or outstanding.
"The proportion of all types of early years providers judged to be good or better has increased this year," says the report. "Five of the seven children’s centres inspected to date are good, one is outstanding and one is satisfactory."
Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council's Lead Member for Children said: "Ofsted's verdict on our children's services shows we are continuing to provide high quality services for children in Devon, and particularly for some of our most vulnerable.
"I'm especially pleased that our adoption services has been judged outstanding, and that our early years settings are continually improving, with almost all good or outstanding.
"There are always areas for development, and our focus will be on making consistent and sustainable improvement across all our services with an emphasis on improving the lives of children and young people who haven't had the best start in life."
In their report, inspectors say the overall quality of primary and secondary schools continues to improve, with more good and outstanding primary schools than in 2010, and almost three quarters judged to be good or better at their last inspection.
"The large majority of secondary schools remain good or better," says the report.
"Attainment is at least in with similar areas and the national average for children and young people at every stage of their education. National test and examination results continue to improve and, in 2010, children made better than average progress from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2."
Sixteen and 19-year-olds from low-income backgrounds achieve above the average for their counterparts in similar areas.
Andrea Davis
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member Health and Children
Deputy Chairman Exmoor National Park
Devon County Council is backing a national campaign calling for a fair funding settlement for the concessionary bus scheme.
With the issue of rural buses was debated by MPs at Westminster Hall on Tuesday 11 October, the Fair Fares campaign has been launched by Norfolk County Council, which is facing a £4.5 million shortfall in funding for the concessionary bus scheme.
The campaign’s online petition states that while all Councils support the principles of allowing eligible older and disabled people to travel free on buses, it is resulting in cuts to other public transport. The petition can be accessed at:
www.gopetition.com/petitions/fair-funding-for-concessionary-fares.htmlDevon County Council, which has been left with a £5million shortfall from the scheme, is also urging central Government to look again at the proposal to reduce grants to bus operators next year. The warning from Councillors is that rural bus services could be put at further risk by proposed Government spending reductions in the next financial year.
Devon County Council welcomed the House of Commons Transport Committee report earlier this year which identified the direct impact of the Government Spending Review on local authorities' funding for public transport. However, it fears the recommendations may not go far enough to prevent further cuts to public transport services, particularly in rural areas.
In its evidence to the Committee, Devon County Council pointed out that the Government’s Spending Review has reduced its budget by £54 million in the current year, and as reductions had to largely fall across non-statutory services, it had to reduce expenditure on support for bus services by £1.35 million.
Devon is concerned that the Government’s proposed 20% reduction in Bus Service Operators Grant from April 2012 will increase bus operating costs by 1.5% – 2%, which will add to existing pressures on the costs of both commercial and supported bus services, and is likely to result in a further reduction of bus services. If passed on as a fare increase, fares would have to rise by perhaps 5% to compensate, but fares in Devon are already seen to be among the highest in the country, and further increases would make the situation worse.
Andrea Davis
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member Health and Children
Deputy Chairman Exmoor National Park
Exmoor National Park has been designated an International Dark Sky Reserve, the first place in Europe to achieve this prestigious award and only the second in the world.
Exmoor National Park has been working towards the award for more than two years and has had support and encouragement from many local organisations including tourism providers who are anticipating an increase in visitors keen to experience the thrill of dark skies full of stars.
Andrea Davis Deputy Chairman of Exmoor National Park said: “We are delighted that the importance of dark skies, one of Exmoor National Park’s special qualities has received this international recognition and we would like to thank all those who have helped in achieving this International Dark Sky Reserve award. We look forward to welcoming many more visitors in the future to enjoy the starlit skies at night as well as the spectacular scenery Exmoor has to offer during the day.”
The British Astronomical Association and the Royal Astronomical Society have both supported the bid with funding and local astronomy groups have also provided their support and knowledge.
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member for Health and Children
Tough Choices Consultations
Devon county Council leader John Hart is launching a new round of public consultations on the tough spending choices the authority is facing. You may remember John came to Lynton last November.
This year we are likely to have to save £40 million from their spending next year following the £54.6 million reductions they made this year.
More than £10 million will be found by cutting management, administrative costs and back office expenditure; but around £30 million will still need to be found from local services – that is a reduction of seven per cent.
Last year the Tough Choices spending consultation attracted thousands of responses, making it the biggest such exercise staged by the authority.
Nearly 1,000 people attended the 15 public meetings in market towns across the county In total, over 35,000 people took part with many completing an online survey or sharing their bright ideas for improving the way the council operates or how it could save money via the Tough Choices website.
This year there will be 17 Tough Choices public meetings throughout Devon, our nearest this year are:-
Barnstaple
6:30pm - Monday 24 October
The Park Community School, Park Lane, Newport, EX32 9AX.Ilfracombe
6:30pm- Friday 7 October
The Landmark, Seafront, Wilder Road, Ilfracombe, EX34 9BZ.Some context surrounding this year’s Tough Choices events:-
Local government is getting 26 per cent less money from the Coalition Government up to 2014.
In the current financial year we had to cut £54 million from the county council’s budget, which meant taking a fresh look at everything we do and what things are most important. The decisions for next year mean we face similar constraints and we want everyone to have the opportunity to join the debate.
Last year the top public priorities for continued or additional funding were protecting children from abuse, home care for the elderly, support for people who care for others and supporting children with special needs.
In response, and despite the spending cuts elsewhere, the county council approved a small cash increase in social care budgets and created a new, free service offering short-term support to those in need.
There were no cash cuts to children’s safeguarding and the children in care budgets. An innovative multi-agency safeguarding hub was established in Devon to ensure everyone who works with children cooperates and shares information with all 43 children’s centres was kept open.
A common theme was that savings needed to be made on Devon’s home to school transport bill which exceeds £20 million.
Those services most identified for savings were street lighting, tourism promotion and public transport subsidies.
As a result, 18,000 street lights were converted to part-night lighting, saving thousands of pounds in fuel costs and 300 tonnes of CO2.
The county’s support for buses was reduced by £1.3 million and support for bus services carrying pupils who were not entitled to free transport was withdrawn.
A key focus from the meetings was a desire to reduce administrative and management costs while protecting jobs as much as possible. This year the county council has streamlined its administration by merging departments, reducing the top management from seven posts to three and reducing the total senior management posts from 30 to 18.
The authority’s jobs freeze – under which only frontline posts are filled when a member of staff leaves – has resulted in 1,465 fewer posts within the county council since the action started in November 2009.
Councillors’ allowances continue to be frozen and savings of £100,000 have been made since 2009 by streamlining the political administration of the authority.
A community fund has been set up and local county councillors now have access to more cash to support projects in their localities. District councils have been invited to join in next year.
Andrea Davis
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member for Health and Children.
This is me putting the wreath on the locomotive to open the Autumn steam Gala at the Lynton and Barnstaple railway last week.
On the day after the line closed on 29 September 1935, a resident of Woody Bay sent a wreath of bronze chrysanthemums to the Railway with a card inscribed "Perchance it is not dead but sleepeth". Those inspiring words sustained lovers of the line in the dark days that followed and it has become a tradition on the reawakened L&B to hang a commemorative wreath of bronze chrysanthemums on the front of the engine during the Autumn Gala each year, with the implicit message that Perchance it is not dead but sitting up
and stretching out.The railway run by volunteers attracts over 30,000 visitors annually.
They have ambitious plans to extend the historic railway into Lynton and to Wislandpound.
Andrea Davis
County Councillor Combe Martin Rural
Cabinet member for Health and Children.
