WCC Cabinet Update: 14 December 2023

The paper gave Cabinet a range of options from officers to meet the Council’s legal requirement to set a balanced budget for 2024/25, with circa £69m of budget balancing measures over the five years of the MTFS (2024-2029) to meet the much higher extra costs arising from inflation and rising demand.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Resourcing to Risk Consultation Opens

The public consultation period launched earlier this week with Warwickshire residents, businesses, community groups and public sector partners invited to have their say.

Resourcing to Risk aims to have the right resource, in the right place and at the right time, to keep people safe in Warwickshire.

Cabinet approves allocation of remaining balance of Education Capital Programme

The remaining £8.55m of 2023/24’s Education Capital Programme will fund increased capacity in priority locations that have been identified as needing more school places and also boost the county’s resilience in offering places for children and young people with SEND.

Approval was also given for a further two schools to increase the offer of their Specialist Resourced Provision (SRP) to increase take in of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Cabinet has supported recommendations that will support the future sustainability of valuable food support provided through Community Pantries.

In March 2022, we commissioned Feed the Hungry to undertake a proof-of-concept project around community pantries which met the needs of rural and urban communities. The pantries were intended to help people move beyond immediate food crises in an empowering and community-powered way.

There are currently three community pantry sites in operation around the county: Lillington, Camp Hill, and New Arley and the plans will see the continued operation of the pantries which, in time, will transfer responsibility to a local, community-based delivery team.

New pricing structure for on-street parking approved by Cabinet

Cabinet has approved a revised pricing structure for on-street parking across Warwickshire.

It has approved a move to reduce charges for stays less than 15 minutes to on-street pay and display bays (which are located in Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth, Rugby and the town of Stratford-on-Avon).

It is hoped this change – a 10% reduction in charges – will facilitate very short stays in Warwickshire’s town centres for the purposes of dropping off and collecting goods, etc.

SEND support expanded in Warwickshire with new resourced provisions

In a continued effort to enhance educational opportunities for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the county, we’ve funded the development of four new primary SEND resourced provisions, enabling more pupils to have their diverse needs met within a mainstream setting.

Play your part in supporting Counter Terrorism winter campaign in Warwickshire

We want everyone to trust their instincts and report anything that doesn’t feel right in the busy lead up to Christmas and New Year, so residents can enjoy the festivities safely.

If you see something that doesn’t feel right when you are out and about, tell staff, security or police or report it to gov.uk/ACT and share your concerns. It only takes a couple of minutes. In an emergency call 999. You won’t be wasting anyone’s time.

Enjoy free festive activities for all ages at Warwickshire Libraries this winter

From enchanting and cosy storytelling sessions to having fun making creative crafts, libraries across the County are encouraging residents to make the most of these warm communal spaces this winter.

For children aged 4-11 years, many libraries across the county are offering free sessions to have a go at making winter crafts, which children can take home to enjoy during the festive season. These creative sessions are happening throughout December and early January.

WCC urges people with a caring role to seek support this winter

We’re reminding anyone with caring responsibilities to register their caring status in order to access support they might need for their wellbeing and those they help.

For many people who take care of someone, there is little downtime as they have to juggle work, family and caring for a relative or friend. The County Council and carers’ support provider, Caring Together Warwickshire encourages people with a caring role to come forward and find out what help they may be entitled to.

25 years of holiday kindness: Norma’s annual Christmas hamper initiative

What started as a humble effort within the Warwickshire County Council’s Rugby Children’s Team soon expanded into a Warwickshire tradition of giving that has touched the lives of many.

This year Norma has prepared around 250 hampers. She is supported in her work by Warwickshire County Council’s Children and Families service and the local charity Evelyn’s Gift.

Dreaming of a green Christmas? Celebrate the season sustainably with these top tips

Unfortunately, there are lots of Christmas items that simply cannot be recycled, including most glossy and printed wrapping paper, single-use Christmas crackers and glittery Christmas cards.

In response to this, our Waste and Recycling team are using the run-up to Christmas 2023 to share some of their top tips for making this festive season the greenest and most sustainable ever.

Fire Service issues e-bike and e-scooter safety warnings

In the past two years (2022 and 2023) WFRS have been called to five e-scooter or e-bike fires – having attended just one in the three years before that – and there has also been a national rise in the numbers of fires caused by these vehicles.

E-bikes and e-scooters offer a speedy way to get around but if the batteries fail, they become damaged or are charged incorrectly they can start devastating fires.