Warwickshire PCC launches police precept consultation

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Ball wants to hear your views as he considers setting the police budget for 2016/17.  He is asking all members of the public if they are willing to contribute around a penny a day extra in order to maintain frontline policing levels.

In November, the Government announced plans in its Comprehensive Spending Review to keep policing budgets at current levels during the life of this Parliament.  As has now been made clear by the Home Secretary in a letter to PCCs, the only way that police funding will remain at the same level will be if the police precept – the small portion of each council tax bill that pays for policing – is raised by the maximum permitted amount of 1.99% each year by every PCC.   Without this, Government resource funding to policing will actually be reduced by 1.3% in real terms over four years.

If the current police precept rate was frozen, Warwickshire Police would lose around £0.709 million next year and £0.709 million in each subsequent year, resulting in a financial gap of around £2.836 million by 2020.  This would have a significant impact on frontline policing and could reverse the recent efforts which have seen the proportion of officers on the frontline increase to 95 percent, which is above the national average.

As a result, the Commissioner is proposing that the police precept is raised by 1.99% next year – equivalent to 31p per month or £3.75 per year on average for a Band D property – less than the price of a coffee and a cake at a leading high street coffee shop.

You can find more detail and give your feedback on this proposal by completing an online survey, which asks the simple question:

“Are you willing to spend an extra 31p per month for an average Band D property in order to maintain frontline policing levels?”

For more information and to take part in the consultation online, please visit: www.warwickshire-pcc.gov.uk/preceptsurvey

Alternatively, you can:

• Email opcc@warwickshire.gov.uk and stating ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question, plus any other supporting comments.
• Or write to Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner, 3 Northgate Street, Warwick CV34 4SP, again indicating whether you wish to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question and including any other supporting comments.

The consultation will close at midday on Monday, 18 January 2016.

The AGM of the Dassett Country Show was held on 12 November 2015.

£1,375.80 was donated to the British Heart Foundation, the chosen charity for 2015. The following grants and donations were also agreed:

• Seniors’ Christmas Lunch and Children’s Christmas presents – £550
• St Peter and St Clare churches – £150 for the upkeep of the fabric of the building
• Avon Dassett Parish Council – £500 towards the cost of refurbishment in the Reading Room
• Avon Dassett Parish Council – £250 for the playground
• Fenny Compton Brownies – £250 to support their ongoing activities
• Avon Dassett Charities – £500 to help with improved fencing

The December meeting of Avon Dassett Parish Council will now be held on Monday 21st December at 7.30 pm.

Warwickshire County Council proposes to make a Temporary Traffic Order closing C35 Wharf Road, Fenny Compton to vehicular traffic.

The closure is required for carriageway works.

The Order will commence on 9 November 2015 and will last for a period of 18 months, or until the works are completed, whichever is the earlier.  However, it is anticipated that the works will be completed by 16 November 2015.

The work will be carried out between 07.30hrs and 18.00hrs daily

Pedestrian access to and egress from properties and land situated adjacent to the length of road to be closed will be maintained at all times. Vehicular access will be maintained where possible.

Please use an alternative route. Diversion signage will be in use.

Please see below the latest information for carers from Warwickshire County Council.

• C4C Newlsetter October 2015
• Carers conf poster

A Village Clean-Up is planned for Saturday 31 October, 0900-1200.

Volunteers are requested to help the Parish Council in its annual tidy up of common areas around the  village.

We will try to complete as much work as possible but priority attention will be given to the War Memorial, the Nature Reserve, the footpath on Church Hill and the steps to St John’s Church.

If so, you may be interested in the latest newsletter from the local organisation Carers for Carers:

C4C Newsletter September 2015

Deb Watts will be holding a coffee/tea morning for Macmillan Cancer Support on 26th Spetember 2015 from 11 am-2 pm in the Reading Room.

The Web Wise Project aims to help people over the age of fifty to get similar benefits from using the internet that younger people take for granted.  Eleven million people in the UK do not use the internet, yet often services and goods are most easily, and cheaply, available from the internet.  Older people, who do not use the internet, are increasingly at risk of being excluded from what are becoming “normal” life opportunities and activities.

Web Wise is provided by Age UK Warwickshire, in conjunction with Stratford District Citizen’s Advice Bureau.  We organise courses in local venues, like village halls.  Each course lasts six weeks, with one two-hour lesson each week.  The project is funded by Comic Relief.  We also work in partnership with Orbit Housing, Heart of England.

Web Wise courses are free.

Our courses cover the basic functions of the internet, including the World Wide Web, email and Skype (video calling), banking, shopping, and searching for information.  There is a particular emphasis on helping learners to save money, and to manage finances more effectively, by using services on the internet.

You may bring you own laptop or tablet computers, or you can use one of ours.  John Sawyer, the Project Co-ordinator, leads the courses and, where possible, there will also be Web Wise volunteers, who can give one to one support.   We try to tailor the course to individual needs, and to this end each learner is invited to do a self-assessment prior to starting the course.  Our next courses are at:

• Stretton on Fosse Village Hall –  Wednesday afternoons, starting 12 August
• Wellesbourne Church Centre – Tuesday mornings, starting 1 September
• Southam Grange Hall – Monday afternoons, starting 7 September
• Claverdon Church Centre – Thursday afternoons, starting 10 September

If you would like to attend one of the above courses, please contact:

John Sawyer on 07881 812943, or email john.sawyer@ageukwarks.org.uk or write to John Sawyer, Age UK Warwickshire, 8 Clemens Street, Leamington Spa, CV31 2DL

What will you be learning?

Lesson one: Introduction

• Overview of course
• Introduction to the internet and how to get on line
• Introduction to web browsers and search engines
• Practising basic search skills

Lesson two: Staying safe on line

• Anti-virus and firewall
• Password security
• Awareness of scams
• Awareness of fraud
• Using secure websites
• Using credit and debit cards
• Avoiding exploitation
• Advice from Warwickshire Trading Standards

Lesson three: Communication

• Setting up an email account
• Composing emails
• Replying to emails
• Forwarding emails
• Attaching files to emails
• Setting up a Skype account
• Introduction to social networking

Lesson 4: Managing money more effectively

• Online banking
• Saving money on train tickets
• Internet shopping
• Improving search techniques

Lesson 5:  Increasing income

• Getting financial advice
• Getting the best savings rates
• Selling things on eBay
• Using Pay Pal
• Using customer service terminals

Lesson 6:  Saving money on utilities

• Cheaper gas and electricity
• Cheaper broadband connections
• Using social networking
• Backing up
• Review of course