The Coalition Government has introduced new rules for 2013 that mean taxpayers can now choose to pay their bill over 12 months rather than 10.
The move will lower average band D council tax instalments by an average of £24 per month for 10 months and helps tax payers manage their finances.
Legislation passed by the government means that in 2013 council tax payers can now request to pay their bills over a longer period of time, lowering their monthly bills, and so easing the financial burden.
Bin on the move
Regular website viewers and ward focus meeting attenders will know that ward councillors have spent considerable amounts of time over a lengthy period trying to relocate the litter bin which is presently on the junction of London Road and Kennett Road.
New Headington residents exiting Kennett Road find that the bin obstructs their line of vision when they are trying to simultaneously avoid pedestrians crossing and attempt to pull out into London Road. We obtained an agreement from the County Council that there was evidence to support this and that the bin would be moved.
Time continued to pass with no action on this issue. Following our latest email declaring we would enlist the help of nearby residents and physically move the bin ourselves with full media coverage, it appears that an order for this work has finally been raised. Hooray!
The next question is where to put it. It seems to us that there are lots of litter bins in the central part of the shopping centre, but relatively few from Starbucks and the Royal Standard down to Dorset House. We are asking Street Cleaning operatives for their views – could you suggest a new and more effective site? We’d love to hear from you – either via the Comments button or by email
The bin will be taken away shortly and will be relocated when we’ve all agreed on the most effective location for it. But it’s a welcome start!!
How much of your money is being underspent by Oxfordshire County Council?
Over eight million pounds!
Last week, Liberal Democrat Opposition Councillor Roz Smith, Spokesperson for Finance, raised questions about the huge amount of under spent monies at County Hall.
She said:
“We all knew that that there would be an underspend on budgets this year, but the figure of £8.41million needs to be questioned.
Oxfordshire taxpayers will surely want to know why, especially in these times of austerity, budgets are not beiing fully spent on children & young peoples services, adult care services and highway engineering.”
In their alternative budget proposals at the February council meeting, Liberal Democrats in Opposition planned to spend more in all of these areas, however, the reality is that cuts in these services continue to bring pressure on the organisation as they struggle to deliver vital services to the public.
Cllr. Roz Smith continued
“I will continue to monitor progress of these underspends and make sure that I bring them to the attention of the Conservative Cabinet members.”
The County Council provides an Emergency Carers Support Service and they have produced an excellent leaflet for carers across Oxfordshire. If you are a carer, or know one, please do take time to read this Emergency carers booklet.
An extra £1,366,292 for social care in Oxfordshire will mean people can leave hospital earlier and receive better care at home.
This comes from an extra £150m announced by the Coalition Government this week to be spent on shortening hospital stays across the country during the busy winter period.
Thanks to the Liberal Democrats, the cash can be used to access various preventative services such as better home care support, crisis response teams and specialist equipment for people in Oxfordshire.
For more information, please see the Department of Health website
The Crisis Response Service aims to help people who are in urgent need of care and support in a crisis or when something has gone wrong. If you think that a person you are dealing with is experiencing a crisis and needs immediate help from Adult Social Care, you can contact Oxfordshire County Council on:
0845 050 7666 – daytime weekdays
0800 833 408 – evenings, weekends and bank holidays
The team that receives your call will ask for more information about the person’s situation, including what the problem is and how we can gain access to the home. The team will decide whether the person is eligible to receive the Crisis Response Service. Subject to eligibility, the Service Provider will attend the person’s home within four hours of the referrer’s first contact with the Council.
Handrails will be installed shortly at Headington Car Park to assist mobility impaired shoppers to access Waitrose from the disabled car parking spaces. We are grateful to the City Council and the Waitrose store for jointly funding this access initiative, following our intervention on behalf of a shopper who finds the existing slopes too much for her without extra support.
The Local Government Association has been tracking down strange FoI requests made to councils over the past year.
More than 197,000 requests for information were made to councils in England and Wales this year. The local authorities spent £31.6 million responding.
The top 10 unusual FoIs received by councils in the past year are:
• How does the council plan to help the brave soldiers of our infantry if and when Napoleon and his marauding hordes invade the district?
(West Devon District Council)
• What preparations has the council made for an emergency landing of Santa’s sleigh this Christmas? Who would be responsible for rescuing Santa? Who would be responsible for rounding up the reindeer, and who would have to tidy the crash site?
(Cheltenham Borough Council)
• How many drawing pins are in the building and what percentage are currently stuck in a pin board?
(Hampshire County Council)
• What preparations has the council made for a zombie attack?
(Bristol City Council and Leicester City Council)
• What plans are in place to deal with an alien invasion?
(Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service)
• How many holes in privacy walls between toilet cubicles have been found in public lavatories and within council buildings?
(Cornwall Council)
• How does the council manage to cope with the vagaries of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle? How does it function given the inherent unpredictability?
(Wealden District Council)
• How much money has been paid to exorcists over the past 12 months?
(Cornwall Council)
• Provide details of uniforms worn by Civil Enforcement Officers including descriptions of embroidered logos and markings, as well as any difference between summer/winter wear.
(Allerdale District Council)
• What is the total number of cheques issued by the council in the past year, and how many did it receive?
(Scarborough Borough Council)
As you will recall, SSEB recently laid cables along the London Road and the bus stop outside Dorset House was taken out of action. We have been trying to find out how the communications process can be improved when this happens.
The utilities company should liaise with the County Network Supervisor over all works affecting the highway, and where this work might affect a bus stop, the Bus Team at the County also needs to know. They ensure that the bus operators inform users of the alternative stop and place the information in the shelter with the assistance of the bus team.
The county puts details of roadworks on their Streetworks Register. The bus companies can pick up the information from there and can access privately operated webpages (although the latter don’t include works to pavements, only to highways)
In this case there was a communications breakdown at several points in the chain, and we are working with county officers to improve communications with residents and with local councillors in future
This afternoon a County traffic engineer very helpfully explained to Ruth and to elderly residents how the toucan crossing works at the top of Latimer Road.
The ‘green man’ light appears and noise sounds for just 7 seconds, then the lights stay on red for traffic for a further 16 seconds but the green man and the sounds disappear during that time. Then there is a further 3 seconds when the lights will remain red if the camera sensors pick up movement
Residents find this confusing, as they are used to the green man light ‘flashing’ when the lights are about to change – this is a feature of pelican lights
The County Officer will let us know whether tactile cones can be installed under the pedestrian control box. He will also tell us who to contact for more information on whether the toucan can become a pelican (!) and whether there is sufficient room for a central crossing refuge
It’s heartening to see a County officer making a site visit and working proactively to explain traffic systems in this way