Just over two years ago we launched Staffordshire Cares in response to many of our older residents telling us that they wanted more advice and guidance to help support them to live a happier, healthier and more independent life. I am pleased to let you know that the new approach has been a great success, with over 100,000 people accessing the service to find advice and solutions to issues they were facing.
Although this has been a great start we recognise that it’s not just older and more vulnerable people that need a 24/7 source of advice they can trust. Our wider communities also need help and advice to be more independent and resilient and plan for their future and Staffordshire Cares has been developed further to provide even more advice. Over 400 extra pages of new advice and information have been added to the website, covering important issues such as parenting, schools, education, online safety and coping with bereavement, right up to managing on a budget and keeping safe during the winter. You can see for yourself at www.staffordshirecares.info/Homepage.aspx. You can also follow Staffordshire Cares on Twitter @StaffsCares or you can like them on Facebook www.facebook.com/StaffsCares.
Sticking with a winter theme, I would also like to remind people to take extra care while they’re out and about as the temperature starts to drop and the snow and ice makes its way across the county.
Rest assured we are well prepared, with gritting teams on stand by and ready to go out when required. We have the largest gritting network in the West Midlands with our highways teams treating 43 per cent of our 6,000km of roads. We’ve also stockpiled 30,000 tonnes of grit to see us through the winter.
And, each year our innovative Icebusters scheme sees an army of volunteers take to the streets to help communities by clearing away ice and snow from local footpaths. Remember, you can do your bit as well by keeping an eye out for your elderly neighbours when the weather is bad. You can find more information on our website www.staffordshire.gov.uk/News/WinterInformation/Winter-Information.aspx.
If you rely on domestic heating oil to keep the cold at bay you may be interested in the Group Oil Buying Scheme. We know that rising fuel costs are a major concern to many families and we are keen to let people know about the help that’s available to them. The scheme is run by the Community Council of Staffordshire and allows residents to sign up for £20 a year which gets them a cheaper price on their oil. Businesses and community organisations can also join the scheme. You will find more about it here www.staffs.org.uk/communitybulkoilbuyingscheme.html.
During the week we also had the Governments response to the Francis Report – calling for higher standards from the NHS, more openness and greater accountability – which I think is something we would all welcome. We have been quick to anticipate and act to the changing needs of residents and have worked closely with our partners to raise standards and shift focus and funding to support closer to home in the community.
It was also a great pleasure to be invited to speak at the County Council Network’s (CCN) national Conference in Chester on Monday. I was happy to let others know what we are doing in Staffordshire. I spoke about how we can utilize our services rather than selling off Council assets, and what councils need to do to change in these difficult economic times. Again it is great to see that we are leading on many of these innovative approaches.