Your Town and Parish Council News - vaccination survey - help with Census - changes at HWRS - and more

Help us to Keep West Sussex Safe

Please help us spread the message to Keep West Sussex Safe - you can find a whole range of assets here to help you.

You might also be interested to hear Dr Tony Hill, our Interim Director of Public Health, talk about schools reopening, testing for parents and pupils and what we need to remember as we move closer to coming out of lockdown in June.

Vaccination survey and latest data

Latest data shows over 613,000 vaccinations have been delivered across Sussex up until Sunday 28 February. More than 94% of people aged over 70 had received their first dose by the end of February, along with 84% of people aged 65-69.

Healthwatch West Sussex would like to get residents’ views and personal experiences of the COVID-19 vaccination by completing their short survey. The survey closes on Wednesday 31 March. Please encourage your residents to take part by following the link here.

West Sussex residents have shared their experiences of COVID-19 and are explaining why it's so important to follow the guidance after you have received your vaccine. Please encourage your residents to read their stories here.

Your residents can find out more about the vaccination programme on the Sussex Health and Care Partnership website.

COVID-19 Winter Crisis Grants – apply now

The Winter Crisis Grant funds need to be awarded by the end of this month (March), so applications should be made now in order to meet this deadline.

We are working with Sussex Community Foundation in supporting community groups providing local activities helping families financially impacted by the pandemic. This grant is available to those groups who have undertaken this activity, including food parcels or other household items, financial support through individual grants for utility bills or even providing emergency heaters etc.

Information on the criteria, plus a link to the application form can be found here. 

If there are any questions, please contact Sussex Community Foundation on 01273 409440 or send an email to grants@sussexgiving.org.uk

Applications for grants up to £5,000 will be considered weekly.

Please disseminate to any groups, including faith groups and residents’ associations, that you are aware may be supporting families struggling at this time.  

Help to complete census

The 2021 Census is ‘digital first’ which means residents are being asked to complete the form online.

Please let your residents know that anyone without internet access or digital skills can get support from library staff who can help them complete their Census forms.

As our libraries are currently not open for browsing or computer use, staff will complete the form online for residents over the phone. To book an appointment phone 0330 222 3455, Monday to Friday between 10.00am – 4.00pm.

Changes at our Household Waste Recycling Sites

We have responded to current and anticipated demand by bringing forward summer opening hours and trialling a booking system at six of the busiest sites.

Due to the increased demand in recent weeks we’re bringing forward summer opening hours at all sites from this Friday, 12 March.

In addition, the trial of a new booking system has been confirmed for residents visiting Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham-By-Sea and Worthing sites.

From Monday 29 March residents planning to visit these sites will need to pre-book their slot in advance, either online or by telephone. The trial is designed to allow residents to safely dispose of their recycling and waste, limit their waiting times at these sites and help reduce traffic disruption. When live, slots can be booked up to 14 days in advance and residents will be able to make one trip in a week (Monday-Sunday).

Once the booking system is available, residents will be able to book a visit within a timeslot online, by visiting the West Sussex website or by calling the contact centre.

More information on summer opening hours are available on our website and further details on how to book will be available soon.

Job alert - firefighter recruitment

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is looking to recruit wholetime (full-time) firefighters and the service is looking to attract a varied pool of potential applicants.

We would love it if you could help share information about the campaign on your platforms and with your contacts – please find all the available resources in our toolkit.

The fire service has worked hard to remove historic barriers that may have previously prevented people from applying and wants more women and people of different races and backgrounds to realise the fire service is a great place to work.

Early Help service redesign consultation

West Sussex County Council is seeking views from stakeholders and residents as part of a formal consultation to redesign the Early Help service which provides support to children and families who are facing any number of challenging circumstances, working to ensure every child has a safe environment in which to thrive.

The series of changes being proposed are designed to:

• Maintain Early Help services from 11 of our 43 Children & Family Centre buildings; at least one centre in each district and borough of West Sussex
• Increase the support and focused response to vulnerable children
• Ensure families have access to the most appropriate support, including closer working with schools
• Protect a full-time drop-in service for young people in each district and borough by merging our 12 Find It Out (youth) Centres with our 11 Children and Family Centres
• Stop providing group work: for example stay and play groups where parents can engage in play sessions with their children, focusing our attention where we know we make the biggest difference; going out to support the most vulnerable children and families in the community.

The consultation is open until midnight on Monday 17 May 2021.

More information on the proposals, including video explanations and details of how people can take part in the consultation can be found on the Early Help Redesign project webpage.

If you would like to hear further information about the proposals from our Department Leadership Team, we would encourage you to join one of our virtual consultation events which take place on the following dates and times.

Saturday 13 March 2021, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Wednesday 17 March 2021, 3pm to 5pm

Monday 22 March 2021, 6pm to 8pm

Thursday 1 April 2021, 12noon to 2pm

It's important that everyone can express their views on proposals which impact their lives and the lives of the people they work with. Please take this opportunity to complete our consultation survey so we can make informed decisions about the future of our Early Help Service.

It's No Smoking Day tomorrow

This year’s national No Smoking Day (Wednesday 10 March) focuses on the mental health benefits of stopping smoking.

Although the physical benefits of stopping smoking are clear, kicking the habit can also really help to improve mental health. Stopping smoking can improve mood and help relieve stress, anxiety and depression.

Stopping smoking doesn’t have to be stressful – residents don’t have to go it alone, there is local support available. If the local GP practice or pharmacy is not able to offer this service at the moment, the local Wellbeing team, in partnership with West Sussex Public Health Department, is ready with tailored advice and support over the phone.

Birth registrations restart

Please let new parents in your parish know that our Registration Service is now commencing a phased return for birth appointments. 

As a priority, staff are rebooking the appointments that were cancelled between December and February and they will be contacting those parents affected to rebook their appointment. 

Once these registrations have been completed, they will open for new bookings, so please check for updates from 22 March.

Have you taken part in our survey yet?

Many thanks to everyone who has already completed our survey, letting us know what they think of our Town and Parish Council eNewsletters.

This feedback is important to us as we are always looking to improve our communications to ensure they remain relevant, timely and helpful to your communities.

If you haven't taken part yet, please click here and then click the ‘Take Survey’ button. It should only take you 10 minutes to complete.

Your responses will be treated in strict confidence and the data collected will be used by our communications team internally.

Thank you in advance for your support.