More effective responses to anti-social behaviour – a consultation
Public and partners are invited to comment online on the propositions in this consultation, which intends to reform the toolkit to tackle anti-social behaviour.
About the consultation
This consultation asks for your opinions on government plans to streamline the toolkit used to tackle anti-social behaviour, so that the police and partners have faster, more flexible tools. These, plus more effective sanctions, will help professionals and, where necessary the courts, stop anti-social behaviour earlier, and better protect victims and communities.
The proposals include:
- repealing the ASBO and other court orders and replacing them with two new tools that bring together restrictions on future behaviour and support to address underlying problems
- ensuring there are powerful incentives on perpetrators to stop behaving anti-socially
- bringing together many of the existing tools for dealing with place-specific anti-social behaviour
- bringing together existing police dispersal powers for anti-social behaviour into a single police power
- making the informal and out-of-court tools for dealing with anti-social behaviour more rehabilitative and restorative
- introducing a Community Trigger that gives victims and communities the right to require agencies to deal with persistent anti-social behaviour. Read more here
Housing Benefit reforms
Housing Benefit reforms continue as extra funding is given to Local Authorities
Restoring fairness to the Housing Benefit system and providing extra support for those who need it is a top priority, Lord Freud said today as he announced the first allocation to local authorities of an extra £130 million transitional fund set up to help those affected by the reforms.
In consultation with the Local Authorities Association, £30 million has today been allocated through the Discretionary Housing Payment Fund with over £8 million going to London, £2.5 million to Scotland, £1.5 million to Wales and £17.5 to the rest of England.
The fund, which Ministers have already boosted by £10 million, will give local authorities the flexibility to help the most vulnerable customers who might face a shortfall in rent because of the changes to Housing Benefit rules from April 2011.
Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said:
“The current way that housing benefit is administered is unfair and the changes we are making strike the right balance that is both fair to the taxpayer and those on Housing benefit.
“It’s wrong for anyone to suggest that many people will become homeless because of our housing reforms – the Discretionary Housing Payments are there to provide a safety net for those who need it.
“This year’s fund has already received an extra £10 million in funding, and we will triple Discretionary Housing Payments over the next three years to £60 million.”
A further £50 million will be allocated over the next four years which will go towards providing housing advice, helping local authorities work with landlords and tenants on renegotiating rents, or where needed helping with the cost of moving.
Ministers are keen that landlords from the private rental sector work with local authorities and tenants where appropriate to agree to reduce their rents in return for direct Housing Benefit payments.
This will mean that they reduce their rents to a level that is affordable to the tenant. In the majority of cases this will be the Local Housing Allowance rate.
In return landlords will receive a guaranteed income which will address their concerns about non-payment from Housing Benefit claimants and improve their credit ratings. This incentive will also bring an overall downward pressure on rents in the private sector, resulting in more properties becoming available to those on Housing Benefit.
Notes to Editors:
The impact of the recommended option on the LAs is below.
- East Midlands £1,270,098
- Eastern £2,203,059
- Greater London £4,159,705
- Inner London £4,021,349
- North East £866,262
- North West £2,986,408
- Scotland £2,676,839
- South East £3,797,937
- South West £2,236,504
- Wales £1,422,995
- West Midland £2,345,663
- Yorks and Humberside £2,013,181
- Discretionary Housing Payments are only available to people who are entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
- These payments are intended to make up shortfalls in entitlement to benefit where the local authority considers that the person concerned is in need of further help with their housing costs.
- We are providing additional funding totalling £190m to smooth the transition over the spending review period: £130m Discretionary Housing Payments.
Don’t Cut Care.
The story below is shocking for Parents who have disabled children and need help in more ways than we can imagine.
I have worked with Children with server disabilities and they are the most wonderful people you can come across and loving too, and it’s hard to care for them 24 7 so respite care is a welcomed option for many, but not for all as some don’t want help in fear that they may be seen that they can’t cope and some who may not want it for Pride reasons.
Either way respite care needs to be continued and NOT cut in anay way.
I know how hard it can be both for the child and the parent, I was born disabled 38 years ago, I was lucky I had parents who thought for there rights and give me love and care and spent have a there lives in Hospitals with me, I was in hospital til I was 2 years old, so my parents who to do shifts to come and feed me, and it got so hard they had to foster my 5 siblings out for a while has they couldn’t be home with them all the time as they where at the hospital, I am so grateful to my parents Ian and Maureen for the care they give me and got me through my disabilities and into mainline schools after the Education said I need specalist school and wanted me to attend “Sunny Field” in Morecambe now called Morecambe Rd School, my parents got me into Greaves Secondary School later to become Central Lancaster High.
I grew up “in a normal family life” and today yes I am still disabled have various illnesses and I am glad my parents did what they did, and now I work for and with Disabled people in Lancaster and Morecambe area to help them get what they are entiltled too.
So when I saw this and the facebook page I felt I needed to join and hopefully we can all make a difference, wether it’s by sharing there stories with others or by campaiging it will all make a difference so please please join there Facebook Page by clicking this link
Wayne
Now it’s care homes
Sponsored by Anger: Derek and Sue Hamer with their son Matthew and (inset) Debra Welch, chairman of the Friends of The Bungalow
Published by Lancashire Evening Post.
Desperate parents spoke out today after cuts to eight respite care centres for severely disabled children were confirmed.
County council chiefs need to slash £3m off the budget for children’s respite care over the next four years, meaning at least one will close in the next 12 months.
It leaves eight homes under threat, including Maplewood House in Bamber Bridge, near Preston, which campaigners fought to save in 2006.
The others at risk are The Bungalow in Fulwood, Preston; Long Copse, Chorley; Alexandra House, Lancaster; South Avenue, Morecambe; Grimshaw Lane, Ormskirk; Hargreaves House, Oswaldtwistle; and Reedley Cottages, Burnley.
More than 150 families from across Lancashire were called to a meeting at Maplewood House this week to be told the £180m cut to the County Hall budget will impact spending on respite centres.
Among them were Derek and Sue Hamer, full-time carers to their 16-year-old son Matthew.
The family, who live in Lyndhurst Avenue, Ashton, often spend night after night with little or no sleep.
They rely on Matthew’s weekly visit to The Bungalow.
Derek, 47, said: “The Bungalow is all we have. Without it, I don’t know how we will cope. Families like ours are already on the brink, only just managing to cope. The services these respite centres provide are certainly not a luxury, they are our lifeline.”
Matthew, who attends Sir Tom Finney High School in Moor Park, is one of around 50 disabled children who stay overnight at the four-bed centre. He stays once a week and for a full weekend once every six weeks.
Mum Sue said: “The staff at the centre have helped us get him to where he is today. It’s not just our lifeline, it is his too.”
County council chiefs say the centres are currently only running at 80% occupancy, and they believe this figure will fall further when new laws, capping the number of respite care nights that children can receive to 75 a year, come into effect in April.
However, Debra Welch, chairman of the Friends of The Bungalow, claims the “vast majority” of families in Lancashire would not be affected by the law change. Her son Jon Curtis, who is now 19, attended the centre for 11 years, staying once a fortnight.
She said: “We all understand the need for spending cuts, but to attack the most vulnerable in society isn’t right. The long-term effects will be disastrous. It will break apart families, and force more children into full-time care, which is far more costly and not what anyone, least of all these dedicated parents, want.”
Staff at The Bungalow and Maplewood House declined to comment until their future is decided. However, a former Maplewood employee, who asked not to be named, claimed staff had already been asked to apply for voluntary redundancy.
Angela Murphy, who spearheaded the Evening Post-backed campaign to save Maplewood, said: “We fought and thought we won four years ago, but we seem to keep getting pulled back into the same battles.”
County Coun Bill Winlow, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “To target the most vulnerable in society is totally wrong, and we have to stand against it.”
County Coun Susie Charles, cabinet member for children and schools, defended the proposals. She said: “I understand how important our respite care services are to those who use them and, because of this, we are involving parents and carers well before we reach the stage of formal consultation on any proposals.
“Our eight respite care homes for children are currently running under capacity. In addition, new legislation means that the maximum number of respite care nights per year will reduce from 120 to 75 before a child is legally classed as being ‘looked after’, or in care. It is anticipated that this will further increase spare capacity.
“The county council must make savings of £179m over the next three years and, because of the scale of the budgetary pressures, all service areas are coming under scrutiny.”
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Government takes first step towards Asbo abolition
New plans for tackling anti-social behaviour, including the abolition of Asbos, are due to be announced.
Anti-social Behaviour Orders would be replaced with a new “criminal behaviour order” – thought to involve a sliding scale of punishments.
The coalition also plans to compel police to probe incidences that are reported by at least five people – known as the “community trigger”.
Other plans would allow police to force culprits to make immediate amends.
The proposals are part of a government consultation on anti-social behaviour.
Labour has said that any of the coalition’s announcements on the issue would be damaged by their simultaneous cuts to policing numbers. Labour says more than 10,000 police officer posts will be gone by the end of next year, although ministers dispute those figures.
A key part of the plan is to overhaul Asbos, which were introduced in England and Wales under Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, in 1999.
They were aimed at banning an individual from engaging in specific kinds of behaviour or going to certain places.
Breaching an Asbo could result in a criminal punishment of up to five years in prison, but the measure was criticised by some for being ineffective and seen as a badge of honour among offenders.
Under new criminal behaviour orders police will be able to apply for a court order to tackle low-level nuisance behaviour.
‘Unacceptable risk’
The Daily Mail reported that troublemakers would face the same asset seizure powers as major criminals under the new orders. They could have personal items, such as music systems, confiscated.
The paper also says police will be handed new powers to punish people on the spot, for example by ordering an offender to repair damage to property.
Meanwhile the proposal to compel police to investigate incidents that had been reported by at least five people would be called the “community trigger”.
Shadow Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said the main factor that had made a difference to anti-social behaviour over the last 10 years had been neighbourhood police teams on the streets and working with local communities.
“Whether using Asbos or the other measures the Labour government introduced, these teams have made a real difference.
“What we have learnt is that no matter what measures you introduce, you need the officers to enforce them.”
But, he said, current plans for “savage cuts” to policing numbers would damage that work.
“No matter what announcements this Tory-led government makes, the truth is they are taking an unacceptable risk with the safety of our streets,” he said.
Disabled people fear cuts will make life ‘not worth living’
The Disability Alliance has been surveying disabled people’s views on Government reforms to Disability Living Allowance (DLA). They have found that 9% of disabled people and their families fear the Government cuts will cause death, suicide and make lives ‘not worth living’
Neil Coyle, Policy Director at DA, said “Disabled people are telling us in great numbers that they fear the overall cuts – but that losing Disability Living Allowance in particular has resulted in people questioning the value of their lives”.
The survey revealed that:
* 800,000+ disabled people could lose support if the £1 billion target for DLA cuts is realised
* 13% say cuts will increase their NHS use with further demand also on cash-strapped councils
* 25% of respondents are in work but half fear having to quit if they lose access to support
* half of respondents believe DLA does not meet extra disability-related costs of living – and a third report it is ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to get by before cuts are implemented
* two-thirds of respondents use DLA to link to other support (eg bus passes, council tax benefit and Carer’s Allowance) and fear that the Government plans will have a ‘domino effect’ which will significantly increase poverty and social exclusion for disabled people and their families.
Click here for more
Big Bounce Guinness World Record?
Big Bounce
Do you want to be part of a Guinness World Record?
Can You Bounce?
The ‘Big Bounce’ is a sponsored space hopper challenge, a Guinness World Record
Attempt. The challenge is for a group of individuals to Space Hop 200m.
Easy? . . . . The challenge is to do it along side 999 other people!
The challenge requires confidence in using a space hopper a good level of fitness and a sense of fun!
The ‘Big Bounce’ is a sponsored space hopper challenge, a Guinness World Record Attempt.
The challenge is for a group of individuals to Space Hop 200m. Easy? . . . . The challenge is to do it along side 999 other people!
The challenge requires confidence in using a space hopper a good level of fitness and a sense of fun!
Saturday 21st May, Salt Ayre Leisure Centre.
Highlights covered by media.
£10 entry (£5 for under 16) with event pack including
free space hopper and other goodies and not
to mention a huge sense of pride being involved
in a World Guinness Record Attempt.
Plus FREE Refreshments served at the end of the
challenge for all hoppers.
Raising money for Royal British Legion & Age
Concern Lancashire.
To
Highlights covered by media.£10 entry (£5 for under 16) with event pack includingfree space hopper and other goodies and notto mention a huge sense of pride being involvedin a World Guinness Record Attempt.Plus FREE Refreshments served at the end of thechallenge for all hoppers.Raising money for Royal British Legion & AgeConcern Lancashire.To
Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
But where does it come from My Big Gypsy Wedding
An awful lot of Tarmac! We reveal the £140,000 cost of those Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (just don’t ask where the cash comes from)
A Royal wedding may only be three months away, but it’s another type that has the nation gripped — the big fat gypsy variety. Channel 4 has the Irish travelling community to thank for their highest viewing figures in three years. Every Tuesday night seven million people are tuning in to gawp in disbelief as travellers are shown celebrating their marriages in their own unique and colourful way on Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
As the programme shows, the gypsy wedding is a world where subtlety is banned and big and bling is always better.
Ben Bradshaw claims NHS shake-up will hit waiting times
Taken from This Is Exeter click here for full article
MINISTERS have been tackled by Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw over the impact of a major NHS shake-up on waiting times.
The former Labour Health Minister claimed in the Commons that the times patients were having to wait for treatment had gone up under the coalition government.
The performance of accident and emergency departments had also got worse with the “watering down” of targets.
But this was rejected by ministers who described Mr Bradshaw’s comments as a “cheap” attack.
It follows criticism of the way the Government has handled a far-reaching overhaul of the health service, which has led to concerns about its impact on care.
Responding to a question by Mr Bradshaw over the impact of the reorganisation on waiting times, Health Minister Simon Burns said: “The proposed changes will focus the NHS on quality.
“It will also focus on the results that matter to patients, such as how successful their treatment was and not just on bureaucratic processes such as waiting-time targets.
“Waiting times are important to patients, along with the quality of their experience and outcomes, and this is what will drive improvements in the future.”
But Mr Bradshaw said: “Well, what a revelation. I think that the Minister will find that the public do care about waiting times.
“Will he confirm that waiting times are already going up, that more people are already waiting more than 18 weeks – the maximum that we achieved when we were in government – and that the performance of accident and emergency departments has deteriorated since he watered down our A & E targets?” Mr Burns hit back saying: “I think that he either did not hear my earlier remarks or had penned his question prior to hearing them.
“What I said was that waiting times are important to patients.
“May I also explain to him that the average median time for the latest month available – November – shows patients completing a referral-to-treatment pathway in about 8.3 weeks.
“His comments on A & E are just factually wrong and somewhat cheap.”
Kendal is worst town in UK for disabled people’ – claim
Kendal has been branded ‘the most unfriendly place’ in the country for disabled people.
Disability groups say decisions taken by South Lakeland District Council amount to ‘discrimination’ against both residents and visitors with mobility problems
YOUR VOTE
Papers Deposited to Parliament
Keep up to date with all the documents that have or are being put through Parliament some of you may not understand what these are, well these papers can be the shape of our future.
Click here to access them and see what going on, we all need to keep up to date because things are happening so fast and if you blink you will have missed it.
Good Luck out there.