Denbighshire Council offers advice on welfare reforms

Denbighshire Council is having an open day at Rhyl Town Hall on Friday 27^th April from 10am to 4pm, with an emphasis for people to receive information about the Benefit Changes and how they may affect them. There are changes to most benefits from Working/Child Tax Credit to Income Support and Employment Support Allowance.

 

At the open day there will also be:

• Affordable Housing
• Housing Options
• Housing Allocations
• Sheltered Housing
• Housing Benefit
• Welfare Rights
• Law a Llaw Re-ablement Service
• New Work Connections (who help people find jobs and training)
• Cefni Lettings (Social lettings agency who will be promoting house sharing)

There is free tea and coffee available to people who call in.

There will also be another Open day in the Market Hall in Denbigh on Tuesday 22nd May 2012 10am to 4pm. The same organizations will be there too.

Partnership Project & Development Manager - Single Point of Access (Health and Social Care)

Salary: Grade 11 £34,549 -£38,961

Subject to Evaluation

Temporary secondment in to Adult Social Services for 12 months starting ASAP. The opportunity is open to health or social care professionals working within Denbighshire with appropriate qualifications knowledge and experience.

The successful post holder will manage and support the development of a new, effectively co-ordinated single point of access, single point of assessment and care co-ordination (SPA) for preventative and rehabilitation work for adults across Denbighshire. Denbighshire is to be an all Wales Demonstrator site for this project.

The successful applicant will be a Graduate, with experience of public, voluntary and community sectors and have experience of working in a health, social care or related setting with a proven record of managing partnership work, project management and leading initiatives.

Transformational leadership skills, creative thinking and having the ability to command professional credibility across partners and agencies at a senior level will be essential.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the post, please call Cathy Curtis-Nelson on 01824 706501.

An application form and job description can be downloaded from our website www.denbighshire.gov.uk or alternatively a pack can be requested by contacting the Corporate Customer Service Centre on 01824 706101 or write to: Customer Service Centre, County Hall, Wynnstay Road, Ruthin, LL15 1YN or email customerservice@denbighshire.gov.uk

If you have not received a reply within three weeks of the closing date, you must assume that you have not been short listed for interview.

West Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme

Martin Wright Associates are currently working on West Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme on behalf of Denbighshire County Council.

In addition to the construction element of the scheme (currently progressing well on site), a significant amount of public engagement has been undertaken to raise awareness of flooding and flood risk with the overall aim of leaving a legacy of improved resilience in the local community.

http://www.rhylcoast.co.uk/

It is envisaged that this website will remain live following the completion of the construction element of the works and will provide information such as flooding advice to the public should an event occur in the future.

Getting artistic in the great outdoors

A free five week programme is on offer for women in Denbighshire interested in getting involved in environmental arts.

Participants will learn how to create willow sculptures for the garden, use natural resources to express their artistic side, help improve the look of the local environment and have their environmental work exhibited in the county.

This course is being run by BTCV Cymru, in association with Denbighshire Countryside Service.

For more information, please contact Alex ay BTCV on 01978 261538 or e-mail: a.fairclough@btcv.org.uk

Mae yna raglen pum wythnos am ddim i ferched sydd â diddordeb mewn celfyddydau amgylcheddol yn Sir Ddinbych.

Bydd y cyfranogwyr yn dysgu sut i greu cerfluniau helyg ar gyfer yr ardd, sut i ddefnyddio adnoddau naturiol i fynegi eu dawn artistig, yn helpu i wella edrychiad yr amgylchedd lleol ac yn cael arddangos eu gwaith amgylcheddol yn y sir.

BTCV Cymru sy’n cynnal y cwrs, mewn cydweithrediad â Gwasanaeth Cefn Gwlad Sir Ddinbych.

I gael mwy o wybodaeth cysylltwch ag Alex yn y BTCV ar 01978 261538 neu e-bost: a.fairclough@btcv.org.uk

Do you want to become a local councillor?

Find out more about representing your community. A series of information road shows for people thinking of becoming a councillor is being arranged by Denbighshire County Council next month.

Representatives of the Council will be at each of the venues to explain how the Council works and what is involved in being a councillor. The road shows have been arranged in different locations, but people are welcome to come along to any of them, regardless of where they live in the county.

The road shows will be held at the following locations:

• Monday, January 16, Llangollen Council Chamber  -6pm.
• Wednesday, January 18, Rhyl Town Hall (Conference Room) – 6pm.
• Monday, January 23 Eirianfa Community Centre,
  Factory Place
  , Denbigh – 6pm.

You can be a candidate if:

• You are over 18.
• You are on the electoral register for Denbighshire and your home (for at least the past 12 months) is in the county OR.
• You work in the county (and have done so for the past 12 months) OR.
• You own a property in the Denbighshire area (and have done so for the past 12 months).

The Council has also produced an information booklet: ‘Thinking of Becoming a Councillor?’  which is available on the Denbighshire website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/elections.
Alternatively, please contact the Corporate Communications Team on 01824 706222 for a copy.

Listening to views on leisure

Denbighshire County Council’s Leisure Services are holding the second of the twice-yearly round of Leisure Locality Forums across the county.

There will be one held in each of the seven areas where there is a council-run leisure centre; Rhyl, Prestatyn, St Asaph, Denbigh, Ruthin, Llangollen and Corwen.

Dates are as follows and all will take place from 6.30pm to 8.00pm.

Prestatyn - Tuesday 8 November at Jubilee Community Centre
Llangollen - Wednesday 9 November at Llangollen Library
St Asaph - Wednesday 16 November at St Asaph Youth Centre
Rhyl - Monday 21 November at Rhyl Library
Denbigh - Wednesday 23 November at Margaret Morris Centre
Corwen - Tuesday 29 November Corwen Sports Pavilion
Ruthin - Wednesday 1 December at Ysgol Brynhyfryd

The forums bring together representatives from the local area with an interest in leisure. On the agenda will be a presentation from the Coach and Volunteer Development Officer, opportunities to share information and open discussions on local leisure issues.

Denbighshire's Leisure Services are always looking for interested parties to join the Leisure Locality Forums. No previous experience is necessary and the meetings are informal.

For further information, please contact Leisure Services, on 01824 708233.

Thinking of becoming a councillor?

Have you ever thought about representing your community by becoming a member of Denbighshire County Council?

The Council is launching an information campaign to encourage people to consider becoming councillors when the county’s residents go to the polls on May 3, 2012.

There are 47 councillors on Denbighshire County Council. Councillors make sure the council delivers good services; decide on things that the council should be working on; help people in their area and get involved with their local communities.

Other key responsibilities include discussing and agreeing major policies to determine how services are run; agreeing how much will be spend by the Council each year; agreeing how much you pay in council tax and listening to the views of other councillors.

An easy guide on becoming a councillor is available on the council’s website: www.denbighshire.gov.uk/elections
You can also receive a copy by phoning 01824 706222 or by e-mail: public.relations@denbighshire.gov.uk

The campaign will also promote the need for residents to ensure their names appear on the electoral register, to allow them their right to vote.

In January 2012  the Council will be hosting roadshows across the county where you have the chance to come and speak with representatives of the council about what is involved in becoming a councillor.

You can always log on to Facebook and type in 'Elections Denbighshire 2012' in the search engine or sign up to 'Denbighshire County Council' on Twitter for the latest feed of information and election news.

Council Tax help for pensioners

Denbighshire County Council has been successful in securing £145,482 as part of the Welsh Government’s grant for helping pensioners with council tax.

People will qualify for a part of this grant if they are in receipt of a state pension, are liable to pay council tax in Denbighshire and their address they are claiming for is their main home.

Anyone wishing to apply should write to the:

Pensioner Grant Scheme, Revenues Department,
Denbighshire County Council,
Russell House,
Churton Road,
Rhyl, Denbighshire, LL18 3DP.

The closing date for applications is 1st December 2011 when the Council Tax department will arrange to credit the council tax accounts of all applicants - this credit will be based on the number of applicants.

Access Denbighshire County Council services now on your TV, Mobile, Wii or PC

You can:

• Look for a job
• Report a pothole or broken street light
• Check leisure centre opening times
• Get local news

Find out about Council services
Sky

Go to Community channel (539) and press the RED button.

Virgin Media

Press the Interactive button
Select News & Info
Select Looking Local
 
Mobiles*


Wii & PC

Insert the following url into your browser:

lookinglocal.gov.uk/denbighshire

* usual mobile network charges will apply

WAG tell Denbighshire council to ditch popular kerbside recycling scheme

KERBSIDE recycling wars broke out yesterday after a council was told to axe its popular waste collection system.
Householders in Denbighshire have been able to recycle waste in a single blue wheelie bin for 18 months, boosting the county’s recycling rates by more than 30%.
County officials say they are leading the way with 57.9% of rubbish now put to further use and out of landfill, already surpassing Welsh Assembly Government green targets for 2016.
The trouble is the system requires the waste, including plastic, glass, cardboard and paper, to be sorted later.
And the Assembly Government says its preferred method is for householders to sort their recycling themselves before collection, which is cheaper and better for the environment.
Now Denbighshire has launched a campaign to save their collection system which is threatened by potential financial penalties by WAG, which foots 80% of recycling costs in Wales.
Denbighshire expanded its “flagship recycling service” to a further 6,000 homes in March, claiming to be the “highest recycling county” in Wales.
Now it says the Assembly wants the council to dump its successful “blue bin” service and to go back to the recycling boxes it phased out 18 months ago.
The campaign, on the council’s website, entitled “back to boxes?” asks residents to ‘tell the WAG what they think of their plans’.
Denbighshire waste officer Alan Roberts said residents had voted 4:1 in favour of their new system with 86% happy with the recycling service overall.
“We have got a bit of a fight on our hands and we want to re-iterate how popular the scheme is with our residents. Some 93% participate in the recycling scheme. But there is a difference of philosophy between the WAG and where we are in Denbighshire.
“Frankly as a service provider we take the pragmatic view when faced with the most ambitious recycling targets in the UK. We have to capture hearts and minds of all our residents and provide the service they want.”
WAG thinks the alternative “kerbside sort” systems are better because council workers manually sort through the materials at the roadside, and leave behind any items that shouldn’t be there.
But Denbighshire believe its ‘commingled system’ is better because it is simple and convenient for residents.
A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said: “We are seeking views on whether a common and consistent system should be used across Wales, whether this should be our preferred kerbside sort system which is cheaper and better for the environment, and whether we should only provide extra funding to local authorities that choose to use this preferred system.
“This is a consultation. No decision has been made. We have commissioned a detailed study to compare the environmental, financial and social performance of each type of collection. We have asked Denbighshire county council to take part and it has refused.”
Mr Roberts maintained the study was “unfair”. Source - Daily Post

Denbighshire County Council article on this story can be seen at
http://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en-gb/DNAP-87ZJM4

Working in partnership to bridge generation gap

South West Rhyl Communities First and Denbighshire’s Older People’s Strategy Development Officer have teamed up with Community Focus Schools to deliver a pilot workshop for young people at Rhyl High School around the issue of confidence and self-esteem.
Six students have been referred to the programme which is a simple method in discussing an issue, making a few small changes then discussing the impact of those changes on their lives, hopefully revealing a positive outcome of change.
The model is based on a Swedish model of work which was firstly used for Older People.Once the Rhyl High School students have completed the workshop they will meet a group of Older People who’ve been through the same process and discuss the outcomes together in what’s called a ‘Life Café’.

Source: - Community Focussed schools co-ordinator

Denbighshire County Council get blogging and tweeting!!!

Denbighshire County councils Chief executive Chief Executive Mohammed Mehmet and Leader of the council HughH Evans have entered the blogosphere follow them on:- http://mohammedmehmet.wordpress.com/ and http://hughevans.wordpress.com/

The council also have a twitter page at http://twitter.com/DenbighshireCC

County texting service reminder

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents and visitors that they can text the council with their customer enquiry.Using their mobile phone, customers can text 07800 140088 with their Council related enquiry or request for service. They will receive a bilingual automated text from the Council to confirm receipt of the text followed by a full response within 10 days wherever possible.As a minimum customers should leave their name and address with a brief explanation of their enquiry in order for their text to be logged - no photographs or videos can be forwarded to the Council as part of a text message at this time. This is the first time ever for the Council to introduce a texting service that allows people to contact the Council 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Councillor Sharon Frobisher, Cabinet Lead Member for Communities, said: 'Contacting the Council has never been easier and we need to move with the times, so that people can contact us in a convenient way that meets their needs.'This has been an exciting and successful initiative – it’s a really quick and convenient way of contacting the Council and we will continue to focus on improving the customer experience'. 'We would urge people to save the text number onto their mobile phones - the service can be used to report faults or enquiries whilst people are out and about their business.” Source:www.denbighshire.gov.uk

Denbighshire launches Anti Poverty Action Plan

Denbighshire's Anti-Poverty Statement and Action Plan has been drawn up to tackle issues of deprivation and poverty affecting the county and reflecting the issues affecting regions nationwide.
The three year plan drawn up by Denbighshire's Anti-poverty Network of 30 organisations including the council states that people have a right to:

 Enough money to meet basic needs (such as food, housing, warmth and health care)

 Equal access to all of our services

 Equal access to employment

 Be involved in their community

 Have a say on how the council provides local services and resources
The Action Plan has 49 key actions aimed at reducing child and adult poverty, for example promoting the Mortgage Rescue Scheme, library and training initiatives, increasing tax credit and benefit take up, reducing debt and improving energy efficiency.

Download the document at http://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en-gb/DNAP-77FH2Y