Tim Prater

Folkestone Town Centre Place Plan development

This is a message for services and charities who support residents of Folkestone and who are interested in being part of the stakeholder group for the development of Folkestone Town Centre.  We Made That have been commissioned to engage with stakeholders in the development of the plans. For more information see the attachment and the press release here:

https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/news/place-plan-appointed

If you are interested in feeding into the development of the plans, please email Alex Sansom at communitydevelopment@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk with a contact name, organisation name, email address and a brief sentence on your role in Folkestone for me to pass on to We Made That.

Social Prescribing Webinar

The National Academy for Social Prescribing are delivering a free webinar on Wednesday 17th February, 3pm.

This webinar is designed for those in voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise groups and organisations who want to learn more about how the NHS is structured and how social prescribing fits in. Find out what is an ICS, STP or PCN. Understand the NHS’ structure, its jargon, and how social prescribing fits in.

In this webinar you will hear:

·       how the NHS is structured and how it works on a local level

·       how social prescribing fits in with the NHS and local authorities to build an effective social prescribing ‘eco-system’

·       about the impact social prescribing link workers are having on primary care

·       how community groups and organisations can work effectively with their local NHS and social prescribing structures

Please visit the Eventbrite page to register.

Job Opportunity

RMDC are recruiting a Services Manager to join the team. See the attached advert.

People can access the job description, person specification and job application on the website www.rmdc.org.uk or email jon.wilson@rmdc.org.uk for more information and an application form.

Closing date is Friday 19 February 2021.  Interviews will be held on Friday 26 February 2021.

Specialist Volunteers Ready to Help Kent Charities

Stronger Kent Communities (SKC) are in contact with specialist volunteers who can offer their skills to assist your organisation.

Examples of the types of volunteers and their skills that could assist your organisation with a task or project are:

·       Website Developer

·       IT Professional

·       Impact & Evaluation Volunteer

·       Professional Photographer

·       Student volunteers such as accountancy and media, are also looking for volunteering tasks and roles, as part of their courses

If you would like to enquire about a specialist volunteer to help your organisation, please fill in the online form here:

https://strongerkentcommunities.org.uk/our-services/specialist-volunteering-service/specialist-volunteering-needs/?mc_cid=9170815fb9&mc_eid=84d1706907

Hold the Date – ‘Staying Connected’

Folkestone & Hythe District Council in partnership with Red Zebra, are planning the next virtual Community Networking Event, ‘Staying Connected’.

The provisional time and date is 10am on 25^th February.  Look out for the invitation next week with further details.

The 13 councils of Kent are working in partnership to tackle flytipping and waste crime.

Flytipping is a crime with serious consequences and serious penalties.

There should be no excuses for flytipping, with residents and businesses aware of their responsibilities when disposing of waste following last year’s campaign around illegal waste carriers.

Flytipping is dealt with by your local district or borough council.

Residents can continue to dispose of waste either by:

·        Going direct to their local household waste recycling centre.

·        Booking a bulky waste collection from their local district/borough council for a small charge.

·        Hire a waste contractor to dispose of their waste. Before doing so they should ask for a waste carrier licence, where the waste will be disposed and a receipt/invoice.

According to the Environment Agency (EA), over a third of illegally dumped waste is from households which have used unlicensed waste operators.

Illegal waste carriers often target people via social media or local advertising, luring customers in with cheap rates to dispose of unwanted furniture, fridges or garden waste.

However, these unlicensed carriers often simply dump the waste along country lanes or farmers’ fields leaving the bill for removal and disposal with the landowner.

Householders or small businesses found to be using criminals to dispose of their waste can and are being prosecuted by local authorities in Kent and issued with a fine.

KCC operates 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for the recycling and disposal of more than 30 different types of waste. You can check what you can bring to a recycling centre by checking on the council website.

If you are unable to visit an HWRC you can book a bulky collection from your district or borough council or alternatively, use a company that’s properly licensed.

Householders should protect themselves and the environment.

KALC-Council-Poster

The government’s Test and Trace Payment scheme has been extended until 31 March 2021. This means that if you live in the district of Folkestone & Hythe and you have received a notification from NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate you may be entitled to a payment of £500.

To qualify for this payment you must:

• Comply with the notification from NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate
• Be employed or self-employed
• Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
• Be in receipt of one of the following benefits: Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit

Central government has also awarded Folkestone & Hythe District Council limited further funding to administer its discretionary scheme for those that do not meet the criteria above.

To be considered for this payment, residents must have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because they have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

To be considered you must:

• Be employed or self-employed
• Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
• Have less than £3,000 in capital and savings;
• Demonstrate exceptional financial hardship

Cllr Tim Prater, F&HDC Cabinet Member for Revenues and Benefits, said:

“We know that self-isolating is hard and costly for many, but it is an essential way of stopping the spread of the virus.

“If you have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, please do. If you meet the criteria for the support schemes, please apply.

“Although we have only been given a limited grant by government for the discretionary scheme, we will support as many people as we can with the money we have.”

Further information and the application form can be found online: folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/coronavirus/testandtrace/payments