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19 April 2024
West Northamptonshire Council has been informed by Cllr Jonathan Nunn that he has decided to stand down as Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member with immediate effect.
Cllr Nunn has been Leader of the Council since May 2021. Election of the new Leader of the Council will take place at the West Northamptonshire Council’s Annual Council meeting on 16 May.
Until this time the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Adam Brown, will carry out the role of Leader alongside his current Cabinet duties for housing, culture and leisure.
“I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to Jonathan for all his hard work and commitment as Leader during the crucial, formative years of our Council and the important role he has played in shaping the strong and effective organisation it is today.Cllr Adam Brown“We now look ahead to continue to build upon all the good work we are doing as a council to deliver services to residents across West Northamptonshire.”
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19 April 2024
With just over a week left to go, parents, carers and young people are being encouraged to have their say in a consultation to help shape and refresh the early help support offer in West Northants.
The consultation asks families and young people on the use and experiences of early support services in West Northants, which includes local 0-19 (and/or up to 25 for young people with SEND) services for children and young people, as well as how they would like to access different forms of support in a way that best suits them and their needs such as; online, in-person and group settings to name a few.
The consultation is open until midnight on 28 April via the link here and provides an opportunity for families, parents, carers and young people to share their thoughts and feedback anonymously. All responses will feed into the Council’s approach to early help support as well as how we commission our services for children and young people aged between 0-19 (25) together with other local organisations.
Early help is a huge focus and priority for West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) and together with other local organisations are keen to review and strengthen this offer further to ensure there is the right support available in a way that is accessible and meets the needs of children, young people and families locally.
“When we talk about early help, we are referring to the support available to our children, young people and families that they can access themselves without a referral from a health or support professional. This support needs to be easily accessible and to offer information and guidance on a range of topics – this may be advice on newborn support and development, vaccinations for children, mental wellbeing advice for teenagers, and the list goes on. By ensuring people have access to the right early help can make a difference to their wellbeing, development, and ultimately their life experiences, so it is really important we get it right.Cllr Fiona Baker, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, Education and Skills“We can only do this by having the input and hearing feedback from our young people and families so I do encourage you to please take the time to complete the survey – whether it is all of it, or you complete the sections more relevant to you. All the feedback is incredibly valuable and shape our future direction.”
The consultation focuses on two essential topics of the early help offer, which includes:
- Establishing local Family Hubs in West Northants with the aim of ensuring all families with children aged between the years of 0-19 (25) can access help, advice and support they need for a wide range of services much more easily. This includes exploring different ways to make services accessible – for example building an informative digital offer and creating in-person ‘hubs’ where various services are available for families in one place.
Planning of the Council’s service specification for our 0-19 services – understanding what families and young people would like from these services will help to create a localised specification that meets the needs of our population.
The consultation closes on Sunday 28 April, at midnight. All responses from the survey will be anonymous.
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Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue has welcomed twelve new wholetime firefighters to the Service.
The new firefighters have completed a two-week induction to the service where they were given the opportunity to learn about the organisation by spending time with different departments, including Prevention, Protection and Business Services.
The new recruits have now gone to the Fire Service College in the Cotswolds, where they will spend eight weeks learning firefighting skills including how to use breathing apparatus, put out different types of fires, and deal with hazardous materials.
Once they have finished the intensive training course at the College, they will have a Passing Out Parade before returning for three weeks further training in the county, where they will then be posted to a Watch at one of the stations across Northamptonshire.
The new intake has been under the watchful eye of Station Commander Richard Walding, who looks after the Firefighter Development Programme for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.
He said: “It has been fantastic to work with our latest cohort of firefighters and help them settle into their new roles with us.
“I am looking forward to seeing how they all progress during their time at the Fire Service College and learn the crucial practical skills needed to be a firefighter.
“Being a firefighter is an extremely rewarding profession and I hope that they all have long and successful careers with us at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.”
Tamas Fazekas, 31, decided he wanted to join the fire service after helping save a teenage boy from the water in June 2023.
“After the incident, I decided I wanted a change of career and after driving past Corby Fire Station I noticed that they were recruiting firefighters, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
Tamas has worked in warehouses previously but is looking forward to a change in career path.
“Firefighting is a job that is bigger than all of us, so I really feel like I am serving a purpose and giving something back to the community.”
“We have been provided with lots of information which has been really useful to give us a wider understanding of how the Service operates.
“All 12 of us are really excited and looking forward to our time at the Fire Service College, it will be a great eight weeks.”
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17 April 2024
Families in North and West Northamptonshire are being urged by the Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents (RoSPA) to take action to protect their children from the risks of household cleaning products.
The latest phase of the Take Action Today, Put Them Away campaign, funded by the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI), is being launched on 16 of April 2024.
This follows the scheme’s success in 44 areas of the UK including Birmingham, Liverpool, King’s Lynn, Nottingham, Newcastle, Bradford and Northern Ireland where over 700,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries.
In North Northamptonshire, accidental poisonings accounted for 55 emergency admissions for 0 – 4-year-olds between 2018/19- 2020/21.
In West Northamptonshire, accidental poisonings accounted for 115 emergency admissions for 0 – 4-year-olds between 2018/19- 2020/21.
As part of the campaign, a handy magnetic notepad featuring key safety advice will be handed out to thousands of families by health visitors and children’s centre staff.
Jim Oram, RoSPA’s public health project officer, said: “The notepad acts as a constant reminder in family kitchens to store cleaning products out of reach, out of sight and in a locked cupboard.
“Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are most at risk of accidentally swallowing or getting household cleaning products, like liquid laundry capsules, into their eyes. Even products with a child-resistant closure cannot guarantee safety - they only reduce the risk by delaying access to the product.”
Philip Malpass, from the industry’s trade body, the UKCPI, said: “Cleaning products are designed to be safe to use and to provide the clean and hygienic home we often take for granted today. The accidents we see involving young children and cleaning products are avoidable and whilst the severity of the injuries are generally low, we hope that this campaign will remind parents to follow the usage instructions on the packaging, and in so doing, avoid unnecessary accidents.”
Councillor Gill Mercer, North Northamptonshire’s Executive Member of Adults, Health and Wellbeing, said: “I’m delighted to be able to support this campaign to help to keep our youngest residents safe. RoSPA provide trusted advice to parents and carers and Take Action Today, Put Them Away, provides important information and advice to help keep children safe from the harms that can come from household cleaning products. I am sure that the magnetic pads which will be given out as part of this campaign, including through our Family Hubs, will be incredibly useful for families.’’
Councillor Matt Golby, West Northamptonshire’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and Health Integration, said: “Cleaning products can be dangerous to young children, but accidents are avoidable. I am reassured to see the Take Action Today, Put Them Away campaign is being launched in Northamptonshire after great successes in other parts of the country. We are urging all parents and carers to store household cleaning products out of reach of children as part of our campaign to prevent accidental poisonings and eye injuries.”
Take action today, put them away advice to parents includes:
• Store household cleaning products out of reach of children, preferably in a locked cupboard
• Always store chemicals in their original containers
• Never pierce or break laundry capsules or tablets
• Always close the lid of any product
• In the event of an incident, follow advice on the product pack and seek medical attention.
UKCPI is the leading trade association representing UK producers of cleaning and hygiene products from household soaps, washing powders, liquids, disinfectants, air care and polishes to the professional cleaning and hygiene products used in industrial and institutional applications.
It provides advice and guidance to manufacturers, distributors and users of cleaning and hygiene products. UKCPI also works in partnership with policymakers, the public and the media, to inform public discussions about cleanliness, hygiene and sustainable cleaning.
Further information on the Take Action Today campaign can be found on the ROSPA website.
For more details about the UKCPI, visit www.ukcpi.org
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17 April 2024
People who live and work in the Brackley area are being encouraged to take part in a study on how they currently use public transport and what they would like to see from it in the future.
The Brackley Area Public Transport Study looks at bus services and community transport in the area with an aim to identify potential improvements that can be made to the services. The study area also covers several villages including, Culworth, Evenley, Syresham and Warkworth.
People have until Sunday 5 May to share their thoughts, and those unable to access it online will be able to complete a paper copy or use a dedicated phone line. There will also be a series of drop-in-sessions across the area, to find out more about the locations, dates and times visit: GO Travel Solutions Website
Organisations within the area including workplaces, health centres and community facilities are invited to give feedback in a separate survey.
The study has been commissioned by West Northamptonshire Council and is funded by the Bus Service Improvement Plan. It is being led by GO Travel Solutions who are a specialist sustainable transport consultancy.
Find out more about the area it covers and have your say at GO Travel Solutions Website
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