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30 April 2024

West Northamptonshire residents are invited to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) to raise awareness of the work still needed to end discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) people.
An event will take place at midday on Friday, 17 May, in the Guildhall Courtyard, Northampton, and will include speeches from the Chairman of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), Cllr John Shephard and the Co-Chair of West Northants LGBTQ+ and Allies Forum, Matthew Toresen MBE.
The theme for the 2024 edition of IDAHOBIT is “No one left behind: equality, freedom and justice for all". The event will conclude with a ‘Minute of Noise’ to commemorate all those who have suffered LGBTQ hate and discrimination and for all those who cannot have their voices heard. The LGBTQ+ flag will also be raised at WNC’s office buildings in Daventry, Towcester and Northampton from 8am to 8pm.
Q Space and The Lowdown charity will also be present to provide information and advice about the local LGBTQ+ services and support services they offer, and refreshments will be served in the Court room following the event.
“Our LGBTQ+ residents are an important part of our West Northants communities and have a right to live happily and free from discrimination.Cllr David Smith, West Northamptonshire Council's Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Engagement“This important day reminds us that we must continue progressing towards a society where all residents feel safe, included and accepted, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or race, and reminds us of the importance of tolerance and respect.
“Together, we can break down stigmas and create a safe and respectful community. I invite all residents to join us to make some noise as we stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ friends.”
The date of May 17 was specifically chosen for IDAHOBIT to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
“IDAHOBIT reminds us that equality isn't a given, and needs to be fought for and supported. We gather on this day to show LGBTQ+ and ally communities around the world that we know there is still much work to do.”Matthew Toresen MBE, Co-Chair of West Northants LGBTQ+ and Allies Forum
People can help spread awareness about IDAHOBIT by sharing the social media hashtags #IDAHOBIT #IDAHOBIT24 #diversityandinclusion.
The Lowdown charity offers support to anyone struggling including counselling, wellbeing and emotional support, sexual health and contraception. Find out more on the Lowdown website.
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29 April 2024

West Northamptonshire Councillors are set to discuss plans at next week’s Cabinet meeting regarding distribution of the £2.4 million funds to households in need of financial support.
The Council has received £2,465,491.77 as part of the fifth tranche of the Household Support Fund (HSF) provided by the UK Government, following the Government’s announcement of a sixth month extension to the scheme, offering additional financial support to vulnerable households.
The proposal builds upon the successful partnership with local voluntary and community organisations developed during previous HSF tranches to best support West Northants households who are facing financial hardship with daily living costs such as; food, clothing, and utility bills. This is in line with the work underway as part of the joint Anti-Poverty Strategy and looks to provide financial support to residents who are most in need and may not be identified through the benefits system.
For the six-month extension period, from April 2024 to September 2024, the recommendation includes:
- Around 12,700 families with children will receive school meal vouchers over the summer holidays at the cost of £15 per child, per week. In addition, families will also be given a further £30 voucher to help towards school essentials such as uniforms.
- Continuing to work closely with our trusted partners to provide tailored support to residents from; debt and money advice, energy saving advice, practical energy saving measures and practical household support.
- Approx. £690,000 in the form of grants for voluntary and community organisations to apply for to increase the dedicated and tailored support that they offer to residents.
To provide a longer-term offer of financial wellbeing, all awards and funding will be complimented by wrap around support schemes with the view to help transition households from crisis support to more sustainable support.
“It is important we continue to work closely with our voluntary and community sector organisations following such an effective model of distribution during HSF4 to identify those individuals or households that may not otherwise receive support. During the last tranche of funding, a high percentage of funds allocated were successfully distributed to individuals and households by these organisations and we hope that we can continue to build on this method further.Cllr Matt Golby, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health at WNC“We also know that supporting families with school meal vouchers is a really valued helpline and we are keen to continue this throughout the summer holidays, whilst providing a wider range of support and advice that will help these families longer term”.
Following Cabinet approval, work will commence with working closely with community partners for distribution of the funds.
To view the cabinet report please visit this Agenda for Cabinet
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29 April 2024

On Thursday, 2 May, voters across Northamptonshire will head to the polls to elect their Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC).
The Police Fire and Crime Commissioner is elected to oversee local policing and fire and rescue services, manage the police & fire and rescue budget, set council tax rates for policing, and ensure transparent communication about police activities in the community. They will also make key appointments of the Chief Constable and the Chief Fire Officer for the Northamptonshire area.
Here's everything you need to know to take part in this important local election.
The candidates are as follows:
Voting
Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm.
The details of your polling station will be printed on your poll card. You do not need to take your poll card with you in order to vote, but you must bring a valid form of Voter ID.
Accepted forms of Voter ID
By law, you must present a valid form of photo ID at the polling station in order to vote.
You can use an expired photo ID, as long as the image on the ID remains a good likeness to you. You only need to bring one of the documents to the polling station to vote in person, but it must be the original document.
You can use:
- Passport (UK, EU/EEA, Commonwealth issued)
- Driving licence (including provisional licences) (UK, EU/EEA issued)
- Blue Badge
- Certain older/disabled people concessionary travel cards
- Identity card with PASS mark (Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
- Biometric Immigration document
- Defence identity card
- Certain national identity cards
More information is available on our Voter ID page
Returning your postal vote
If you wish to hand in your postal vote to the Council Offices or the Polling Station you will now need to complete a Postal Vote Return form which will be provided to you when handing in your vote.
If you post your postal vote through a council letter box, it will be rejected. This is due to a change in the law. For more information visit The Electoral Comission website.
Results
The votes will be counted from 1pm on Friday, 3 May, with the result posted on our X and Facebook pages as soon as they are announced.
The result will also be posted on our Elections Results page
Find out more
More information about this election and the candidates can be found on the Choose My Police and Crime Commissioner website.
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29 April 2024

Refunds have been issued to around 15,000 residents in the Northampton area today (Monday, 29 April) whose monthly Council Tax payment was taken out twice due to an automatic systems error.
West Northamptonshire Council is urging those affected to check they have received the refund which will be in their bank account by the end of today.
They should not try to cancel their direct debit instruction or claim the sum back via their banks as doing so could result in them having to repay the refund back to the Council.
On Friday WNC were made aware of and took immediate action to address an automation error in the system hosted by its BACS supplier, meaning that monthly Council Tax payments would be taken twice from 15,558 bank accounts today (Monday, 29 April).
A refund has been issued by the Council to all affected bank accounts, so residents whose payments were taken twice do not need to do anything except await the credit from WNC.
We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and distress this error may have caused residents affected.Martin Henry, Executive Director for FinanceResidents affected by this error should see three entries going through their account today (Monday 29 April) – this is two entries taking the Council Tax payment and one entry providing a refund. The result of these three transactions means the correct payment will have been made to the Council.
We would ask anyone who has been affected by this issue to check their account and wait for the refund to be paid, which will have happened by the end of the day.
We can confirm there is no action residents need to take nor do they need to contact us but we thank them for bearing with us and for their patience and understanding whilst we resolve this issue.
The error has affected 15,558 accounts, equating to around 8% of the 184,683 total number of Council Tax accounts across West Northamptonshire.
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26 April 2024

Residents, parishes, and businesses in West Northants are invited to participate in shaping future electoral and governance arrangements for parishes across West Northamptonshire.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) are launching the Stage Two consultation for the Community Governance Review that will run until from today (26 April) until Sunday, 28 July 2024. This consultation aims to seek views from residents, parishes, and stakeholders regarding the proposals that emerged from Stage One of the review process. The proposals relate to the existing parish boundaries, the number of parish councillors, and potential changes to parish names.
Before starting the consultation, the Council sought requests from parishes that wanted to make changes to their parish arrangements. The outcome of this pre-review consultation, in addition to the Local Government Boundary Review, has determined the identified parish areas for inclusion in the Stage One consultation that finished in January 2024. Proposals from the Stage One consultation have been reviewed in the light of comments received and the final proposals are now subject to comments through the Stage Two consultation.
New parish arrangements resulting from this review will take effect at the May 2025 local elections, providing parish arrangements which better meet the needs of communities and ensure an efficient and effective governance structure.
“Your continued engagement and input are essential as we progress through the Stage Two consultation of the Community Governance Review.Councillor Adam Brown, the Deputy Leader of West Northamptonshire Council“I encourage all residents to have your say through the consultation, as your input will contribute to building local parish and town council arrangements that best reflect your local community and that will stand the test of time.”
For more information, please visit the Community Governance Review webpage.
You can submit your feedback online or you can request a paper form by contacting [email protected] .
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