Theydon Bois Parish Newsletter August 2012
Three years ago Essex County Council established the first Local Authority Trading Company, Essex Cares, which took over the Equipment Service. Being a Trading Company freed it from some of the constraints of a local authority service and enabled it to combine the best of the public and private sectors. If you are an older person you may recall the Essex Cares Telecare presentations which I arranged for older people's clubs.
An increasing number of people need to find and fund their own care. In response to this, Essex Cares has set up Homesafe, a one stop shop offering care and equipment. Specialist equipment can often be provided through 'rapid response' when there is an immediate need. Homesafe also offers advice to potential customers who need adaptations to their homes to improve their independence.
Outreach is another Essex Cares service which offers a tailored one-to-one support programme based on what the individual wants to achieve, such as help in visiting the hairdresser or walking the dog. For people returning from hospital Essex Cares offers a short term reablement package to enable them to regain their skills and confidence and maintain their independence.
If you would like more information visit www.essexcares.org or phone 0845 835 0150. If you are unsure what service you need Essex Cares offers a free assessment in your own home with one of their qualified assessors.
The way in which Essex County Council provides services to people with sensory disabilities is being reviewed and I am a member of the panel which also includes people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and deaf/blind. If you use these services or have tried to access help and would like to share your experience please get in touch with me. What improvements would you like to see?
In September the Epping Forest Local Highways Panel will meet for the first time. Local Highways Panels (LHPs) have been set up by the county council to provide a forum for county and district councillors to meet, supported by relevant officers, to make decisions on how the funding provided for highways locally should best be spent. Epping Forest has been allocated £699,550 for 2012/13. The Epping Forest LHP will consist of all seven county councillors and seven district councillors who have been chosen to be geographically representative of the district.
The LHP will deal with traffic management improvements, tackling congestion, safer roads (including casualty reduction), public rights of way improvements, cycling schemes, passenger transport improvements and minor improvement schemes. It will initially have a historic list of requests which have come from county and district members, parish councils, residents and local resident or action groups.
Decisions have to be made according to county policies and the Local Transport Plan 2011 and members have been issued with a detailed Toolkit to guide and inform us. A scoring matrix will be provided to help with the selection process. Once a scheme has been selected officers will carry out a high level validation to make sure it is achievable and if the scheme passes this and there is money available the scheme will progress to the design stage. The LHP should then receive regular reports on its progress. Hopefully the introduction of the Epping Forest LHP will make decisions on highway matters more transparent and trackable.
Cllr Janet Whitehouse