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Also in this week's edition
The Cocker Bridge in Cockermouth reopened to traffic on Friday this week.
The bridge was closed to vehicles following the partial collapse of the adjacent Old Courthouse building.
Work has been completed on a five-metre-high scaffold screening on the side of the bridge.
Traffic is being controlled by traffic lights on either side of the bridge. They will be manually controlled during term time (Monday to Friday) between 8am - 10am and 2pm - 4pm each day. Pedestrian access across the bridge will also be maintained.
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We are consulting on some of the proposals that will help shape our budget in the next financial year.
Our consultation includes questions on our focus as an organisation, as well as asks residents their views on our transformation plan which aims to help put us on a more sustainable financial footing.
There are also proposals to increase our element of council tax by 4.99%. This is 2.99% for core council tax and 2% extra for the Adult Social Care levy. The consultation also includes a proposal to increase council tax on second homes by 100% - therefore doubling it - from 1 April 2025.
To help residents on low incomes the council will continue to provide the council tax reduction scheme. This can mean some residents who qualify not having to pay any council tax.
You can find out more and have your say at consult.cumberland.gov.uk . Hard copy versions will also be available from libraries and our front door receptions and customer services team.
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...and we have made significant progress to control costs
Our Executive also reported how we have made significant progress in managing the financial pressures we inherited on 1 April to control our costs.
The Q2 finance report shows a considerable reduction in the potential overspend of £8.5m, which is a favourable change of around £9m when compared to the quarter one forecasted position of £17.5m.
Over the past few months, Council officers have undertaken extensive reviews of services and their budgets to identify efficiencies and savings through a range of measures including reducing costs, vacancy management and service transformation. The council has also made great strides in recruiting permanent staff where previously agency staff were being used.
Whilst this is an improvement when compared to quarter one, work will continue at pace in quarter three and four to both ensure the current mitigations are delivered and that where possible further savings are identified to minimise the use of Council reserves.
Our ambitious vision for family wellbeing took a significant step forward this week, with the Family Wellbeing Programme having achieved approval from the council’s Executive Committee.
We are committed to putting health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. The council’s vision is that every child in Cumberland grows up in a nurturing and supportive environment, surrounded by love and a strong community that enables them to thrive.
The Family Wellbeing Programme will take a transformative approach to the support services provided to families. With a particular focus on early help and prevention, the outcome will be the provision of more support where it is needed, at an earlier stage.
By working closely with other organisations involved in children’s services, such as the NHS, and investing more in these early intervention services, the objective is to provide the family support needed to enable families to provide a safe, stable, and enriching upbringing for their children and crucially, to prevent more serious interventions.
An estimated one million cases of poisoning occur in the UK every year. This doesn’t stop over the festive season.
To save you and your loved ones from a case of food poisoning over the holidays, Cumberland Council’s Environmental Health team have provided some simple steps.
A friendship bench, gardening equipment and weekly wellbeing group were among the projects supported by the Whitehaven and Coastal Community Panel recently.
The panel, part of Cumberland Council, approved its first investments at a meeting on Wednesday December 7.
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Thousands of people ate, drank, shopped, sang and watched the experts in action last weekend as Taste Cumbria Christmas came back to Cockermouth.
The festival took place in the heart of the town, on Main Street and Market Place, where there were producers’ stalls, live music marquees, the Demo Stage and children’s activities, alongside street theatre and hot food and drink.
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We are encouraging local businesses, community groups and organisations to apply for grants schemes that will provide £1.4 million to the local economy.
The council has recently received their annual allocation from the Government for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (this also includes the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF)).
Cumbria Fostering has won two prestigious awards for its participation in 'Any Of Us' - a short film encouraging people from all backgrounds to become a foster carer.
The fostering film won the ‘Best Collaboration’ and ‘Best Creative Comms’ categories at the comms2point0 UnAwards which recognises excellence in public sector communications at a ceremony held in Birmingham.
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