Community News from Derbyshire County Council – 22 April 2024 🔹£2 bus fares🔹Scam warning🔹Mayoral election🔹Health aps🔹Safe Places🔹Business support 🔹

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Get around for £2 'til Dec 2024

Fancy a day out for less? Remember you can still benefit from discounted bus travel to get out and about in Derbyshire.

bus passengers

As we approach the warmer months, it’s a perfect chance to get out and about on the bus. Take all the family for some fresh air or head on a solo adventure – and save some money while you’re at it.

A single bus journey anywhere costs no more than £2 any day on most routes until the end of December 2024. This represents a third off the cost of a ticket on average.

This is part of the government's ‘Get around for £2’ campaign to help bus passengers save money.


Scam warning

Traders across Derbyshire are being warned to be on their guard by our Trading Standards team after some of them reported receiving threatening calls demanding money for advertising debts.

smart phone text mobile

The calls, many of which have been made to our Trusted Traders, purport to come from `High Court Enforcement’, with demands for money to pay off the debts becoming threatening.

Trading Standards are warning that the call is likely to be a scam and traders or anyone else receiving such a call should not give out any personal or bank details, hang up and call the company the caller claims to be from to check if it is a scam.

Anyone owing debts following a court judgement would have been sent documents and not solely cold called.

They are then being urged to report the scam call to Action Fraud.

Help us to spread the word and make your friends and family aware too.


Two weeks to mayoral election

The first ever election for a mayor for the East Midlands will take place in just over a weeks’ time on Thursday 2 May 2024, and people in Derbyshire are being encouraged to vote and have their voice heard.

mayor

Derbyshire, Derby, Nottinghamshire and Nottingham have opened the door to a massive investment in transport, skills, housing and the environment after securing a deal for a new combined authority – the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA). 

EMCCA has been formed by Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council, and will be led by a mayor, similar to areas like the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.  

The mayor will have new powers and resources to begin a long-term process of growing the region’s economy by investing in skills that lead to better jobs, transport that works better across the region, housing where it’s needed, and an economy equipped to deal with net zero. 

Its small team will have specific responsibilities – housing, skills, transport and the environment – and the transfer of powers means it will be doing work previously carried out by government. It will collaborate with councils and will not duplicate what they do or provide services that are best delivered locally. 

Make sure that you're:

You can also apply for free voter ID. The deadline is Wednesday 24 April.


Health support at the touch of a button

 Ready to make some healthy changes, but not sure where to start?

pension senior man laptop

Did you know you can get quality assured health and wellbeing apps at the touch of a button?

We are working with Orcha –The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications – to provide an online library of digital health and wellbeing support for Derbyshire residents.

From support for long-term health conditions, to apps that can help you to stop smoking, sleep better and improve your mood, there are 100s to choose from.

Each app has been assessed so you can be sure it offers clinically sound advice, is easy to use and offers data protection.

Why not take a look at what’s on offer and find out if you could benefit?


Stay safe when out and about

Have you heard about our keep safe cards? You can use them to get help at one of our Safe Places.

keep safe

A Safe Place is somewhere you can go if you need help, are lost or feel scared when out and about. They include libraries, shops, restaurants, pharmacies, visitor attractions, GP surgeries and more. Each venue has a sticker in their window so you can see that they are part of the scheme and know you can go in and ask for help if you need to.

Anyone over the age of 11 can apply for a keep safe card. It has space for you to write your name, the name and phone number of a family member or carer and anything else a person might need to know about you.

Find your nearest Safe Place by downloading the app:


Business support

Do you own a business? Or do you know of local businesses who could do with some support? Or budding entrepreneurs wanting to make a start?

accelerator

You could point them in the direction of  the Accelerator project, which covers the East Midlands, to check their eligibility for help.

Accelerator is a fully-funded business support project designed to help local businesses at all stages of development to start, sustain, grow and innovate. The project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and managed by participating district councils in the region. It is delivered by East Midlands Chamber.

There is a wide range of events taking place at locations across Derbyshire, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Businesses can book places across any of those areas. There are also online sessions. All the events are free of charge and topics include budgeting, social media, leadership and management and greening your supply chain amongst many others.