West Mercia Police Relaunch Local Policing Community Charter

Today, West Mercia Police relaunched their Local Policing Community Charter, outlining their ongoing commitment to improving local policing delivery.

Following consultation with local communities, the Local Policing Charter was originally launched in March 2021, and covers six key areas for improved service delivery: visibility & accessibility, responding to communities, prevention, vulnerability, relationships and partnerships.

The charter also sets out how West Mercia Police work with partners and the public, to listen, understand and respond to community issues. It will focus on persistent problems and concerns to find long-term and sustainable solutions; prioritising the most vulnerable victims, problem locations and repeat offenders with the aim of preventing crime. 

West Mercia Police are seeking your support with delivery of the Local Policing Community Charter through collaborative working. Community stakeholders are encouraged to read the Charter and consider where your organisation can help with delivery of the objectives.

An important part of the Charter centres on communities’ accessibility to services and information they need.  “Neighbourhood Matters” (a new, on-line web based tool) allows officers and staff across all disciplines and teams from West Mercia Police to send and receive messages to the public via email, text and voice message. It’s a vital tool for the force, helping them to strengthen relationships with local communities and fulfil the policing promises set out in in the Charter.

Nearly 20,000 people signed up via the dedicated website Neighbourhoodmatters.co.uk. This means they can target specific geographical areas and user groups, sending out alerts about incidents and crime trends as well as issuing crime prevention advice.

West Mercia Police would like to secure your support with raising broad awareness of this tool to enable more people sign up to the system.  West Mercia Police can then share our messages even further and receive valuable feedback from the public.  In the past they have acted on public replies to provide reassurance, increase confidence and prevent further crime.

Download the 2022 Local Policing Charter

Read the full stakeholder letter here

Follow charter updates on Twitter using #PolicingPromise

Shropshire Council Submits Levelling Up Funding Bids for Four Projects, Including Transport

Last week, Shropshire Council applied for money to take forward four projects totalling £104 million as part of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) round 2. 

The four projects in Craven Arms, Oswestry and Shrewsbury, as well as a cross-county transport bid, will now all be considered for a slice of the £4.8bn fund. 

For all four projects it will be the second time that the council has sought funding. It has developed them further since the LUF Round 1 and the Bus Back Better bid as part of the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan funding and is optimistic about Government support for Shropshire. 

Ed Potter, Shropshire Council’s Deputy Leader, and Cabinet member for economic growth, regeneration and planning, said: – 

“I am so pleased that we have submitted these four projects for funding again following approval by Cabinet in June. If successful, they will help with our economic plans, boost infrastructure and benefit our communities for years to come. 

“It’s all part of our plan to create a healthy economy, and we have ambitions plans for Shropshire. We want to stimulate growth in our towns and support our businesses, which is particularly important as we continue to recover from the pandemic and start to navigate the cost of living crisis.” 

The bids, summarised below, are aligned with the council’s Shropshire Plan and the key LUF criteria set out by the Government.  

Summaries of the bids and more can be found on the Shropshire Council Newsroom.

Healthwatch: Mixed Feedback So Far on Emergency Care in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Looking for More

People who have needed emergency medical care have been telling Healthwatch Shropshire and Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin about their experiences of ringing for an ambulance and going into hospital. They have highlighted some great care but also some issues of a health system under pressure.

Lynn Cawley, Chief Officer of Healthwatch Shropshire, and Barry Parnaby, Chair of Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin, explained,

“We would still like to hear from people, including professionals who have called an ambulance for someone in their care, for example in a care home or receiving care in their own home, so that everyone's voice can help to inform the efforts being made to try and improve services.

We want to hear from people about where things have gone well and where they have not gone so well. It’s an opportunity for patients and their families, as well as professionals to share their stories and tell us what is important to them in those worrying times when they need emergency help. 

We know that the demand on urgent care is high at the moment and it is having an impact on the whole health and care system but we can then share those experiences with service providers, those who pay for the service and those who regulate services such as the Care Quality Commission to ensure the patient voice is at the centre of efforts to improve services for all. Call us 01743 237884 or get in contact online."

Healthwatch Shropshire and Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin are the independent health and social care champions in the county. They gather the views and experiences of patients, service users, carers, and the general public about services including hospitals, GPs, mental health services, community health services, pharmacists, opticians, residential care and children’s services.  Healthwatch also has statutory powers that they can use to influence service provision by encouraging improvements.

Current VCSE Engagement Opportunities

The VCSA newsletter will now contain a regular feature highlighting current open surveys and engagement opportunities that are relevant for VCSE organisations and their beneficiaries.

Flyers/materials for distribution will be made available for download as well as any relevant links. If you have engagement opportunities to share/list here please email Sarah Hampson, VCS Insight and Engagement Officer at Shropshire Council to have it included in an upcoming newsletter.

***

Lingen Davies Cancer Fund Survey: Lingen Davies want to hear from you as part of a project to improve lives for those impacted by the disease in Shropshire, Telford and Mid Wales. It will take no longer than 10 minutes, and your views will help inform our LiveLife Cancer Awareness Service. Please take the survey and help promote it. They also need volunteers for focus groups. Closing date TBD

• Download poster to promote
• Those interested in focus groups should email Korrina Campbell
• Survey link

Shropshire Economic Growth Strategy: The Economic Growth Strategy for Shropshire (EGS) for 2022-2027 has now been published as a draft for formal consultation. The strategy has been refreshed to consider the council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the impacts of Brexit and also how these national changes impact on partners and the economy. The draft strategy has been developed through ongoing collaboration between Shropshire Council, the local economic taskforce, Shropshire’s business community, and other partners and key stakeholders. Closing 15th August

• Shropshire's Draft Economic Growth Strategy
• Shropshire's Economic Evidence Base
• Full consultation information
• Survey link

Charities Commission Annual Return Consultation: A consultation on its proposed new approach to the annual return, and a new set of up to 16 questions it plans to include. These changes would come into effect from 1 January 2023. Closing 1st September

• Survey link

Shaping the Future of Healthwatch Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin: Shropshire Council and Telford and Wrekin Council would like you to help them to shape how Healthwatch in your area will look from 2023 onwards. There are lots of changes happening in relation to health and social care services. For example, the new 'integrated care system' for the whole of Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin which aims to integrate care across different organisations and settings, joining up hospital and community-based services, physical and mental health, and health and social care. They  are interested in your views as to how Healthwatch best fits in to this new system. Closing 5th September

• Questions and Answers (Shropshire)
• Survey link (Shropshire)
• Email responses (Shropshire)
• Post responses (Shropshire): Feedback and Insight Team, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey     Foregate, Shropshire SY2 6ND.
• Questions and Answers (Telford)
• Survey Link (Telford)

Telford and Wrekin Council Aging Well Survey: Share your views on the support you need to 'age well'. Telford and Wrekin Council, together with a wide range of our local partner organisations are launching a borough-wide “Ageing Well” consultation, asking residents over the age of 50 to share their views on the support they need to age well. Closing 16th September

• Survey link

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for Shropshire: Shropshire residents and organisations are encouraged to provide feedback on experience of using pharmacy services, to help shape the future of pharmacy services in the county. Closing 30th September

• Link to full consultation document
• Survey link
• Printable version of survey
• Email feedback
• Post responses: Feedback and Insight Team, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey     Foregate, Shropshire SY2 6ND.

DCMS Dormant Assets Scheme Consultation: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is providing an opportunity for the public, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and industry stakeholders to have their say on how to shape the direction of the Dormant Assets Scheme in England in the years ahead. Dormant assets are financial assets, such as bank accounts, that have been untouched for a long period. The Dormant Assets Scheme is led by the financial services industry and backed by the government with the aim of reuniting people with these financial assets. Where this is not possible, the Scheme unlocks this money for social and environmental initiatives across the UK. Closing 9th October 

• Consultation document
• Survey link

Open consultation Down Syndrome Act 2022 guidance:  This call for evidence will inform the development of the Down Syndrome Act statutory guidance. The Department of Health and Social Care are seeking your views on what should be included within the guidance. They will consider those views when producing draft guidance which we intend to publish for full public consultation. Closing 8th November

• Read the full guidance document 
• Survey link
• Easy read version of the survey
• Email feedback

Shropshire Council Diversity survey: Shropshire Council and partners are working to understand the needs of every local area in Shropshire. They recognise that Shropshire is made up of diverse communities, and not all health, wellbeing, community and personal needs will be the same. Shropshire Council are collecting information to paint a picture about local use of health services, health and wellbeing, and the demographic and economic make up of our communities. Right now, they specifically want to hear from people in: Whitchurch and surrounding area; Oswestry and surrounding area; St Martins. Closing date TBD

• Survey link

Healthwatch: 999 and ambulance services feedback. Healthwatch want to understand how the current strains on the ambulance service are impacting people’s health and lives. No closing date

• Survey link

Online Course: Dealing with Stress and Anxiety

Where: Delivered live online via Zoom/Canvas.

When: The course will run once a week and start Thursday 11th August 10.00am – 11.30am for 5 sessions finishing on Thursday 8th September

Enquiries: Email Dipali Chandra at WEA or phone 07980 555576, 
Course Reference: C3129280

To enrol: Personal Development, Life Skills: Dealing with
Stress and Anxiety (C3129280) or phone Student Support Service:
0300 303 3464 and use the above reference course ID C3129280

Download course poster for sharing.

Shropshire Infrastructure Partnership

Free and Subsidised Trainings

The Shropshire Infrastructure Partnership Voluntary and Community Development Team have over 20 accredited courses upcoming this autumn in their training programme .

These courses include a mix of online and face to face training opportunities across Shropshire from a variety of different trainers.

Courses offered are either free of charge or a heavily subsidised £15 per person.

Demand for the training opportunities continues to be very high and places are already booking up quickly. So, they are urging you to sign up to your chosen courses as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Courses offered this Autumn include 1 Day Emergency First Aid at Work, Volunteer Management and Peer Support, Startup Funding for Charities and Social Enterprises, Governance and Legal Structures for Charities, Unconscious Bias, Cyber Security for Charities plus many more.

Courses are limited to 2 spaces per organization and they continue to operate a waiting list. These courses are suitable for all volunteers and staff working in the voluntary sector in Shropshire.

For more information on courses, dates and times, and to book a space, visit the Eventbrite page.

And there is more on the way for 2023 - Follow the team's training offerings on Eventbrite to get notified about more training offerings as they are added.

NCVO Seeking Trustees

This year the NCVO has three board vacancies:

• two elected positions that NCVO members will vote on (with one current trustee standing for re-election)
• one further position to be appointed by the board.

They are particularly interested in individuals with experience of:

• campaigning
• public policy and affairs
• human resource/people management.

Is this you? Or do you know someone with relevant experience who would make an outstanding trustee for NCVO? If the answer's yes, please submit your application or nomination by Monday 15 August 2022.

Full person specification, nomination form and more information can be found on the NCVO website.

Citizens' Advice Shropshire Hiring Projects Administrator

Do you like to work as part of a team but also like being independent and resourceful?

Are you passionate about working for an organisation that is committed to making a difference and making society fairer?

If so you can help!  Citizens' Advice Shropshire are looking to employ a:

Projects Administrator

Location: Shrewsbury

Hours per week: 27.5 hours over 5 days

Salary: £20,043 annual pro rata + Pension Contribution

Holidays: 28 days + Bank Holidays

Contract type: Permanent Position

In this role, you will be responsible to the Specialist Services Manager.

• Working as part of a team, you will be the first point of access for clients into the service
• Provide a triage service which directs clients towards the appropriate type and level of information and advice resources
• Deliver administration of various projects

Further details and application form (no CVs) are available from their website:

Closing Date:  5pm Monday 22^nd August 2022

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 30^th August 2022 in their Shrewsbury Office

Volunteer Instrumentalists Needed for Ludlow Concert Band

Are you a woodwind or brass musical instrument player? Do you enjoy playing in a group?

Ludlow Concert Band are looking for amateur players to join them in their love of Concert Band music – they are particularly hoping to hear from brass players, trumpets/cornets, Bass, Euphonium, Trombone etc. Also keen to recruit a percussionist/dep drummer – but all instruments are welcome.

Their musical experience is as wide as their age range – they have retired professionals to players just starting out – the common thing is that they all enjoy playing in a band and entertaining an audience.

They rehearse every Thursday evening at St John’s Church Ludlow and probably give around 12 concerts and play-outs a year.

For a chat please contact them via their website.

Volunteers Needed: The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

The Royal British Legion is here to help members of the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, veterans and their families. And we’re not going anywhere.

Volunteering with them helps make an enormous difference to the Armed Forces community. However much time you can give, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved as a volunteer and make a difference.

Have a bit more time to spare or looking to expand your skills? The Royal British Legion are recruiting for a Poppy Appeal Organiser for Oswestry, High Ercall and Telford Central. To find out more and apply please click on the adverts below:

Oswestry Poppy Appeal Organiser

High Ercall Poppy Appeal Organiser

Telford Poppy Appeal Organiser

You can also visit the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal volunteers website to learn more.

Job Opportunity: Mayfair Community Centre Volunteer Coordinator

NHS Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Seeks Members for Equality and Involvement Committee

This committee will play a key role in making sure that local health and care plans consider the needs of people who experience the greatest inequalities in accessing services and the poorest health outcomes.

People interested in becoming a member of the committee should have an awareness and understanding of the diverse communities of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Members of the committee will be expected to attend one online committee meeting per month and will be provided with the relevant training and support needed to assist them in their role.

To read the role description and register your interest, please click here  or email Jayne Morris, Engagement Officer.

The closing date for expressions of interest is Friday 19th August 2022.

Little Stars Baby Bank Seeking Trustees

Little Stars have two exciting opportunities and are seeking a treasurer and fundraiser to join their board.

Joining Little Stars board is a wonderful opportunity for you to use your skills and experience to help shape the future of Little Stars, whilst complementing the skills of the existing and highly valued board members. Having launched in 2020 they are still in their infancy but they have big ambitions. By becoming part of the Little Stars family you can help them realise their vision and help and support even more families across Shropshire.

Firstly, they are looking for a Trustee with a background in Fundraising and Income Generation. In this role you will assist the Board of Trustees to develop a new approach to fundraising and income generation and ensure fundraising is of the highest standard and priority.

Secondly, they are looking for a Trustee with a background in finance/financial management. They work closely with an accountant (so you would not be expected to produce annual accounts), but they are looking for someone to cover specific responsibilities as the Treasurer.

They are seeking individuals for both these roles who have at least 3 years’ experience. Previous experience in a trustee role is not essential.

You will also help to inspire and maintain the charity’s vision, mission and values, as well as ensuring compliance and accountability for finances, legal and governance obligations. They are looking for individuals who would enjoy the opportunity to contribute their skills and expertise to help to provide robust and dynamic governance, to ensure they achieve their ambitions.

For further information about the roles please email Leanne Simcoe, Trustee.

Expressions of interest to be received by 2^nd September 2022.

Volunteer with Attingham Park

Volunteers have always been at the heart of the work of the National Trust in caring for nature, beauty and history and they are really grateful for your interest in supporting them. 

Attingham are seeking volunteers to fill a number of positions,. Please see the attached list for the areas where they are currently recruiting volunteers.

You can apply for any of the volunteering roles at Attingham by visiting the National Trust volunteering pages and searching for ‘Shrewsbury’. Once you have applied, they will send you some more information and invite you to a taster shift or information session for that role.

If you have a particular role or specialism that you’re interested in, which isn’t listed, please let them know so they can keep you informed as and when they are able to offer volunteer positions in those areas.  

Ethos Recruiting Trustees

Since 1994 the Ethos Group (formerly Transhouse (Oswestry) Limited) has been helping people who have experienced physical disabilities transition back into independent living.

From people who have suffered a life changing spinal cord injury in a road accident to others who are wheelchair users through a sudden illness - the Ethos Group is the place they can call home after discharge from hospital.

Ethos is currently recruiting new trustees and is particularly keen to welcome those with health and social care experience.

For further information see below or visit the Ethos Group website. You can also email or phone 01691 404359 for more information.