Residents' update: keeping you informed

Teignbridge District Council sent this bulletin at 14-04-2023 03:25 PM BST

Residents' update

Are you registered to vote in May's elections?

Your chance to have your say in who runs the district, town and parish councils for the next four years is less than three weeks away in the elections being held on 4 May.

If you've never registered to vote before, have moved house or have changed your name you may not be on the electoral register. If not, you have until 11.59pm on Monday, 17 April to apply online. It only takes five minutes to register so even if you are not sure whether you are going to use your vote, it’s worth keeping your options open by applying.

Your vote matters. Don't lose it. Electoral Commission,. Register to vote in the upcoming local elections at gov.uk/registertovote by 14 April

Once registered, you can vote in person at a polling station, by post or you can appoint someone to vote on your behalf by applying for a proxy vote.

No ID? Apply for free voter ID by 25 April

If you plan to vote in person, you need to make sure that you have accepted Photo ID which the Government has introduced for the first time for the May elections. If you don’t, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate on line or by completing and submitting a paper form to our Elections Team by 5pm on Tuesday 25 April.

To apply for a Voter Authority Certificate, you need to provide a photo, full name, date of birth, the address at which you are registered to vote and your National Insurance number. (If you don’t have a National Insurance number you can provide other documents to prove your identity such as a birth certificate, bank statement or utility bill).

If you want to vote by post you can apply for a postal ballot - the deadline for doing this is 5pm on Tuesday 18 April.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote, is a week later, 5pm on Tuesday 25 April.

Where do I vote? Find your polling station. Enter your postcode. Find your polling station

If you're planning to vote in person on 4 May but don't know where to go on the day, just put your postcode into the polling station search tool on our website and you will get the address of your polling station and a reminder of the hours when you can vote in person.

A list of all polling stations which candidates and their election teams may find helpful is on our website.

Council news

Play now to boost our fundraising. Teignbridge Lottery for Communities

Much needed win for arts supporter

Congratulations to Ian Royce Chamberlain who matched five numbers in last week’s Teignbridge Lottery for Communities and won £2,000.

A supporter of TAAG CIO (Teignmouth Arts Action Group) Mr Chamberlain has been a backer of the arts for many years, having been a co-founder of the Teignmouth Poetry Festival as well as supporting TAAG for some 10 years.

Mr Chamberlain said: “I appreciate the win! It’s come at precisely the right time, for several reasons! I subscribe to one other lottery and have won £5 in three years.”

And TAAG will also benefit more as Mr Chamberlain intends to donate some of his winnings to the Action group.

If you want to have a chance of being a winner in the Teignbridge Lottery for Communities go to its website now and buy a ticket- 60% from each ticket sold goes to support good causes in Teignbridge and there’s a chance to win the £25,000 jackpot every week!

Win an iPhone 14 Pro and an Apple Watch Series 8

If you buy a Teignbridge Lottery for Communities ticket before 8pm on Saturday 29 April 2023, you will also have a chance of winning an Apple iPhone and watch bundle.

This is in addition to any prizes you could win by matching lottery numbers in the normal Saturday night draw.

The additional Apple iPhone and watch bundle prize comes from our lottery provider Gatherwell and all tickets entered into the Saturday 29 April 2023 draw from any of its local lotteries will also be entered into the bundle draw.

Buy a ticket and be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize.

Jobs! Apply Now. Full Time. Part Time. Casual. Join our Teams. Housing, office staff, recycling crews, leisure assistants, lifeguards

Council vacancies: Housing Triage Officer, Project Manager, Senior Estates and Development Surveyor

Leisure vacancies: Lifeguard, Casual leisure roles – Class Instructor, Sports Coach Level 1

Waste & Recycling: Bulking Station Refuse Operative, Cleansing Operative, HGV Vehicle Mechanic, Waste Project Officer

Full details of all vacancies and closing dates for applying are on our jobs portal.

Other news

Have you planned how you will celebrate the Coronation?

With less than a month to the Coronation of King Charles lll many people will be making plans as to how they will mark the occasion.

The Coronation website has a host of information including how you can get involved.

If you are organising an event you can add it to the Coronation digital map so people in your neighbourhood will know what is planned and can join in.

If you are organising a street party there is guidance on the Government’s website and if you want to join the millions across the UK, and further afield, with a Coronation Big Lunch on 6-8 May, then take a look at the Big Lunch website

Finally the Big Help Out is on Monday 8 May, when lots of organisations will encourage people to get involved in volunteering to support their communities. Find out more by going to The Big Help Out website

And don’t forget the Coronation itself on Saturday 6 May!

Learn Devon Summer programme now available. Over 100 courses for adult learners across Devon www.learndevon.co.uk

Learn Devon’s summer programme is now live!

With over 100 exciting courses on offer for adult learners, Learn Devon will have something for you.

Whether you are looking to learn something new, gain a qualification or just brush up on your skills, Learn Devon has got you covered.

With a range of courses available from Arts and craft, Digital skills and IT, English and maths qualifications (including GCSE) to Wellbeing and much more, Learn Devon also has courses for Adults with learning difficulties and English courses for speakers of other languages (ESOL).

Courses provide a mixture of face-to-face and online options to suit your learning needs.

See the full programme online and enrol today.

Menopause support

Women experiencing menopause symptoms can now get cheaper hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Women prescribed HRT now have access to a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) which enables access to a year’s worth of menopause prescription items for the cost of two single prescription charges (currently £18.70).

Save money on your HRT prescriptions with a HRT prepayment certificate

The PPC will be valid for 12 months and can be used against a list of HRT prescription items, and a patient can use this against an unlimited number of HRT items, such as patches, tablets and topical preparations.

Women will need to apply for the PPC through the NHS Business Services Authority or in person at a pharmacy registered to sell PPCs.

Top up your immunity. if 75 and over, 5-74 with a weakened immune system or a care home resident you can take up the spring Covid-19 Booster offer

Covid vaccination spring booster programme

The booster programme is now underway with NHS England rolling out the vaccine programme, starting with vaccinations in care homes.

Others eligible are now able to book a booster jab on the National Booking Service or NHS App, with the first appointments available from Monday (17 April)

The programme is in line with Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice that a spring booster dose should be offered to:

adults aged 75 years and over
residents in a care home for older adults
individuals aged 5 years and over who are immunosuppressed

The last date for the public to book spring boosters will be 30 June.

Are you getting the National Living and Minimum Wage increases?

Did you know the National Living and Minimum Wage rates increased on 1 April?

The National Living Wage rate, which is for workers aged 23 years and over, increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour. The National Minimum Wage applies to those from school leaving age to 22 with an increase to the hourly rate depending on your age and whether you are an apprentice.

UK Government. The national living and minimum wage went up on 1 April. Check that you've been paid the correct amount by your employer.

You should check you payslip to ensure you’re not being underpaid. If you think you’re not being paid the correct amount you should:

Talk to your employer.
Visit gov.uk/checkyourpay for information about the new rates that apply to you and the steps you can take.
Visit the ACAS website for free impartial advice or call ACAS for free.
Make an anonymous complaint to HMRC if the issue is not resolved.

Christow Post Office

The Post Office announced last week that following the resignation of the postmaster and the withdrawal of premises, the Christow Post Office, (Village Road, EX6 7NG). will be closing temporarily at 3pm on Wednesday 31 May. More information is available on the Post Office consultation hub.

Lots of activity at Alice Cross

Work to refurbish the Alice Cross kitchen has been completed and it will be officially opened at 2pm on Thursday 20 April. The refurbishment means that the centre will be able to cater for more people and have more functions.

The centre would like to thank everyone who supported its walk a mile a day in March that raised over £3000.

Details of its April activities are in the latest newsletter.

New funding to expand community fridges into food hubs

Grants of £7,000 are available to UK not-for-profit organisations to develop Community Fridges into Food Hubs so that more food-based activities can be provided that will bring communities together and provide access to healthy, affordable and sustainable food. The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Wednesday 31 May.

Remember to 1 - Register to vote 2 -Check my ID 3 -Vote at a polling station

UK Government. We are testing Emergency Alerts on mobile phones 23 April at 3pm. Our new way to warn you when lives are in danger. gov.uk/alerts

Norovirus. If you catch it, stay home for 48 hours after your symptoms clear