Make sure you’ve applied for free school meals and clothing grants if you’re eligible - even if your children are in reception or years 1 and 2.

Since 2014, all children in reception and years 1 and 2 have been automatically entitled to free school meals, but many parents miss out on a free school clothing grant because they haven’t officially applied for free school meals.

The free school clothing grants are provided by Westmorland and Furness Council and are worth £50 for each Primary School child and £100 for secondary pupils. Anyone who’s successfully applied for free school meals, will also receive free school clothing grants (and access to other support too).

What’s more, if a family with children is eligible for free school meals but hasn’t applied for them, their child’s school could also miss out on a Pupil Premium payment from the government of up to £1,320 each year.

Anyone who’s already successfully applied for free school meals in the past, does not need to do apply again and will continue to receive them as normal.

Parents can apply online through the Westmorland and Furness Council website.

We're now accepting applications for our next intake of apprentices - apply by Friday 18 August!

If successful, you'll achieve a nationally recognised qualification, benefit from on-the-job work experience, and earn while you learn.

We have a number of vacancies in different locations and in different service areas within the council, including:

• Level 2 Health & Social Care (Adult Support Care Worker in Day Services - either Kendal or Penrith)
• Level 3 Assistant Accountant - Barrow Kendal or Penrith
• Level 2 and 3 Customer Service Specialist - Barrow or Kendal
• Level 3 Business Administration - Kendal

Find out more information and how to apply

We are carrying out a consultation with the taxi trade and public to gather their views on a new taxi livery.

Taxi livery ensures that the travelling public can easily identify that the vehicle they're travelling in is licensed and to ensure they know who to contact should any issues occur.

It is also important that hackney carriages and private hire vehicles do not look like one another, as private hire vehicles are only able to accept bookings which are pre-booked through a private hire operator, and hackney carriages can be hailed in the street or ply for hire on a rank.

You can complete the survey online.

The survey will close at midnight on Thursday 10 August 2023.