Category — Matthew's blog

If it hinders the ability of people with disabilities to stay mobile it hampers their independence…

Government has brought in new arrangements nationally that make the Blue Badge parking scheme for disabled people more fraud and misuse proof.

The badges allow people with disabilities to use designated parking spaces closer to shops and other attractions. But with the new anti-fraud arrangements comes more processing costs for local authorities.

Because of that the Government has issued guideance that a new £10 charge can be made for each badge and, as far as I can see so far, that charge is being passed on to disabled people right across the country by local authorities.

But I’ve said no to that in Staffordshire… they will remain free to disabled people. And we’ve done it by redesigning and making cheaper the administrative processes… just as we have done with the ‘bureaucracy’ right across the County Council over the last two years.

In short that redesign has reduced processing costs a lot meaning the tax payer saves some money and we can still provide the new secure Blue Badges for free… unlike other areas.

A win all round I think and a small but significant decision which reinforces our determination to help people maintain their independence through mobility.

Staffordshire County Council is doing things differently. Fact!

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A few weeks ago I launched a consultation on proposals to change feedback and complaint handling in NHS/Care

It’s a radical approach for Staffordshire that has caught the imagination with over 1500 responses received so far from Staffordshire people. The changes I want to see are simple…

Complaints about health and social care services being handled by an independent people led body rather than the Trust or organisation being complained about.

A single ’gateway’ for the whole of Staffordshire with easy and clear access where people can complain or offer feedback on services for any part of the NHS, health and care sector rather than having to find their way through the dozens of different systems of the many different healthcare bodies.

Collating all feedback, complaints, soft and hard data and information in one place instead of the fragmented way it is held in so many different places currently. That would provide a fuller, holistic picture of the ‘whole system’ rather than snapshots of bits.

It would also help as an early warning of quality or service failure because half a dozen issues which are currently viewed in isolation could be connected, potentially signalling sytemic failure and bigger concerns.

Simple but effective, I believe, and I also think it would bring a greater transparency to public services and hopefully improve public understanding, interaction and confidence in them.

It seems that the vast majority of people giving their views agree with those principles with solid support for the development of Engaging Communities Staffordshire (ECS). There is more information on ECS here and you can respond online to the public consultation until mid January here or hard copy here.

In addition, I will be hosting three public events early in the new year to hear views and answer questions:

• 9^th January, 6pm start Cannock, Venue: The Ballroom, Cannock District Council, Beecroft Road, Cannock. WS12 9SA
• 10^th January, 2pm start, Lichfield, Venue: King Edward V1 School, Upper St John Street, Lichfield WS14 9EE
• 11^th January, 6pm start, Stafford, Venue: The David Jones Centre, 96a Stone Road, Stafford ST16 2RS

It is important to book places in advance and advise if you have any special requirements. You can call 01785 277502 to book your place or e-mail: healthandsocialcareconsultation@staffordshire.gov.uk

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Nowhere’s exactly ‘flying’ economically but last quarter’s top spot shows work done in the last 2 years is working

The independent Inward Investment Quarterly Report for Autumn reported that Staffordshire created more jobs, with greater inward investment, than any other part of the UK.

The news reinforces Staffordshire’s reputation as a great place for business to invest. A string of firms, big and small, including some high profile ones such as Jaguar Land Rover and Amazon have committed to investing long term in the county.

The foundations for Staffordshire bucking the rather gloomy national trend are solid. They include the Business Support Fund we established two years ago to help fill the gap left by the lack of bank lending, creating a new County Council department focusing solely on economic growth and also creating one of the most successful Local Enterprise Partnerships in the UK.

But there’s no complacency here. We’ll continue to help younger people into jobs by building on the County Council’s position as a leader nationally in providing apprenticeships as well as a new ’red carpet’ approach which provides help for new businesses that want to relocate into appropriate parts of Staffordshire.

So, things are going pretty well considering the national and international situation but remember… things don’t just happen.

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Getting that bit older can be a challenge but it’s up to all of us to watch out for people being abused financially…

Sadly, this Christmas, there will be lowlifes who choose easy targets to defraud, rip off and take advantage of.

That’s why the Staffordshire Safeguarding Partnership has ramped up the “The Signs Were There…” campaign in the run up to the festivities. It’s important to realise how vulnerable family members or people in the local community could be taken advantage of.  

Last year 3,100 cases of financial, emotional, institutional, discriminatory and physical abuse and neglect were reported in Staffordshire but experts believe the real number is much higher, especially with regards to abuse against older people.

Independent Chair of the Partnership, Steve Wellings, said:  “We know that awareness of financial abuse is particularly low amongst the public which is worrying because it’s of growing concern nationally. It’s often the hardest to spot, which is why it’s all the more important we raise awareness of the issue, and give people the information on where to report it.”

Help vulnerable people to make ends meet this Christmas and watch out for the signs of financial abuse, which include:

• unexplained or sudden inability to pay bills
• unexplained or sudden withdrawal of money from accounts
• extraordinary interest by people in the vulnerable person’s assets
• recent change of deeds or title of property
• Personal possessions go missing from the person’s home

You can find out about financial, emotional, physical, sexual and institutional abuse, including neglect, as well as what happens when a report of abuse is made at www.stopabuse.info.

Even if you only suspect abuse, that’s enough of a reason to report it, in strict confidence, to the Authorities. 

Call 0845 604 2719 or email adult.protection@staffordhsire.gov.uk.