The new year got off to a slow start. Most of my work was focused on the budget webinars we conducted to engage with sectors of the local community. Some of the webinars have been shared on the Leicestershire County Council website and on my social media.
The consultation on the budget for 2023/24 closed on the 15th of January. We received over 600 responses, which is a far greater response than usual, and this response enables us to capture the views and concerns of residents.
We are currently reviewing those responses, prior to the proposed budget going to Cabinet on 10th February 2023 and then to the full council on 22nd February 2023 for approval.
The ‘Hop!’ Bus
Several residents recently contacted me about the change of bus stop for the First Bus 74 service. The service now stops at the St Margaret’s Bus Station instead of the Haymarket Bus Station. This has caused many issues for residents who have mobility issues as it is further to walk into the city centre.
The change of Bus Station was a commercial decision by the First Bus Company. I have enquired if they are willing to change back but this has been refused. The main reason for the change was to ensure that the service runs on time and ensures that the frequency of the bus service is retained.
In March 2023 a new ‘Hop!’ service is being launched. This will provide a bus service for residents between St Margaret’s Bus Station and Haymarket Bus Station
The new Greenlines ‘Hop!’ service will see state-of-the-art electric buses operating in the Leicester City centre, offering free travel on a route connecting Leicester’s transport hubs with many of the city’s attractions and other key destinations.
‘Hop!’ will operate on a clockwise loop around the city centre, serving St Margaret’s Bus Station, Haymarket Bus Station, Leicester Market, Leicester Royal Infirmary, and St Nicholas Circle, improving accessibility, and making it far easier for people to get around the city.
This service will come into effect in March 2023, and more details will be announced soon including the appointed operator and the exact route and timetable.
This will be a FREE service operating every 15 minutes subsidised by Leicester City Council from government funding for local bus improvements.
Numeracy Champions
A three-year programme aimed at helping adults in Leicestershire to boost their confidence with numbers and to improve their numeracy skills is looking to recruit 100 volunteers from across the county to train as Numeracy Champions.
These Numeracy Champions won’t teach maths – their role is to help to improve people’s confidence with numbers by talking positively to those who may feel anxious about maths, support people to have a more positive approach to numbers and signpost to them ways of improving their numeracy skills.
Leicestershire County Council has been awarded £3 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and is working in partnership with charity National Numeracy to recruit and train the 100 Numeracy Champions, as part of the wider Multiply programme.
The funding means that over the next three years, the council will be able to deliver hundreds of free courses, support and workshops to adults aged 19 and over who do not already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in maths or equivalent and need to improve their numeracy skills.
The council and National Numeracy are holding several online training sessions, which are delivered in two three-hour sessions, a week apart. Volunteers will need to participate in both parts of the training to be accredited as a Numeracy Champion.
The remaining sessions are being held on Thursday 9th & Thursday 16th February, and Tuesday 7th & Tuesday 14th March.
Anyone who would like to sign up to become a Numeracy Champion can do so via this link: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/news/appeal-for-people-to-sign-up-to-become-numeracy-champions
Volunteering
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of volunteers made a positive impact by bringing their local communities together and making a real difference to their lives.
Giving your time to volunteer can reap enormous benefits, both personally and professionally.
There are lots of different areas you can get involved in through the council. These include: -
- Country Parks
- Tree Wardens
- Environment Action
- Children and Family Wellbeing Service
- Independent visitors for children in care
- Cultural volunteering
- Training through volunteering.
To find out more, please visit: -
www.leicestershire.gov.uk/jobs-and-volunteering/volunteering
Young Person of the Year
The Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Mike Kapur, is celebrating the achievements of young people in Leicester and Leicestershire. The Lord-Lieutenant’s award for young people recognises the very best examples of achievement by young people in Leicester and Leicestershire.
You can nominate a young person in one of four categories. Finalists will be invited to attend a special awards ceremony where the overall winner will receive a £500 prize.
The criteria for nominations are: -
The young person is aged 13-19 living or attending full-time education in Leicester or Leicestershire
The young person can be nominated by other young people, their school, parent/carer, or any other agency
Joint or group nominations cannot be accepted
Previous finalists should not be nominated again unless there is a fresh story to tell.
There will be a separate award for each category. From the winners of these categories, one person will be announced as Lord-Lieutenant's Young Person of the Year 2023.
The Award categories are: -
- Young Person of Courage of the Year
- Young Volunteer of the Year
- Young Artist of the Year (The Joe Humphries Memorial Award)
- Young Leader of the Year.
The deadline for nominations is Friday 17th February 2023.
Further details can be found on the County Council website: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/
If you would like a paper copy of the nomination form, please call 0116 305 6002 or email [email protected]
Speeding
We have an ongoing issue with speeding across many of our villages. It is a very difficult issue to address, and we need the community to support us.
There are many ways of doing this, one of the best ways is to have a Community Speed Watch (CSW) in our communities. Community Speed Watch is an educational scheme to help people reduce speeding traffic though their community and is run by volunteers, supported by the county council. Further information is available on the link below if anyone is interested in starting a group in their community: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/road-safety/community-speed-watch-csw
You can also report speeding vehicles in areas through the Road Safety Partnership. The link to their website is here: https://www.speedorsafety.com/community
