Wiggenhall St. Germans Parish Council

Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Giles Orpen-Smellie has today launched a public consultation into the proposed budget for policing in the county for the coming year. The PCC is required by law to set the budget for Norfolk Constabulary and as part of this, determine how much the people of Norfolk contribute to the policing element of the Council Tax they pay. To inform this decision, Giles is consulting with people across the county. The consultation will run until 5pm Friday, 14 January and asks residents across Norfolk whether they will support Giles’ proposal for funding. In the consultation information published today, Giles outlines some of the key challenges facing Norfolk Constabulary in the changing face and complexity of crime. Being able to respond to the growth in domestic abuse incidents and the need to ensure Norfolk is a safe place for women and girls are amongst the items at the top of the agenda for the PCC, as he also prepares to launch his new Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan in the  spring. The plan will outline the priorities that Giles will hold Norfolk Constabulary to account for and where investment will be made. In the consultation document, Giles says: “My Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan will set a specific expectation for the police, in partnership with other agencies, to promote a co-ordinated county-wide response to violence against women and girls and to tackle high harm behaviours and criminality such as domestic abuse, rape and serious sexual offences. “It is incumbent on me to ensure the police have the necessary funding and resources to do so.” Following consultation with Norfolk’s Chief Constable Paul Sanford, Giles is seeking the community’s understanding for a precept rise of 3.59% – equivalent to £9.99 per year or 19p per week for a Band D property or £7.77 per year or 15p per week for a Band B property. The majority of properties in Norfolk are bands A to D. In the Chancellor’s October spending review, the rise was capped at £10 per year. “I understand that the last question many people will want to be asked is whether they support additional demands on their household budgets,” said Giles. “The reality we are faced with is that without an increase to police budgets the constabulary will not be able to maintain either the current level of service or be able to respond to these growths in demand.” As well as enhancing capacity with a number of officer and staff roles to respond to crimes of violence against women and girls, the PCC outlines the need to enhance drone capacity, which further enables the constabulary to respond to crimes particularly impacting rural communities, a growth in digital investigation resources and the need to ensure the force is able to meet the government’s carbon neutrality targets in its buildings across the county. “It is imperative that the plans we are making for the constabulary are ones that will support keeping our communities safe and responding to the changing face of crime,” said Giles. “Norfolk is a safe county to live and work in and I want it to stay that way – we must not lose through not sufficiently funding our police force.” Paul Sanford, Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary said: “The cost of providing effective policing has risen and so have the number of calls for our service. “Whilst we have seen significant decreases in neighbourhood crimes such as burglary, theft and robbery, crimes committed behind closed doors and particularly domestic and sexual abuse continues to rise. “I have reviewed every part of our budget to identify savings to meet our financial pressures and allow further investment in the frontline to address growing demands. “However, the savings that we have found are not enough and I have asked the PCC to consider an increase in precept.  The increase that I have requested is below inflation, but will enable me to make the improvements that are needed in areas such as our response to domestic abuse and serious sexual offences. Without an increase in precept, I will not be able to make the improvements that recent events have shown are critically needed.”

 

Have your say now

 

 

The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday, 14 January 2022. Printed copies of the survey and consultation documents are also available and can be requested by contacting the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk (OPCCN) in the following ways: Post: OPCCN, Jubilee House, Building 1, Falconers Chase, Wymondham, NR18 0WW Telephone: 01953 425657 Email: [email protected]

Anglian Water Support Poster

volunteer advert

We are writing to invite you and the residents of Wiggenhall St. Germans Parish to take part in a survey on how you feel about tourism in your area.

The survey is part of the Norfolk County Council EXPERIENCE project and is about summer  tourism. It will be carried out every six months over the next 2-3 years, focussing on winter and summer tourism alternately, you may have seen the previous one issued in April about winter tourism.

To take part please click on this link:

https://surreyfbel.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0GvxicG7WnmWsB0

More information:

• The results will be used to tailor the activities of the project and to better understand the benefits and disadvantages of tourism for local people.
• Anyone who is over 18 and a resident in Norfolk can take part.
• There’s a prize draw for £40 of Jarrold vouchers for participants (excluding employees of Norfolk County Council and their families, and anyone involved in the prize draw).
• The survey closes at midnight on 15^th October 2021.

We would be very grateful if you could redistribute this to your residents and networks, as it’s important that we get views from residents across Norfolk. If you are Parish Clerk to another parish, please do forward onto them.

We also have social media posts which can be shared:

And our NCC social media posts are here:

https://twitter.com/NorfolkCC/status/1443184271179587585

https://www.facebook.com/Norfolkcc (posted 29^th Sept)

Thank you in advance!

Best Wishes,

The EXPERIENCE Team.

 

West Winch Watlington & Airfield

Confidence Boosting Covid-19 Testing in the Rural Community

For some time now COVID-19 self‑test kits have been available free of charge in Norfolk from pharmacies, libraries, and by ordering online.  These are for individuals to use at home and for small businesses.  Self-tests, while not absolutely definitive, should give individuals a degree of confidence they are COVID-19 free.

However, many clerks and residents of our rural parishes are far from these sources of supply.

So, starting on Monday September 20^th two changes are coming. The first is Mobile Library Collect. An additional source of tests will become available via the Mobile Libraries which traverse, indeed criss-cross, the rural parishes of Norfolk visiting each one at least once per month. Simply, turn up and collect self-test kits.

The second is Neighbourhood Collect. Staff of local councils and group leaders can get up to 25 boxes* of COVID-19 self-test kits from libraries and mobile libraries to give out either to those who have less access to testing in their local council area, or to their group members to help give assurance they are meeting again in a safer environment. Please note: details will be collected such as, name, local council, group name, postcode, etc, and the tests must be stored between 2-30 degrees Celsius.

These changes are explained in the attached PowerPoint presentation, posters and stickers/logos.

Hopefully, these two new schemes will give added help to those on the wrong side of the digital divide and to those who are too frightened to come out and resume a more normal life in the community.

This programme is completely free to use across Norfolk, so make sure you are making the most of it.

Also, there is a mobile service potentially available that could bring an observed self-testing service to your parish for special, large events or where large numbers of hard-to-reach people are likely to gather such as community kitchens, lunches, markets, and the like. You can help by passing on information about such events or venues (or any other queries) to Aiden Skeels at [email protected]

* There are 7 tests per box designed to last 3.5 weeks assuming twice weekly testing.

COVID-19

Vaccinations:

All children aged 12-15 in England will be offered one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, following advice from England’s Chief Medical Officers which overrides the Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI)’s advice not recommending vaccines for 12-15 year olds.

In addition, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that booster jabs would be rolled out from next week for those over 50 or with serious immune conditions.

 

Shielding Programme ends for most vulnerable:

People previously considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable will not be advised to shield again, as the government agrees to end the requirement for centralised guidance for these groups following expert clinical advice. The closure of the shielding programme follows a pause to shielding guidance in place since 1 April 2021.

This decision is based on there being far more information available on the virus and what makes individuals more or less vulnerable, the success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme and the emergence of proven treatments, such as dexamethasone and tocilizumab, to support improved outcomes in clinical care pathways.

Shielding was introduced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the few interventions available to support those who were considered to be most at risk of serious illness from the virus.

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Poster FF Harvest Celebrations