County Cllr Report to the PC meeting

DIY Waste at Recycling Centres

On Sunday 18 June Government set out its plans on how DIY waste at recycling centres is going to be addressed via ‘changes that will be brought in to force this year’ (details here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/council-diy-waste-charges-abolished and here Summary of responses and government response – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Further clarity from Government is awaited on the implementation, detail and timing of its proposal, which importantly is not a ban on charging but is instead a limit on what should be accepted for free from householders.

The County Council has been charging for DIY waste at recycling centres for over 20 years and in 2018 removed a weekly free allowance of one 80 litre bag or one item a week from householders.

As it stands the new Government proposal is likely to specify that, in relation to small-scale projects undertaken by householders, there would be:

‘free disposal of DIY waste up to two 50L rubble bags (or one bulky or fitted item no larger than 2,000mm by 750mm by 700mm, the approximate size of a bathtub or shower screen)’

‘at a frequency of 4 visits per household over a 4-week period’

Government has clarified that new funding will not be provided to councils to deal with the extra costs of this change to legislation, with DLUHC deciding ‘that local authorities that currently charge householders to dispose of DIY waste will be required to absorb any associated costs’.

Have your say on our walking, wheeling and cycling strategy for Norfolk

Norfolk County Council has opened a public consultation on a draft walking, wheeling and cycling strategy for the county.

The strategy is an updated version of the previous walking and cycling strategy which was published in 2017. Since then, there has been a step change in national and local policy which has placed walking, wheeling and cycling at the heart of decision making.

The proposed new strategy brings together Norfolk’s local transport, environmental and public health ambitions and aims to make walking, wheeling or cycling the natural choice for both travelling from A to B and for leisure.

The draft strategy has been created following policy reviews, evidence collation and engagement with district councils and Active Norfolk. Now the county council wants to hear from residents, stakeholders and organisations to get their thoughts on the proposed strategy.

The scale and pace of delivering the strategy will be dependent on the level of funding the County Council can secure. Having this strategy alongside our already approved local cycling and walking infrastructure plans for Norfolk helps us to present our ambition to central Government and give us more likelihood of securing funding in the future.

The consultation is available online at www.norfolk.gov.uk/walking-wheeling-cycling and will be open until Friday 24 November. For anybody unable to complete the consultation online paper copies can be requested by contacting [email protected] or customer services on 0344 800 8020.

Household Support Fund winter support

Norfolk County Council is offering extra support to households this winter.

Earlier this year, Norfolk County Council announced it would receive further funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to run the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2024.

The council is receiving £13.4m from central government and adding an additional £400,000 to make the total programme of support worth £13.8m. It is working closely with district, borough, and city councils, VCSE and public sector partners to identify and implement a range of support measures to meet the needs of vulnerable households.

Since the fund began (October 2021) the impact on Norfolk communities of the fund so far has been significant:

NCC has supported over 130,000 households throughout the life of the fund.
NCC continues to provide food vouchers for over 30,000 eligible school children.
NCC has provided over 17,000 awards through our application-based Client Hardship Service (formally the Norfolk Assistance Scheme) ranging from food support through to providing white goods and winter essentials.
NCC has made over 546,000 awards in total through use of the fund across all rounds to date.
Support has also been provided through libraries (grab and go bags), the Nourishing Norfolk food hubs (store credit), our district council partners with a range of both proactive and reactive support and by working with our local VCSE community to directly support the most vulnerable Norfolk families.

The DWP’s upcoming Household Support Fund Awareness Week (16–22 October) also coincides with the launch date for our Norfolk libraries winter campaign.

Norfolk County Council is holding a Help for Households drop-in event at Great Yarmouth Library on Wednesday 18 October from 10.30 to 3.00pm.

At the library event, people will be able to get information about a range of support such as emergency funding for utility bills, food banks, how to apply for free school meals and cost of living vouchers, advice about managing money, and local support from Great Yarmouth Borough Council. There will be free hot drinks for everyone attending and for those with additional needs, free winter support items will be available.

As part of the Household Support Fund, all 47 of Norfolk’s libraries will be offering free winter support items until the end of March 2024 (while stocks last).