Leicestershire Matters

The commission is an independent body which aims to ensure your money is spent economically, efficiently and effectively.

It has rated the County Council as ‘excellent’ in its second comprehensive performance assessment. There are five ‘ratings’ which are: Excellent, good, fair, weak and poor.

Particularly praised is the Council’s leadership within the community and our enthusiasm to improve services further. It says we have a strong sense of what matters to the people of Leicestershire - quality services.

It also says we have a history of delivering good quality services at a relatively low cost.

Since previous inspections when we were rated ‘good’ we have undertaken major changes to highways services, improved our public transport services and re-organised residential services for elderly people and for children in care. We are also building new special schools replacing or refurbishing a number of libraries and improving access for people to services.

The latest assessment highlighted some areas for improvement. These include the need to develop an overall long-term vision for the Leicestershire area; making our priorities clearer to residents and improving satisfaction levels with Council services.

For more details on the assessment, call 0116 305 6010 or view the Assessment Report. pdf.document (90Kb)

The key points

The report says we have made improvements to:

Social Services – the County Council ‘has sustained and improved its already good performance at a high level’ (see Top Star Rating Again story)

These are some of the views of our Leicestershire's Voice Citizens' Panel – which has more than 1,000 members who give their views around three times a year.

The need for greater use of CCTV cameras, more support for victims and increased community involvement were also identified by the panel.

Three-quarters of panel members feel safe in their local areas and a similar proportion have never been a victim of or have witnessed a crime. Motor vehicle offences are the most commonly experienced crime followed by vandalism and damage to property.

Four in ten panel members think they are likely to become victims of crime and many take greater precautions in response to fears about crime.

People are aware of the crime reduction initiatives Crimestoppers and anti-social behaviour strategies, but not of crime and disorder reduction partnerships.

Other issues addressed in the consultation include parking, roadworks and Local Transport Plan priorities.

For more details on the survey and on how issues raised will be taken forward visit the Have Your Say pages of our website or contact Paula Dodd on 0116 305 8016 or e-mail: pdodd@leics.gov.uk

See ‘The Budget’ story on extra funding to combat crime.

We have Market Town Shopping Guides for Melton Mowbray, Lutterworth, Market Harborough, Market Bosworth, Ashby, Broughton Astley and Shepshed. A guide for Coalville will be available shortly

They include a colour-coded map, descriptions of shops, banks and building societies; locations of businesses, pubs, hotels and takeaways; and information on markets and tourist attractions.

We are producing the guides, with funding from the Leicester Shire Economic Partnership to help improve the commercial viability of market towns.

They are available from local shops or tourist information centres. Alternatively, call 0116 305 7031 or e-mail: Leics-Matters@leics.gov.uk with your address details.

A delegation of business and political leaders met senior government officials and also made valuable contacts within the business community.

Increased co-operation will mean Leicestershire and the East Midlands being more effectively promoted to Chinese businesses as locations for their European headquarters. Educational links were also strengthened during the visit.

For details on trading with China call Min He at the Leicestershire-Sichuan Trade Bureau on 0116 258 7312, e-mail: min.he@blleics.co.uk or visit: the Leicester Shire-Sichuan Trade Bureau website

The directory is a free website that holds over 1,000 local, national and web-based services for children, young people and parents.

Visit: the Bridges website to search by keyword, A-Z or category. We are currently receiving, on average, 130 visits a day.

To request leaflets, further information or for advice, call our helpline on 0116 305 7979.

My child is receiving unsolicited text messages which are costing around £1.50 for each. What can I do to stop them?

Any mobile phone user who replies to an offer for telephone services such as ring tones could have this problem. The terms and conditions of these types of offers may mean that you have agreed to receive more texts for an unlimited period and most probably at a high cost! I suggest that you contact your service provider and through them the text service business and cancel the contract immediately (preferably in writing). Our free leaflet ‘Buying a Mobile Phone’ answers many mobile phone-related questions, for a copy or further advice, call our helpline.

I am fed up with receiving postal junk mail, telephone sales calls, automated prize notifications and unwanted e-mails. What can I do to stop them?

The following organisations will help to solve your problems and it’s easy to contact them!

Write to: Mailing Preference Service, FREEPOST 29 LON20771, London, W1E 0ZT.

Call: 0845 703 4599.

Visit: www.mpsonline.org.uk

Write to: The Telephone Preference Service Limited, DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SS.

Call: 0845 070 0707

Visit: www.tpsonline.org.uk

Call: SILENT CALLGUARD 0870 444 3969.

visit: www.dma.org.uk and simply click on the e-mps logo  

I’m so used to imperial units that when I go shopping I’m not sure how much I need to buy. Could you help?

You could use this handy table to help with conversions.

All courses are run by qualified and experienced instructors.

At Beaumanor Hall near Woodhouse and Quorn Hall we are offering:

We have Summer Holiday Adventure Weeks in August at our outdoor activities centre, Aberglaslyn Hall in North Wales. These are for 11 to 18-year-olds and include rock climbing, gorge walking and evening activities.

For details of dates and costs for:

Our staff will conduct these ceremonies at our impressive registration venues or at prestigious buildings, hotels and restaurants already licensed to hold civil wedding ceremonies.

Naming ceremonies will enable parents to:

A certificate is presented to the parents, supporting adults and if appropriate, grandparents.

The ceremonies are likely to cost between £150 and £250 depending on the day the event takes place.

Call 01530 832007 to book or e-mail: Leics-Matters@leics.gov.uk for more details.

Our successful rural cinema project, Centre Screen, has been extended.

We are building upon last year’s pilot, where 32 voluntary promoters presented screenings to over 2,000 people in village halls across Leicestershire and Rutland, by extending the number of screenings.

The scheme brings a range of films, including recent releases and classic cinema, to rural audiences. It is run in partnership by Leicestershire County Council, District Councils, Rutland County Council, EM Media and Phoenix Arts.

The latest round of screenings continues until the end of June; many will include a short film and archive material in support of the main feature.

To find out if the project is coming to a venue near you, pick up a Centre Screen leaflet at your local library or e-mail leics-matters@leics.gov.uk