Your SOMERSET In this edition Sedgemoor Autumn 2019 Improving Lives Improving lives for young Dementia care with a Connecting our Fostering - help a child in Sharing your information people See pages 4&5 difference See pages 6&7 communities See page 8 need See page 13 See pages 14&15 Stand Up For Care - sign our petition omerset County Council is asking everyone to stand up for care by signing our online pSetition calling for action. The petition, which is gathering support across local government and the care sector, calls for cross-party discussions before Christmas to end the well- documented financial shortfall in social care. Government funding hasn’t kept pace with the growing demands of an ageing population, leaving councils up and down the country struggling to provide the support and care that people deserve. The country needs a plan to fund social care in the long-term and your County Council is proud to be playing a lead role in forcing the issue. Leader of the Council, Cllr David Fothergill, launched the petition this summer and said: “There is nothing more important to Somerset than looking after vulnerable people. “The system for social care is broken – and this council is the one demanding change and is standing up for care.” You can sign the petition by visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/standupforcare - it only takes a few seconds to add your name, but you could be helping bring about change that lasts lifetimes. Earlier this year Somerset helped put care in the spotlight by working with BBC Panorama on its Crisis in Care documentaries. These films were seen by millions and showed the difficult decisions that come with meeting the growing demand for care at a time of limited funding. ▲ Turn to page 2 Somerset Recycle more than ever now! Waste Inside: permits, winter hours, better collections, and your full waste services guide Partnership ▲ From page 1 Contact us The powerful stories of inspiring families, carers, social Visit, David Fothergill care staff and volunteers have www.somerset.gov.uk played a big part in pushing the Council Leader issue right to top of the political and public agenda. Our thanks here’s been a lot of talk recently about social care. That’s go to everyone who took part. If you can’t find Tfine, that’s progress. But now that talk needs to become action. We worked with the Panorama team to help put social Everyday around 6,500 people what you need care in the spotlight. It’s done that and we’ve been thanked by in Somerset receive some sort many for our role in this. of care, thanks to a network of on our website: nearly 300 care providers. Last Across local government and the care sector – and increasingly year our care spend accounted ● Phone 0300 123 2224 amongst MPs and the wider public - there’s a growing for nearly 40 per cent of our Phone lines are open from 8am until understanding of the need for change. Social care funding whole net budget. And, with 6pm on Mondays, and 8.30am to simply hasn’t kept pace with demand and reform is urgently Somerset’s population ageing 5.30pm, Tuesday to Friday. needed. Somerset is right at the forefront of this campaign – faster than the national the funding model is broken. We don’t get enough money to average, the pressures are ● Write to us at provide the care, support, help and advice that our vulnerable being felt here more than many Somerset County Council, County other parts of the country. Hall, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1DY adults deserve. It’s not good enough. Please phone the numbers This is not about party politics. The below for the following leaders of all the political groups at J25 works services: County Hall have given the petition their backing. Successive underway Fostering enquiries governments have been unable to 0800 587 9900 tackle this issue and that cannot he multi-million-pound Adopt South West continue. A solution has to be found Tscheme to improve the 0345 155 1076 and it has to be one that politicians busy M5 Junction 25 in from all parties can stand behind. Taunton is underway. Somerset Heritage Centre It’s being upgraded to (01823) 278805 We’ve launched our ‘Stand Up For Care’ petition improve traffic flow, ease Somerset Road Safety (www.somerset.gov.uk/standupforcare) to try to force the peak-hour congestion and (01823) 423430 debate. By signing it you’ll be helping not just us as a council, open-up land for employment to the east of the M5. Somerset Waste Parnership but vulnerable people across the country. If we get 10,000 (01823) 625700 signatures we should get a response from Government. This includes widening the With at least 100,000 signatures, our petition will be considered roundabout and the Toneway ● Other useful numbers for debate in Parliament. That’s a huge number, but this is approach to the junction. something that should matter to everyone in every community, Citizens Advice Consumer up and down the country. Service Helpline 03454 04 05 06 Make no mistake, this is a national issue. The Local Government Street Lighting Faults Association estimates that by 2025 the national Adult Social 0845 601 0939 Care funding gap will be around £3.5bn. But it’s a national issue (office hours) and with extra urgency for rural counties like ours because of our 0845 795 9639 demographic pressures. In Somerset, in the next 20 years (for out of hours emergencies) around a third of our population will be aged over 65, compared Student Finance Direct to 24 per cent nationally. We are at the sharp end. Huge (Higher Education Students only) numbers of people will at some time in their lives rely on social 0845 607 7577 care of one form or another. There has been too much delay and Lane closures and reduced Wellington Community Office not enough action and I’m determined to do my bit to change speed limits are needed to (01823) 667279 that, and to take a lead to make this happen. keep people safe while the work takes place, and we thank ● District Councils EDITOR’S INFO everyone for their patience. Mendip District Council The upgrade is expected to 0300 303 8588 To get in contact with Your Somerset or to advertise in this publication, cost around £19.2m, with Sedgemoor District Council contact the Communications Team on (01823) 355020, email funding coming from the 0300 303 7800 [email protected] or write to us at Your Somerset, County Council, Somerset Somerset County Council, FREEPOST NAT 9109, County Hall, Taunton, West and Taunton Council, South Somerset District Highways England and Council (01935) 462462 TA1 4DY. contributions from developers. Somerset West and Taunton We gratefully acknowledge the support of organisations that advertise Council 0300 304 8000 in Your Somerset, but Somerset County Council can accept no To find out more about this responsibility for the products or services advertised. We advise and other key roadworks, as readers to make their own enquires before purchasing products or well as the latest traffic and services. transport updates, visit Pssst... Your Somerset costs 5p per copy to produce. www.travelsomerset.co.uk 2 - In the news Libraries on the road improving lives! Future funding ‘wellbeing’ spaces where you can access a range of health and protects the past wellbeing information and services? You can read or borrow a book from Despite the pressures on our budgets, we have our specialist health and wellbeing renewed our commitment to the South West collections, or come along to any Heritage Trust with a grant of over £8m to protect of our health and wellbeing related and promote our county’s heritage. events and activities, which can be booked free of charge. Home Library Service Don’t forget that there is a home library service available for anyone unable to visit a library for themselves, delivered in partnership Library Pop-up van with the Royal Voluntary Service Look out for our new ‘pop-up’ Library (RVS). van at community events and venues across the county. It’s getting out and Reading book groups about to tell people about the huge There are also a number of shared range of services now available at reading groups taking place at your local library. From health Bridgwater, Cheddar, Glastonbury, Museum of Somerset collections (such as positive mental Taunton, Wells, Wincanton and Yeovil health, autism and dementia) through libraries, run in partnership with The The funding of over £1.6m a year, for the next five to new and emerging technology and Reader, and led by a trained volunteer years, recognises the excellent work carried out by resources for children and young group leader. families, such as robots, coding the trust, and the contribution it makes financially and virtual reality. For more information about any and culturally to Somerset. of these services, visit The Trust is responsible for the running of the Wellbeing Zones www.somerset.gov.uk/libraries, very popular Museum of Somerset in Taunton, Did you know that both Taunton or phone 0300 123 2224 or pop the newly-reopened Somerset Rural Life Museum and Yeovil Libraries have dedicated into one of our libraries. in Glastonbury, and Bridgwater’s Brick and Tile Museum. Be a flu fighter It also runs the Somerset Archives and Local Studies Service, which holds more than three The flu vaccine is the ● living in a long-stay residential million documents dating from 705 AD to the best protection we care home or other long-stay present day.