Care points implemented

The Care Commission has carried out an inspection of the housing support service run by the Council.

Focusing on several national care standards, it made three recommendations:

• ensure staff are briefed about the latest policy and procedure for the protection of vulnerable adults
• ensure the lone working policy is adhered to
• develop a system to enable feedback from and consult service users.

These recommendations are now being implemented.

The report can be downloaded at www.carecommission.com

Free entry to all our museums

People will soon be able to enjoy visiting all local museums free of charge.

Entrance fees have been scrapped at Drumlanrig’s Tower in Hawick and Jedburgh Castle Jail. In March next year, charges will also be removed from Mary Queen of Scots House in Jedburgh and the Jim Clark Room in Duns. Fiona Colton, the Council’s Senior Museums Curator, said: “We hope many more people will be encouraged to visit the museums as a result.”

Free entry was previously available at the Council’s seven other museums.

 

www.scotborders.gov.uk/museums

Model T birthday show

The 100th anniversary of the Ford Model T will be celebrated in the Borders in May.

About 100 cars from all over the world will be involved in the week-long event.

Cars are coming from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the US and will tour various Borders towns. There will be a display of the cars in Kelso on Friday 23 May.

 

Contact Mike Povey at mapov@aol.com or Alison MacPhee at macphees@blueyonder.co.uk for details.

More funds for CCTV

Town centre CCTV systems are to benefit this year from a £65,000 funding boost.

The eight systems include 60 cameras, linked to police stations, which help to keep our town centres safe.

CCTV systems have a short lifespan and need ongoing maintenance to keep the components up to date and in line with changes in technology.

They are reviewed in conjunction with the police, to ensure that they work most effectively.

Housing issues in the spotlight

The Council, in partnership with the Borders Housing Network, has commented on the Scottish Government’s Firm Foundations consultation on the future of housing in Scotland.

They welcomed the increased role of the private rented sector in meeting demand and the need to address first-time buyer problems.

The Council and the network also submitted a response to the rural housing enquiry, which aims to:

• identify obstacles to people in rural areas renting or buying
• assess the effectiveness of ways to overcome them.

500 local homes in Council survey

Over the next few months, 500 local homes will take part in a housing condition survey.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with the Council, wants to monitor the condition of private sector housing to help inform future investment strategies.

Those householders involved will be interviewed about repairs and costs and will then get a professional survey of their home.

 

Contact the housing strategy team on 01835 825169 or the surveying team on freephone 0808 238 5378

Improving parenting

Five young adults who had been accommodated by the Council attended a seminar on corporate parenting in March.

One of them, Nikita, gave a stirring speech that set out what she and other young adults think are the main priorities for the services they get.

The purpose of the day was to consider ways to improve employment opportunities for young people who are, or have been, looked after by the Council.

Two examples of good practice were highlighted:

• Step in the Right Direction – an award-winning scheme by Rhondda Cynon Taf that offers a Council traineeship programme to care leavers
• Working Rite – this project helps local trades to employ young adults at minimal cost.

The event was filmed by Voice Of My Own (VOMO), a film-making project by young people for young people.

On the fiddle

Young musicians followed the advice of classical violinist Nicola Benedetti and practised more often in a bid to improve their musical skills and raise money for the children’s cancer charity, CLIC Sargent.

A Practice-a-Thon, which took place earlier this session, raised £760 for CLIC Sargent and Borders Young Musicians – the parents teachers friends association that supports musical activities.

Task force on housing

A special task force has been set up to lead the way in increasing affordable housing for people in the Borders.

It will publish a report setting out its recommendations in June.

The Affordable Housing Task Force will focus on:

• examining the range of affordable housing currently available
• analysing costs
• investigating new and creative ways to enhance the current supply.

The report will include a list of the various barriers to affordable housing.

Once the report has been published, the task force will put forward recommendations to ensure that there is a continued supply of affordable housing.

In the Borders, average house prices are currently eight or nine times the average income.

There is also a heavy demand for rented homes.

Now Hazel’s heading for the shops!

The last issue of SB Connect included a competition to win shopping vouchers.

The first prize of £50 of vouchers went to Hazel Laing of Jedburgh. Maggie Bathgate of Birgham and Colin Douglas of Kelso both received £25 worth of vouchers.

Congratulations and happy shopping!

Get everything in the garden rosy

It’s that time of year again, when the towns and villages of the Scottish Borders are changing colour. Spring bulbs are starting to appear and we’re getting our green spaces back in order after the winter.

This is the time to start thinking about showing off your town or village to the best of your ability and entering it in the Floral Gateway competition.

The competition considers the appearance, cleanliness and community involvement of each town or village. There are various categories – town, large village, small village and wee village.

Closing date is 30 May. Judging will take place the week beginning 28 July, with the awards during the week beginning 8 September (to be confirmed).

 

Entry forms are being sent to community councils and previous entrants and can be downloaded, along with the guidelines, from www.scotborders.gov.uk Contact the Council’s parks and open spaces section on 01896 661770