West Devon November Report

Parish Councils November Report 2022 WDBC

Electoral Registration Canvassing

It is that time of year again when we will be sending out canvassers to all properties within the council area who are required but have not yet returned a Canvass Form with regard to Electoral Registration.

This is an annual process. The canvassers will be trying to make contact with those households who have not supplied information that we have requested under Electoral Registration legislation.

We will be advising the police that they will be calling on properties, but also wanted to inform you in case you have any contact from concerned residents. The canvassers will be carrying ID and will be delivering forms and not taking information at the doorstep, unless it is offered to them.

This is a statutory process which needs to be completed in advance of publishing the new Electoral Register on 1 December. We will also carry out some social media on this important process.

Annual Rough Sleeper Estimate

All local authorities are required to submit a ‘snapshot’ estimated figure on the number of rough sleepers in the local area during a specified night between 1 October and 30 November.

West Devon will be submitting an estimate based on the number of people believed to be sleeping rough on the night of Monday 14 November through to Tuesday morning of 15 November.

We choose to submit an estimate as the most accurate way of arriving at a number due to the large geographic areas, a full count would not be able to encompass all the areas involved.

Instead, we work with partnership agencies such as the Police, Rough Sleeper Drop-In centres and park rangers to collate a figure based on verified sighting of rough sleepers or individuals we have very strong reason to believe were rough sleeping on the specified night.

Some rough sleepers will never make contact with the Housing Advice Service, so it would be very helpful if you let us know of anyone sleeping rough.

If you don’t know their name, the place where they are usually found, and a brief description would suffice.

The definition of a rough sleeper, for the purpose of the Government’s estimate is as follows:

People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). People in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or “bashes”).

Your help will ensure we get the most accurate figure possible to report back to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. We will also be consulting our colleagues in other voluntary and statutory agencies for their assistance too.

We are committed to working with rough sleepers to try and find solutions to help them access accommodation. We will use the intelligence we get from our estimated counts to inform our ongoing work.

To advise WDBC of rough sleepers in West Devon please email

A Community Store for South Zeal survey

You may have heard that South Zeal is at risk of the closure of the Post Office and shop. There is a steering group working with the Plunkett Foundation to form a community shop and PO.

The Plunkett foundation assists with advice and grants for communities trying to buy premises and continue to run POs and shops as community owned ventures.

The steering group is currently carrying out a survey gathering evidence of community support for this venture. It is available online or as a paper copy, and has gained over 80 responses in one week. We will be delivering paper surveys to as many households as we can over the next week.

Please complete a survey if you use the outreach post office or the store itself. It will help the steering group make a good business case for why we need to keep this vital community asset if enough people will support it and use it.

https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/k5CPEP4f

Council Tax Reduction Consultation

West Devon’s Hub Committee agrees to ask the public for their opinion on changes to their Council Tax Reduction Scheme.  The Consultation will open on Monday 7 November and run until 18 December.

The Council Tax Reduction Scheme is a scheme which is run by councils across the country, which recognises that households have different pressures.  Depending on where you live, your income, the size of your family and what benefits you already claim; you could have your Council Tax bill significantly reduced. Each year, councils must review their scheme and decide if they are going to change it or leave it the same. 

At a meeting at the Council’s Hub (Tuesday 1 November), they proposed changes, which would start in April next year. The changes reflect the extra pressures that many households are feeling right now. 

The Council are inviting the public to tell them what they think of those proposals, before they decide if they should make them happen. 

To have your say visit:  

www.engagement.westdevon.gov.uk/council-tax-reduction-2023-24 

Cllr Lynn Daniel WDBC