Lancashire local issue 3

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Issue. 3

Inside This Issue: In Your Hour Of Need • Care • Leisure • Jobs • Classified • What’s On • Christmas

A company responsible for

bombarding people with millions of nuisance calls has been fined £850,000 by the Claims Management Regulator

The National Advice Clinic, based in Lancashire, which also trades as the Industrial Hearing Clinic or the Central Compensation Office, made nearly 6 million calls between October 2014 and April 2015 about noise induced hearing loss claims.

Many of those called were registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) – which tells companies that they did not want to receive such calls.

This resulted in almost 2000 complaints being received by Ofcom which is responsible for the TPS. The Claims Management Regulator (CMR) regulates companies that offer to help people claim compensation for issues such as personal and criminal injury and mis-sold financial products.

The government changed the law in December 2014 to give the CMR the power to impose financial penalties on companies who break the rules.

This is the fourth and biggest fine

issued so far, bringing the total collected to £1.6 million. CMR head Kevin Rousell, said: This company’s cold-calling campaign was deliberate and sustained, and a flagrant breach of our marketing requirements.

They showed an alarming disregard for the misery their tactics can cause, particularly to elderly and vulnerable people.

The size of this penalty demonstrates how seriously we take this issue nuisance calls will not be tolerated.

The fine comes 6 weeks after the CMR issued another large penalty of £570,000 and demonstrates the substantial effort by the CMR to clean up the industry and drive out rogue practices. Since 2010 the regulator has removed the licences from over a thousand claims management companies (CMCs), including 300 last year.

Justice Minister Lord Faulks said: Nuisance calls are a real scourge

CMR Head: Kevin Rousell

to households, and people have simply had enough. I am pleased the regulator has imposed such a substantial fine for such blatant and shocking behaviour. This follows

other large fines and the removal of over a thousand licenses from claims management companies since 2010.

The government is committed to protecting the public from this nuisance - that at best wastes people’s time and at worst causes significant distress.

A seven-year-old boy who was shot in the leg in Salford has

written a letter to Santa A seven-year-old boy who was shot in the leg in Salford has written a letter to Santa asking him to help find the people who hurt him and his mum.

Christian Hickey and his mum Jayne, aged 30, were shot on the doorstep of their home in Salford after answering the door to two men.

After a brief conversation, one of the men fired a number of shots which resulted in Jayne being hit twice in her legs and Christian being shot once in his left leg.

After numerous surgeries both have now left hospital and are recovering

but there is a long road ahead.

Like most young children in the lead up to Christmas, little Christian has written a letter to Santa with a list of presents that many others will ask for this year but with one heart breaking difference.

Top of his list is a request to Santa to help find the men who hurt him.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson of the Greater Manchester Police Serious Crime Division said: “It is heart wrenching to know that a little boy who should be writing a list filled with exciting gifts, has got this at the top of his Christmas list.

“What happened to Christian will stay with him for the rest of his life but what we can do is try to make this up to him by finding those responsible and bringing them to justice.

“These people have absolutely no place in civilised society and we remain as determined as ever to find them. “We are continuing to appeal for information and I would like to urge anybody who may know something to please get in touch.”

Anybody with information should contact police on 0161 856 9775 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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A COMPELLING stage presentation, which raises awareness of the importance of safe driving, is set to be rolled out to

college students across Lancashire

Aimed at changing attitudes and behaviour of 16-25 year old road users, ‘Safe drive, stay alive’ will feature a mixture of film clips and real life experiences from a variety of speakers including a paramedic, a fire-fighter and a road policing family liaison officer.

A bereaved mother, whose son was killed on Mother’s Day near to his home in Coppull, will give an emotional insight into the devastating impact of her son’s death. Daniel Birch was driving home after a night out when he lost control of his car and collided with a gatepost. Daniel was

three times over the drink drive limit.

It will be launched at Burnley Mechanics Theatre on Thursday 26 November before being rolled-out across the county by the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety.

Chair of the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety executive board Lancashire Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable Tim Jacques said: “Over the last five years fewer people have been killed or seriously injured on the Lancashire’s roads. However, we are not complacent and poor driver behaviour is clearly one of the main causes.

“Last year alone, 336 people aged between 16 and 18 were injured on Lancashire’s roads, which is why this production is so important. We want to change attitudes towards risk taking behaviour and ultimately encourage safer driving. “It’s an emotional, hard hitting production that seeks to jolt people into considering the full facts and potential consequences of careless driving and is specifically aimed at new drivers.”

The production will be promoted to colleges and it is hoped it will be delivered to around 20,000 students over the next year.

Police have released the CCTV image of a man they wish to speak to in connection

with an unprovoked assault

Police have released the CCTV image of a man they wish to speak to in connection with an unprovoked assault in the city centre which left a 20-year-old man and two 20-year-old women with serious injuries.

The three friends were walking along Little Lever Street in the Northern Quarter at around 2am on Saturday 17 October 2015, when they were approached by two men.

The men tried to engage the victims in conversation before launching into a brutal and completely unprovoked attack, punching the man to the floor and kicking him to the head.

They also attacked both women, punching them both to the floor and leaving one with serious injuries to her eye and nose. The first offender is described as black, in his late 20s to early 30s, with short hair and stubble. He was wearing jeans, dark trainers and a distinctive patterned shirt. There is no description of the second offender.

Constable Avril Gordon said: "These men subjected a young man and two young women to a vicious attack and left all three requiring treatment for facial injuries.

"So often we see attacks like this one end with more serious consequences, and it is sheer luck that these victims were left with injuries that did not require surgery or substantial stays in hospital.

"One of the women assaulted, Hannah Fryer, was brave enough to ask us to issue a picture of her injuries to demonstrate the severity of this attack.

"The brutal and unprovoked nature of the incident means it is vitally important that we identify and locate the men responsible.

"We have an image of one of the men, and he is wearing quite a distinctive shirt so I hope there is someone out there who can recognise and identify him to us.

"Similarly, if you were in the area at the time of the attack and believe you can assist our investigation, please do not hesitate to contact us."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 171015/0296 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 3.

Crane hire company convicted after death of 49-year-old man

A crane hire company has been convicted following a collision on a quarry access road in Edenfield which killed a 49-year-old man. Baldwins Crane Hire Limited was found guilty of corporate manslaughter, failing to ensure the safety of its employees and failing to ensure the safety of other persons at Preston Crown Court on Monday, November 30, following the death of Lindsay Easton. Mr Easton, from West Yorkshire, was driving a 130-tonne mobile crane on a road from Scout Moor quarry in Edenfield, near Ramsbottom, when the brake system failed around noon on August 15, 2011.

The vehicle, travelling on a steep access road, lost control and crashed into an earth bank. The front of the vehicle was crushed, with Mr Easton (pictured) dying from multiple injuries.Following the incident

an investigation was launched by Lancashire Police, working alongside the Health and Safety Executive.

It was found several of the wheel brakes were inoperable, worn and contaminated. The engine retarding (braking) systems were also found to be either non-functional, disabled and damaged providing only limited braking force.

As part of the investigation, brakes were inspected across the Baldwins fleet with several other cranes found to have significant issues which required immediate work. Significant failings were also found within the company structure. There was a lack of supervision and recording taking place of organised maintenance work by senior management.

The trial also heard the crane was not Mr Easton’s usual vehicle, having replaced another operator when he

took over the site operation. Baldwins Crane Hire Limited will be sentenced on December 22. In a statement, Mr Easton’s family said: “We hope that this case has highlighted the need for regular and supervised maintenance of heavy cranes and that lessons can be learned by those in the crane industry. “This is so that nobody else loses a loved one in the tragic and avoidable circumstances in which we did.” Det Insp Jim Elston, of Lancashire Police, added: “This tragedy was entirely avoidable had the company acted responsibly and ensured their crane fleet was effectively serviced and maintained.

“It has been shown from all the evidence that the state of the brakes on the crane were in a shocking condition and sadly it was an accident waiting to happen. “In a tragic irony the crane in question was not even Mr

Easton’s usual crane. “The company have shown a complete disregard for the safety of their employees and other road users in failing to prioritise the servicing of the braking systems on their vehicles. “It is clear from the evidence that this was systemic and not confined to the one crane involved in this accident.

“I can only conclude the company and its chairman Richard Baldwin overlooked necessary inspections and the expenditure needed on repairs and parts in the pursuit of making profit for the company.

“Tragically the gross failings of the company management have led to the death of an experienced crane driver doing his job and caused enduring heartache for his family. I hope these verdicts bring some closure for the family after such a long wait for justice to be done.”

Page 4. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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a second drink can

double your chance of being in a fatal collision

• 1 in 10 people would have 2 or more drinks before driving • 1 in 5 (19%) men aged 18 to 34 would have 2 or more drinks New research from THINK! shows that while half the population (51%) would not consider consuming any alcoholic drinks before driving, a shocking 1 in 10 people would consider having 2 or more drinks before they get behind the wheel. This increases to 1 in 5 among men aged 18 to 34 (19%).

The government has launched a new campaign to tackle drink driving, targeting those who do not recognise that even a small number of drinks before driving can be deadly. It urges everyone to THINK! before drinking and driving. New adverts highlight how a second drink can double the chance of being in a fatal collision.

Road Safety Minister Andrew Jones said: Drivers know that drink driving is wrong. It can destroy families and ruin lives. Yet some irresponsible drivers still take the risk and get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t.

Over the past 30 years drink drive deaths have fallen significantly but every death or serious injury is one too many. The best way for drivers to keep themselves and other road users

safe is simple: don’t drink and drive.

Today’s figures show that the majority of drivers in England and Wales are aware of the need to avoid drinking before driving. 60% of people surveyed said that it is not okay to drink at all before driving.

However, even though 93% of people don’t think it is right to drive after more than one drink, almost a fifth (18%) admit to having done so.

Sarah Sillars, Institute of Advanced Motorists chief operating officer, said: Many of the people we work with on our drink-drive rehabilitation courses aren’t repeat offenders, many are drivers who thought that a second one couldn’t hurt. We support THINK!’s campaign which highlights the importance of avoiding the temptation of ‘just one more’. Know your limits and know the legal limit.

Getting that second drink calculation wrong is easily avoided just by remembering that if you drive, don’t drink. Liz Brooker, Spokesperson for Road Safety GB, said:The combined efforts to tackle those who choose to drink and drive have been successful over the years. But some people still think of a drink driver as someone who drinks copious amounts and gets in the car. They don’t realise that they could be a drink driver too, by having a small amount to drink and taking to the road. This campaign will make people think twice before taking another drink, helping to make our roads safer. Research note: Interviews were conducted with 781 drivers aged 18 and over in England and Wales from 17 to 19 November 2015, using OnLineBus, the TNS internet omnibus survey.

The Voice and The

Voice Kids comes to ITV

ITV has now confirmed that award winning singing talent competition The Voice is coming to the network in 2017.

The UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster announced that a threeyear deal for ITV’s main channel has been struck with Talpa Global for The Voice, together with a three-season commitment for an ITV2 spin-off show. ITV has also signed a twoseries contract for The Voice Kids.

The Voice has become a global entertainment hit since its Dutch premiere in 2010, now counting close to 65 local versions airing in 180 countries, while The Voice Kids has almost 30 local adaptations. The record-breaking show is currently being watched on every continent,

attracting more than 300 million viewers, and has over 55 million Facebook fans and more than 10 million Twitter followers.

Peter Fincham, Director of Television at ITV, said: “ITV is the natural home of big entertainment so we are thrilled that The Voice and The Voice Kids are both joining our family alongside brilliant shows like The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here.”

Elaine Bedell, ITV Director of Entertainment and Comedy, added: “From the compelling blind auditions, through to the nail biting battle rounds, knockouts and live shows, The Voice has become a worldwide sensation and we are very much

looking forward to its arrival on ITV in 2017.” John de Mol, Talpa founder and creator of The Voice, said: “We are delighted that The Voice has found a new home at ITV. With the addition of The Voice Kids we are excited about working with ITV in 2017 to develop and expand The Voice experience for the UK audience after completing what we think will be a fantastic upcoming season on the BBC, who have been a great partner.”

Tewitfield Marina

luxury holiday homes

Tewitfield Marina is a waterside development of 5* luxury holiday homes situated on the Lancashire and Cumbria border with some of the North West’s most outstanding landscapes and tourist attractions right on its doorstep. The properties, sited on 5 landscaped acres along the bank of the picturesque Lancaster Canal. Set amid first class walking country it’s a dream base for cycling, horse riding, water sports and other outdoor activities. Less than 30 minutes drive from the Lakeland National Park, the Yorkshire Dales and the coastal resorts of Morecambe and Grange over Sands and under an hour from the Scottish Boarders.

We have a selection of 5 STAR, 1-bedroom apartments as well as 2, 3 and 4 bedroom townhouses for your

perfect self-catering holiday. Each cottage has been built, furnished and equipped to the highest standard offering you a luxurious home away from home with all linen and towels provided.

Our cottages are all double-glazed and centrally heated and contain flat screen televisions with integrated freeview and a DVD player in the lounge alongside TVs in every bedroom.

Solid oak furniture is used throughout and a fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, washing machine and microwave is there for your convenience. all the properties are finished to an exceptional standard with the attention to details that turns a holiday pad into a real home from home. Adjacent to us is a welcoming

country pub, serving real ale with a varied food menu. Just across the road is Greenlands Farm Village with its own farm shop selling crafts and local produce alongside a café where you can relax and sample fresh homemade food.

At this stylish holiday village, we offer three and four night breaks as well as holidays for a week or more and on occasions we also offer one and two night stays.

Tewitfield Marina is the perfect retreat for weekend breaks, extended stays and boating holidays offering a home from home experience. Book today on our website www.tewifieldmarina. co.uk using the promotional code FEST15 and receive a 10% discount on the advertised rates (excludes 1 and 2 night stays).

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St Luke Drawing the Virgin and

Child is at risk of being exported

The painting St Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child from Dieric Bouts’ workshop is at risk of being exported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £3,300,000 (plus VAT of £83,320).

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has placed a temporary export bar on the 15th century oil painting to allow time for a UK buyer to come forward.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: This distinctive painting is the only example of St Luke drawing the Virgin Mary and Christ by a Northern European artist on display in this country. I hope that a buyer comes forward to save this iconic piece for the UK. The painting depicts St Luke drawing the Virgin Mary and Christ, a popular subject in 15th Century Netherlands. Dieric Bouts was one of the leading and most influential Netherlandish painters of this period.

He was one of the pioneers of the oil painting technique and was also one of the first of his Northern European contemporaries to make use of singlepoint perspective, both of which are seen in the painting. The decision to defer an export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by the Arts Council. The RCEWA made their

recommendation on the grounds that the painting was of outstanding aesthetic importance and that it was of outstanding significance for the study of painting in the 15th century Netherlands.

RCEWA member Lowell Libson said: This extremely rare and expressive depiction of ‘St Luke drawing the Virgin’ allows an important opportunity to explore the activities of the influential Bouts family and their workshop in the second half of the fifteenth century as well as studio practice in the Netherlands. This painting includes not only a painter making a drawing - a study from ‘life’ - but also a delightful passage which reveals a tantalising glimpse of a painter’s studio. This adds to our knowledge of how a Flemish workshop was laid out and organised. Its retention in the UK would enhance the study and our understanding of Flemish painting of the period.

WePROTECT Children Online

The Child Abuse Image Database (CAID), launched by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary last December during the WePROTECT Children Online Summit in London, is transforming the way police forces and the National Crime Agency (NCA) tackle online child sexual exploitation (CSE).

Previously, a case with 10,000 images could typically take up to 3 days. Now, after matching images against CAID, a case like this can be reviewed in an hour, shifting the balance from reviewing images to identifying victims. In the first six months of this year alone, UK authorities identified over 185 victims of this abuse – already more than for the whole of any previous year.

CAID initially involved 7 police forces and over the last 12 months has been rolled out to all UK forces and the NCA. Home Secretary Theresa May said: Online child sexual exploitation is a complex crime and we must be innovative in the way we target these devious offenders who use the internet to prey on innocent children.

The fact that every UK police force has now signed up to the Child Abuse

Image Database means more victims are now being identified than ever before; investigations are faster and more effective.

However, this fight cannot be won by the UK alone. It is a global crime and through WePROTECT; governments, NGOs, industry and law enforcement agencies are securing a safer future for children around the world.

At today’s WePROTECT summit in Abu Dhabi, Minister for Internet Safety and Security Baroness Joanna Shields said: Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a global crime that requires a global response. This is why in the UK, we are making sure our agencies have the technology, powers and capabilities they need to tackle the perpetrators of this horrendous crime, and to identify and protect the victims of sexual abuse.

The Child Abuse Image Database has underpinned work to deliver real improvements in how we tackle online child sexual exploitation, including taking less time to review images and allowing more time and resource to identify and protect victims. At the first WePROTECT summit in 2014 the Internet Watch

Foundation (IWF) committed to working with technology companies to share hashes – digital ‘fingerprints’ – of indecent images of children.

Since then, almost 19,000 of these hashes – all of which originated from CAID – have been assessed by the IWF and shared with 5 major global technology companies, to enable the removal, and prevent the sharing, of potentially hundreds of thousands of images from their platforms and services. Industry have committed to build on this by continuing to work with UK law enforcement agencies and the IWF. At this year’s WePROTECT summit countries will be committing to develop their own national responses to eliminate online CSE. There will also be an international pledge by countries, companies and civil society organisations to work together to coordinate sharing the digital ‘fingerprints’ of child abuse images globally. The Prime Minister will be holding international discussions next year to take this forward.

Daily Poppins

St Helens and Widnes

The Daily Poppins domestic and light commercial cleaning service, covering St Helens and Widnes, was started in 2011 by Carole Critchley following a decision to have a career change and a long held desire to run her own business. Carole identified a gap in the market for a high quality reliable service, and following many years experience in Domiciliary Care Management decided the time was right to make the change.

Having no experience of running her own business Carole decided that belonging to a franchise would give support, and help to launch this successful business, choosing Daily Poppins as their business model best matched her own ideas and plans. Carole has been able to utilise her many years experience of providing care support within people’s own homes, a role which involved organisational skills, confidentiality, security, reliability,

consistency and communication, and transfer these qualities to provide a top class cleaning service, looking on it as another type of service within the client’s home or business, understanding the responsibilities of working in someone’s own home, and being personally aware of the needs and requirements of the commercial environment. Many years of recruiting and managing care staff has given Carole the knowledge and experience to recruit the best applicants for the job. All staff are employed, and are vetted carefully before being taken on for training; Carole looks for the right personality not necessarily existing cleaning skills, although staff have to enjoy cleaning in order to provide a premium service. Successful applicants are trained in the Daily Poppins cleaning method which helps to avoid missing any areas, and all staff are DBS (previously CRB) checked. Carole visits each potential

new client to discuss their particular needs and requirements, and builds flexibility into the cleaning schedule.

There is a 10% discount on the first clean for all new clients, and a “Recommend a Friend” reward for existing clients who recommend a new customers (after a minimum 4 visits) Payment is easy with several options offered: - Cash - Cheque - Standing order - Credit and Debit card For more information about the expert service call Carole on either 01744 644 061 or 0151 268 6047, or email carole.critchley@ dailypoppins.com

Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 5.

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Chief Constable reaction to the Autumn Statement

Following the Autumn Statement the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary Steve Finnigan gave his reaction.

“Today the Chancellor George Osborne has announced that there will be no further cuts to police budgets.

“I am delighted by what is clearly welcome news especially as just six weeks ago I outlined what I saw as catastrophic proposals for policing in Lancashire as a result of today’s forecasted Comprehensive Spending Review, changes to the police funding formula, and the cuts we have already made. “Today’s announcement that there will be no further cuts means the future is looking much brighter and I would like to thank our staff, the people of Lancashire, the Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw, the Police Federation, Unison and all those who have lobbied tirelessly to make the government aware of the risks of further cuts and I would like to thank the Home Office and the Treasury for listening to the points we were making.

“The positive attitude shown by all officers and staff during these challenging and uncertain times can only be described as outstanding and their commitment to serve and protect the public has never wavered.

“Although today’s news is good, we cannot be complacent. Cumulatively we have seen our budget reduce by £74m since 2010. Changes to the funding formula have been delayed until 2017 after it became clear that the Home Office made an error with the funding formula calculations, but it is still a cloud hanging over us and

we cannot forget about this.

“The changes we have been developing as part of our organisational change programme we still intend to implement, in order to deliver required savings and to improve the policing services through a more efficient and effective organisational model.

We will continue to reconfigure the organisation to focus on priority high risk areas like public protection, counter terrorism and cybercrime to improve delivery while minimising the impact on frontline policing.

“Following recent horrific recent events in Paris there has been a lot of talk about the erosion of a neighbourhood policing, which would have been hugely regrettable given its role in providing information and intelligence about suspected terrorist activity or any other type of criminality. This is the crown jewel of policing in Lancashire and something we will continue to invest in.

“We have committed to keeping the

public safe by delivering three core services – local policing, a 24/7 response and tackling serious and complex crime.

“Early Action will remain a key organisational priority to deliver problem solving and reducing the repeat demand we see from people at their most vulnerable, those who have gone missing and are at risk of self-harm, those with mental health problems and those who are socially isolated and unable to take care of themselves. This prevents escalation to a more serious and costly crisis which inevitably impacts on police resources and those of other agencies.

“I would once again like to pass on my thanks to all my officers and staff for their continued hard work and dedication. I have no doubt the organisation will look different in the next five to ten years but I am now optimistic that we will continue to be able to provide a quality service to the people of Lancashire that keeps them safe from harm.”

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 7.

Page 8. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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One third of older people in

the UK affected by loneliness

The greatest gift you can give this Christmas is your time Friends of the Elderly is calling upon people to hold local Christmas activities so no older person will be alone on Christmas Day unless they want to be.

As official partners of Community Christmas for 2015, national charity Friends of the Elderly hopes that more people than ever will get involved as around 500,000* older people in the UK are predicted to spend Christmas Day alone.

Last year there were 242 Christmas Day activities listed on the Community Christmas website, which saw a number of older people spending Christmas Day together enjoying one another’s company.

However, research by Friends of the Elderly shows that 35% of all older people are affected by loneliness** – meaning that many more activities are needed to ensure these people aren’t alone on Christmas Day.

As a response to this, Friends of the Elderly and Community Christmas are calling for volunteers to give the gift of time by organising a Christmas Day activity for older people in their communities and listing the event on the Community Christmas website.

Almost two thirds of people*** surveyed by Friends of the Elderly, as part of its Be a Friend campaign, said they feel they could do more to support older people at Christmas time – if you’re one of them then now is a good time to start planning your community Christmas.

Organising an activity is easy – it’s not just about the turkey dinner, you could get people together to watch a Christmas film, share a cup of tea and a mince pie, or enjoy a Christmas Day walk.

If you’re a local business owner, think about how you can open your doors to older people in your community – pub landlords and restaurant owners could operate a ‘book alone but don’t dine alone’ system, call centres could open their staff canteens for festive treats, and local taxi firms could operate a lift scheme to and from Christmas Day activities.

If you’re already organising an activity on Christmas Day, or know of one in your area, then make sure you contact Community Christmas so it can be listed on the website making it easier for older people to know what’s happening near to where they live.

Whatever you decide to do, you will

help make sure more older people, who would otherwise be alone, have something to look forward to on Christmas Day – making it a very Merry Christmas indeed.

For more information please visit www.fote.org.uk/Christmas * Royal Voluntary Service predicted in 2014 there would be 490,000 older people who would spend Christmas alone ** The Future of Loneliness: Facing the Challenge of loneliness for older people in the UK, 2014-2030. Research conducted by the Future Foundation on behalf of Friends of the Elderly *** Friends of the Elderly, 2014

Dickensian Christmas Festival

This is the seventeenth year for our Dickensian Christmas Festival, one of the most popular Dickensian Festival events in the country. It attracts thousands of people but it's not too packed for visitors and local people to wander around and have a fabulous time and savour the wonderful atmosphere of a traditional market town in the Dickensian era.

As a community event, we rely heavily on local people and as a result we often cannot firm up our exact programme until just before the event itself as we are subject to many last minute changes. As well as Ulverston's fantastic specialist shops, great pubs and cafes, cobbled streets and great atmosphere, there is a huge variety of free entertainment, free events for children , costume competitions, balloon modelling, horse drawn carriages, music, dancing. And its all FREE! Plus a

wonderful traditional fairground, complete with Helter Skelter, and lots of music from Folk to Brass Bands.

There is also a fabulous Christmas market, with lots of unusual gifts and festive food. Plenty of opportunity for Christmas Shopping in a great atmosphere. Plus lots of places for food and drink and a sit down. Why not come in costume and enter into the spirit of the event and take part in our period dress competition and the grand parade around the town which takes place on both days?

Spinningfields

Ice Rink

Christmas Ice Skating Event

Spinningfields Ice Rink is the perfect place to soak up the Christmas atmosphere in Manchester, Ice Skating on real ice at Spinningfields .

Spinningfields Ice Rink welcomes all ages and ability of skaters, whether you’re a pro or a first timer, you will be sure to enjoy the experience in this stunning Manchester City Centre location. Nestled on The Lawns besides Hibernate and The Long Bar. Spinningfields Ice Rink is the only open air ice rink in Manchester City Centre. The perfect festive activity where friends, family and loved ones can skate under the stars. The 525sqm of real ice rink is one of the largest rinks in the Greater Manchester area and can hold up to 220 skaters.

Sessions last for 1 hour – this includes time to get your skates on too so you can expect to have 50 minutes on the ice.

There’s lots of places to eat and drink at Spinningfields. The two venues next to Spinningfields Ice Rink are the perfect place for families and skaters to warm up after their spin on the ice. Hibernate and The Long Bar both offer a warm and festive feel for you to enjoy your festive day out.

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LOST SON OF INDIA FOUND

IN HAYDOCK HIGH

Or ‘Arthur’ as he is affectionately known as by the pupils of Haydock High, Arthur is the name given to a human skeleton previously used as an educational tool at the School, who after forty years of service will be granted a dignified send off at GreenAcres Woodland Burials in Rainford.

Because of the length of time ‘Arthur’ has been at the School, no one has been able to explain why or how he arrived. It was thanks to the due diligence of Sandra Dixon a Technician in the art department and local Funeral Director Bill Craddock at Haydock Funeral Services, that Arthur’s true identity was uncovered.

In the October of 2014, Sandra was assigned with reorganising the art department and came across ‘Arthur.’

Sandra Dixon is quoted as saying; ‘I remember thinking could this be a real skeleton’ Sandra decided to carry out tests to determine whether it was worth pursuing, the results showed a strong indication that it was a human skeleton and so decided to speak to Funeral Director Bill Craddock.

Bill Craddock is quoted as saying; ‘I told Sandra that I would get in touch with some of my contacts and send the skeleton off for further tests.’

When the laboratory report came back it concluded that it was indeed a human skeleton, he was a male age between twenty five and thirty, and he was most likely from India. Following this discovery Bill promptly

offered to supply the School with a full funeral including wicker coffin, hearse and bearers free of charge.

GreenAcres Woodland Burials in Rainford are providing a burial plot at no cost for Arthur in their beautiful Orchard situated within Lord Derby’s Estate. Keely Thompson Marketing & Community Liaison at GreenAcres – Rainford states; ‘We are more than happy to provide a final resting place for ‘Arthur’ it’s a beautiful place of burial, nestled between emerging orchard trees and overlooking the rolling countryside.’

The funeral will take place at GreenAcres – Rainford on the 3rd of December at 10:00am led

by Funeral Director Bill Craddock, Interfaith Minister Deirdre Brannigan, GreenAcres Park Manager Karen Halpin, Haydock High Sandra Dixon and a number of students from the school.

All involved are looking forward to seeing Arthur

at peace in a beautiful and tranquil place, after finally receiving a dignified send-off from the students at Haydock High. [END] For press enquiries, please contact Keely Thompson Marketing, Community & Funeral Director Liaison GreenAcres Woodland Burials – Rainford. t: 01744 649189 e: keely.thompson@greenacreswb. co.uk

Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 9.

Page 10. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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Everyone is welcome at the Longfield Suite

which has organised a family friendly

Prestwich Winter Fair on Sunday 13 December

More than 40 stalls will be selling everything from Christmas decorations to handmade crafts, clothes and jewellery. There will be a number of local community stalls, and also fundraising stalls including Grace’s Place children’s hospice.

Bags for Love will be collecting goods for refugee children arriving in Greece. Thanks to the Prestwich Beer

Festival, there will be a selection of real ales, mulled wine, festive food, mince pies and Stollen. Throughout the day there will be performances from Jo Bernstein, Prestwich’s Got Talent finalists and Revise, plus festive music from Northern Air Radio. Santa will be in his Grotto, provided by the Prestwich Carnival Team, offering presents for children

and photos for the parents, all in aid of Grace’s Place, plus face-painting sponsored by Jennie Platt Estate Agent.

The fair runs from 10am to 4pm and admission is free.

Councillor Jane Black, chair of Prestwich Township Forum, said: “Everyone is so pleased that Prestwich is to have a winter market once again this Christmas. The response has been terrific, with nearly 40 stalls booked plus Father Christmas and entertainment. This event will showcase local food, craft and talent, and help raise funds for important good causes.”

Celebrity Pop-UP Restaurants For Festival

Pop-up restaurant nights with celebrity chefs have been added to the menu for Bolton’s Winter Festival.

Former BBC Masterchef finalist Jackie Kearney and Manchester chef Robert Owen Brown will join 2015 Masterchef winner Simon Wood and Great British Bake Off finalist Luis Troyano for a series of Christmasthemed cookery events. The festival, organised by Bolton Council, takes place from November 28 to January 3. New this year are two giant tipis in Victoria Square, which will host the pop-ups and cookery demos.

On December 3 and 10 (noon to 2pm) and 17 (6pm to 8pm) Luis will demonstrate three festive bakes – Christmas star bread, frangipane tart, gingerbread Christmas cake.

Afternoon demos cost £5 and include a hot drink. Tickets for the evening demo are £7.50 and include a glass of fizz. Samples of all three bakes will be available at all of the demos.

And a total of six pop-up restaurant nights will be held in December.

Dinner is 6.30pm for a 7pm start except Jackie’s, which is 7pm for a

7.30pm start. Tickets are £30. On December 4 and 5, Jackie Kearney, who runs Chorlton street food pop-up and supper club The Hungry Gecko, will be cooking a menu inspired by her travels from India to Indonesia.

Dishes include pani puri pops, Malaysian rendang and baked Alaska, with pistachio sponge served with Ginger’s Comfort Emporium chai spiced ice cream. On December 11, and 12, Robert Owen Brown will be cooking up a five-course fine dining experience inspired by the carol, 12 days of Christmas. Robert, who was behind the Mark Addy restaurant, will be treating diners to courses including “four calling birds” - a bird in a bird in a bird, sat in a pear tree, served with drumsticks. Masterchef champion Simon Wood will be bringing a Nordic supper experience, on December 18 and 19. Since winning, he has been appointed executive chef of Oldham Event Centre part of Oldham Athletic Football Club.

His menu includes roasted cod and a dessert of apple cake with fudge caramel. Leader of Bolton Council,

Cllr Cliff Morris, said: “We are determined to make this year’s Winter Festival the best ever. “People have a passion for good food and they love seeing celebrity chefs, which was no more evident than at this year’s successful Food and Drink Festival, and we believe these pop-restaurants and cookery demonstrations will be incredibly popular. “It would be a good idea to book as soon as possible as tickets are bound to sell out quickly.”

Places are limited. Book tickets on www.visitbolton.com/ winterfestival/tipi or from the on-site box office. Other highlights of the festival include two ice rinks, a Santa’s grotto, a nativity scene and a festive Artisan Market along Deansgate (December 1 to 6). The special Winter Festival programme will follow the Christmas Lights switch-on, held on November 19. Market Place Shopping Centre is sponsoring the ice rinks and the grotto is being sponsored

by Party and Play Funhouse, from Westhoughton.

BBC Masterchef 2015 winner Simon Wood will be cooking at a pop-up restaurant for Bolton Winter Festival

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Tatty ash tours at Fred Dibnah’s

Come along to the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre for a great day out, there will be Hot Tatty ash ( Potato Hash ) Beetroot, Red cabbage, all you can eat, a hot cuppa, and Mince pies with cream, enjoy an entertaining tour of Freds home and workshops, a fascinating look into the Victorian age that put the Great in Great Britain.

Most of the tour will be indoors in a lovely cozy warm atmosphere where you will see the open fires lit in the house, you will hear lots of amazing stories about Fred’s escapades, told

by Fred’s pal Alf Molyneux as seen on TV. Lots of wonderful memorabilia to take home, including DVD’s, books, pictures, even Freds beautiful famous drawings.

Adults £12 including food and drinks,

children under ten go free children over ten half price.

Tatty ash Tour Dates will start at 2pm on Saturday 14th Nov. 21st. Nov 28th Nov. 5th Dec 12th Dec. To order Tour tickets call 01204 531303 or 0797 681 2596 Stop Press; special Christmas tour at 2pm on December 30th. Mince pies and chestnuts galore £12 all inclusive. Book now as limited places available.

You can also purchase normal tour vouchers which make a wonderful Christmas present and can be used any time throughout the year.

Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 11.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 13.

Wigton Choral Society

Christmas Concert

Welcome Yule with us this Christmas as we present the less well known SATB version of Britten's popular A Ceremony of Carols. We will be joined by soprano, alto and baritone soloists, and are very lucky to be accompanied by an instrumental ensemble including harp.

Paired with the Britten is Bob Chilcott's On Christmas Night, which calls for percussion to add colour and drama to the work.

The works are similar in that they consist of a sequence of short settings of seasonal texts, so the evening will provide a opportunity to compare and contrast music written in very different styles, or simply to immerse yourself in some wonderfully evocative choral singing.

Chilcott provides another musical treat, The Lily and The Rose, and there will be Christmas carols for choir and audience. Please join us for our seasonal celebration, where you can also enjoy refreshments and chat to the performers in the interval.

19 December 2015 19:30 - 21:30.

St Mary's Church, Organised by: Wigton Choral Society.

High Street, Wigton, CA7 9AR

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New for 2015, Father Christmas will be visiting Lowther Castle and spreading seasonal cheer to all. Each child will receive a gift and his elves will be on hand to help with festive family activities. You'll also have plenty of time to browse our Christmas Fair and enjoy our festive inspired menu in the cafe.

Please note entry to Santa's Grotto is by pre-booked ticket only. As Santa has such a busy time ahead there will only be a limited number of tickets available therefore we advise booking early in advance to avoid disappointment!

We will also be introducing for the first time a delightful Snowflake

Trail through the gardens, castle and stable courtyard. Will you find all the art inspired snowflakes to be in with a chance of winning a special gift. Standard garden admission rates apply. Snowflake Trail throughout December 2015 and January 2016.

Tickets are available by phone 01931 712192

Chester Christmas Market is back for 2015 and

will be situated outside Chester’s historic Town Hall, Library and beautiful Cathedral!

Shoppers are in for a magical time at the FREE Chester Christmas Market, with 70 traditional wooden chalets situated in the heart of Chester, all wrapped around a sparkling Christmas tree. There will be an abundance of festive treats and gifts on offer, including quality local and regional products, crafts, clothing, accessories, jewellery, unique gifts

and stocking fillers which are sure to make the perfect present!

Don’t forget to sample the delicious hot food and drinks, including tasty mulled wine and hot chocolate; the perfect way to keep warm whilst enjoying the market. This year the market will continue for an additional week and will continue until Sunday 20th December 2015! Open 7 days a

week 10am to 6pm from Sunday to Wednesday with late night shopping on Thursdays until 8pm and until 7pm on Friday and Saturday to fulfil all your festive shopping needs.

Open 7 days a week 10am to 6pm from Sunday to Wednesday with late night shopping on Thursdays until 8pm and until 7pm on Friday and Saturday.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 15.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 17.

Page 18. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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New research by specialist British holiday

provider Saga reveals the travel motivations

and habits of the 45-65+ year olds in the UK

In August 2015 Saga Holidays, who serve the needs of travellers aged 50+, surveyed 1,000 people across the UK aged 45 to 65+ to better understand their travel habits and their motivations for travelling.

The survey results suggested that the main motivations for travelling were relaxation (43%) and history and culture (37%).

Only 28% of people said they would be interested in learning about new ways of living, while 33% rated excitement and new adventures as their most

important travel motivation. City breaks were the most popular holiday types among all travellers (65%).

Previous research conducted by Saga, showed that the reason city breaks were often the top holiday option for travellers was because people book one or two main holidays a year, and then slot in several short city breaks in between. Beach holidays were still very popular among 45-54 year olds (61%), but those aged 65+ were less likely to want to just lie on the beach (36%).

Some participants showed interest in other options, with some of the favourites being self-managed holidays, ski holidays, volunteering holidays, visiting overseas friends and villa holidays.

Friends and family were the most important source of inspiration (63%) before they have even considered a destination, followed by review websites like Trip Advisor (53%).

Those aged 45-54 were more influenced by social media and travel blogs (22%) than those over 65.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 19.

Page 20. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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Ladyzone is the home of Fitness, Health and Beauty. Our gym offers a warm friendly environment for women who want to work out or receive beauty treatments in ‘no men no mirrors’ surroundings. We believe that our workouts are suitable for anyone regardless of their age or fitness level. Our Personal Trainers and Staff are always available to offer support and motivation making Ladyzone a perfect place to reach your fitness goals. Contact us today for your free gym trial!

Other offers include a FREE inch loss treatment, £30 off memberships and Student Rates!

Upstairs at Ladyzone we have our Fitness Studio where we offer a number of classes including Boxercise, Bootcamp and Yoga and one on one personal training.

We also have our Unisex MediSpa where we offer Ultrasound Lipo-Sculpture – a fast, pain free inch loss treatment using a non-surgical alternative to liposuction. IPL – a permanent hair reduction treatment that

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Advances Facials - All our advanced treatments are prescribed by our trained therapists to create a bespoke skin care programme. You can expect a smooth texture to the surface of your skin, reduction of the aging process

and the delivery of stunning long term results. And that amongst many other benefits. Our range of skin peels are proven to transform, hydrate and rejuvenate. Recommended also for Acne prone skin, Red & Thread Veins and Pigmentation. If you’re looking for great results, call us and book your FREE Trial or Consultation.

Whatever it is, we can help!

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 21.

Page 22. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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Lancashire County Council has announced a series of measures to address concerns raised during a

recent inspection of children's services

Ofsted has today published a report rating a range of services for children and young people as 'inadequate', following an inspection that took place in September and October.

Six weeks since being informed of the inspectors' initial findings, the council has begun implementing a number of changes backed by a new ÂŁ5m investment.

The measures, which include recruiting new social work and support staff, are designed to address concerns raised by inspectors including a lack of consistency in the quality of care and support. They will also tackle problems with data and performance management, which inspectors found made it difficult to effectively monitor the quality of services.

County Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "The children and young people who need these services deserve the best care and support, and we are very sorry that in some cases they have clearly not been receiving it. The council must now act quickly and

effectively to resolve the problems identified during the inspection.

"Since the inspectors told us their initial findings, a lot of work has been done to set out and begin implementing a plan that will address all of their concerns.

"To support this work, the Cabinet has approved a ÂŁ5m investment in children's services which will allow us to recruit more frontline staff and provide extra training opportunities.

"The inspectors did identify a number of strengths in the council's work.

For example, they were positive about the way children and young people are listened to, and the way in which we are tackling child sexual exploitation.

"However, we need standards to be consistently high across all of these vital services and I am determined to make sure that happens."

The ÂŁ5m investment represents an increase of around 5%, in the council's overall budget for children's services. More staff will be recruited to help cope with the high demand on social care services and a range of extra training and support

programmes will be delivered.

Jo Turton, chief executive, said: "We must put the necessary improvements in place promptly and sustainably.

It is our highest priority to ensure standards are consistently met across these services and our improvement plan will pick up every area the inspectors said required improvement.

"The report should not detract from the fact we have hundreds of staff working hard under often difficult circumstances, trying to do their very best for the thousands of vulnerable children and young people in Lancashire. Indeed, the commitment of councillors and staff at all levels was recognised by the inspectors.

"Our plans focus on increasing support to those staff, including through IT and training, so that they are able to dedicate more of their time to looking after the children and young people they are there to help."

A Post Inspection Improvement Board with an independent chairperson will oversee the council's work to deliver improvements in response to the report.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 23.

Top ten things to know about the

new Tax-Free Childcare scheme

Tax-Free Childcare will be available to around 2 million households to help with the cost of childcare, enabling more parents to go out to work, if they want to, to provide greater security for their families. Here’s the top ten things to know about the scheme…

1. You’ll be able to open an online account You’ll be able to open an online account, which you can pay into to cover the cost of childcare with a registered provider. This will be done through the government website, GOV.UK. Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017.

2. For every 80p you or someone else pays in, the government will top up an extra 20p This is equivalent of the tax most people pay - 20% - which gives the scheme its name, ‘tax-free’. The government will top up the account with 20% of childcare costs up to a total of £10,000 - the equivalent of up to £2,000 support per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children).

3. The scheme will be available for children up to the age of 12 It will also be available for children with disabilities up to the age of 17, as their childcare costs can stay high throughout their teenage years.

4. To qualify, parents will have to be in work, and each earning just over an average of £100 a week and not more than £100,000 each per year The scheme is designed to be flexible for parents if, for example, they want

to get back to work after the birth of a child or work part-time.

5. Any eligible working family can use the Tax-Free Childcare scheme it doesn’t rely on employers offering it. Tax-Free Childcare doesn’t rely on employers offering the scheme, unlike the current scheme EmployerSupported Childcare. Any working family can use Tax-Free Childcare, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

6. The scheme will also be available for parents who are self-employed Self-employed parents will be able to get support with childcare costs in Tax-Free Childcare, unlike the current scheme (Employer-Supported Childcare) which is not available to self-employed parents. To support newly self-employed parents, the government is introducing a ‘start-up’ period. During this, self-employed parents won’t have to earn the minimum income level.

The scheme will also be available to parents on paid sick leave and paid and unpaid statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

7. If you currently receive EmployerSupported Childcare then you can continue to do so. You do not have to switch to Tax-Free Childcare if you do not wish to. Employer-Supported Childcare will continue to run.

Parents won’t be able to register for Employer-Supported Childcare after Tax-Free Childcare is introduced, but those already registered by this date

will be able to continue using it for as long as their employer offers it.

However, Tax-Free Childcare will be open to more than twice as many parents as Employer-Supported Childcare. Employers’ workplace nurseries won’t be affected by the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

8. Parents and others can pay money into their childcare account as and when they like. This gives you the

flexibility to pay in more in some months, and less at other times. This means you can build up a balance in your account to use at times when you need more childcare than usual, for example, over the summer holidays.

It’s also not just the parents who can pay into the account - if grandparents, other family members or employers want to pay in, then they can.

9. The process will be as simple as

possible for parents. The process will be light-touch and as easy as possible for you. For example, you’ll re-confirm your circumstances every three months via a simple online process; and there will be a simple log-in service where parents can view accounts for all of their children at once. 10. You’ll be able to withdraw money from the account if you want tobIf your circumstances change

or you no longer want to pay into the account, then you’ll be able to withdraw the money you have built up. If you do, the government will withdraw its corresponding contribution.

More information will become available ahead of the scheme being introduced so parents making childcare decisions are able to consider all their options.

Page 24. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School is an inclusive school that strives to create an environment where children feel safe and supported. Our mission statement is ‘Through God, we care’ and is reflected in our daily practice.

By developing such a caring ethos built on respect, students have a clear sense of what is right and what is wrong, with the knowledge that in our school we will not tolerate bullying of any kind, including prejudice based bullying on grounds of race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. Some of the strategies that we adopt to ensure we reduce the risk of bullying include: Providing a caring community in which students are encouraged to work together with each other Raising awareness (at all levels) of bullying behaviour

through a range of activities.

Improving staff skills in dealing consistently and effectively with incidents of bullying.

Student anti-bullying ambassadors in place to support the work of the school in preventing bullying. Strategies to promote parental engagement, including advice and guidance in the Boteler Bulletin Year group mentors in place to support peers.

Assemblies delivered by our skilled practitioners or other professionals to encourage students to reflect on the

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issues surrounding bullying. Student friendly posters and advice displayed throughout school to encourage students to report incidents.

Actively promoting Anti-Bullying Week, E-Safety Week and similar initiatives to reduce the risk of bullying through various mediums Professional advice, guidance and support from our very own Youth Engagement Officer.

In rare incidents where bullying has occurred, we adopt a range of strategies to deal with this: All students are encouraged to report incidents of bullying and are aware they can do so to another student, their form tutor, a teacher or staff member, any member of the Pastoral team or their parents All incidents will be investigated fully, sensitively and promptly Students can report any bullying incidents via the online confidential reporting system called SHARP (School Help Advice Reporting Page) where members of staff are alerted to this report The victim, victim’s parents, the bully and the parents of the bully will be fully involved and consulted on how the problem is dealt with Alternative provision will be available to ensure the victim feels safe and continues to attend school A student worry box and meeting points are made available for students

These are only a number of strategies that we adopt and further information can be obtained from the school.

As we approach Anti-bullying week in England, our school will continue the hard work to ensure that all students enjoy their education in a ‘bully free zone’ and we will be indeed ‘make a noise about bullying’.

Students have said: ( I have numbered them in importance as we most likely not have space for them all) “Bullying is monitored really well at STB” - Year 11 Student 1. “The support team don’t only stop it but they help the victim overcome it “ Year 11 “I would feel safe telling a teacher if I was a victim” – Year 11 2. “Due to the systems in place here bullying has become less and less” Year 8 student 6. “All students help to stop this through our caring school” – Year 8 student “We are setting up an Anti – bullying Ambassadors group which will be another area of support for us” – Year 8 students 3. “There is always support available in a non- pressured environment “ – Year 8 student

7. “A problem shared with our teachers is a problem halved” -Year 8 Student” 4. “As a year 7 student I feel confident that I have someone and some where to turn to if needed” 5. “The SHARP system on the web site allows us to get a message straight to the Assistant head” – Year 9 student

The Ofsted 2014 report states ‘Students feel safe in school and treat each other with courtesy and respect’ In the most recent monitoring inspection of the school it states ‘Students said that when they experience difficulties they feel well supported by the staff’ and ‘If any bullying occurs in school students are confident that it will be sorted out’.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 25.

Ormskirk shoppers

Ormskirk will be an even better place for Christmas shopping in December with extra market days to give shoppers more chances to buy presents and a fabulous festive parking offer. In the run up to Christmas West Lancashire Borough Council has organised extra markets to take place in Ormskirk on Wednesday 16 December and Monday 21 December 2015. Due to the festive holidays there will be no market on Saturday 26 December 2015, but there will be markets on Thursday 31 December and Saturday 2 January. On each day it is open the market will operate from 8am-4pm.. From Tuesday 1 December 2015 to Thursday 24 December 2015 (inclusive), shoppers can save money when using the Council’s car parks in Ormskirk. Visitors who buy a pay and display ticket will receive an additional two hours’ free parking. This special offer applies only to Council-controlled pay and display car parks, so users should ensure they read car park signage.

This special offer for parking does not include the Park Road car park (at the rear of the former Tesco building) which is free for the first hour. A valid parking ticket must be displayed. Councillor John Hodson, whose Cabinet portfolio responsibilities include the market, said: “With the excellent festive parking offer and extra markets, Ormskirk is a great place to come this festive season.

So make sure you come into town to do your Christmas shopping.”

Motorists should note that the two extra free hours will not be shown on the pay and display parking ticket purchased from a machine on a Council-controlled car park. So, for example, if you buy a ticket at 10am for one hour's parking the ticket will still show an expiry time of 11am. But, during the special offer period, you will be able to park until 1pm. Notices explaining the offer will be on display at the Council-controlled car parks. All car park attendants are aware of the offer and will allow for the extra two hours after the indicated ticket expiry time.

Page 26. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 27.

Increasing Demand And Providing More Land For New Homes Will See

Build Rates Continuing To Rise

Reaction to the announcements on house building in the spending review House builders broadly welcomed announcements by Chancellor George Osborne in the Spending Review to boost house building.

Housing output is directly linked to demand for new homes – and the availability of developable land.

Over the past two years the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme has been

a driver for demand for new homes and as a result housing output has risen at the steepest rate for decades.

Latest figures show the number of new homes delivered in 2014/15 was up 25% year on year to 171,000 homes a year up from around 124,000 just a few years ago. Retargeting the Affordable Housing Programme to further boost home ownership clearly has the potential to increase output

still further if it can create additional demand by helping people currently barred from the market to buy. The extension of Help to Buy Equity Loan to 2021 will provide greater certainty for house builders buying land and planning for future production.

The Starter Homes scheme in principle has the potential to assist a section of the population currently unable to buy. The additional £2.3bn to fund

60,000 Starter Homes over and above units included within Affordable Housing will help the industry deliver, and expanding the range of brownfield land defined within the exception sites policy will provide a further boost to supply. However, much detail needs to be agreed before it can deliver the projected 200,000 homes over the next five years.

Prioritising affordability in London by doubling the Government's Equity Loan to buyers to 40%, where buyers are particularly squeezed is especially welcome and should lead to the provision of more affordable homes in the capital.

Increasing levels of shared ownership, and opening up this programme to private home builders, also has the potential to increase overall demand and thus provision of new homes, providing a more cost effective way of boosting supply than subsiding social rent homes.

With the shift towards an older population money to spark an increase in retirement housing is a much needed move that needs to be done in conjunction with changes to planning policy to allocate more land for such homes. A lack of land is currently the biggest constraint on supply. As the biggest owner of land, if the public sector can find a way of releasing more land more

quickly for development – a target of successive Governments – it could deliver increases in build rates.

Further reform of the planning system to ensure more planning permissions are processed more quickly by Local Authorities would also address builders' concerns that they cannot get on to new sites quickly enough to accelerate build rates still further. The new delivery test for local plans, along with measures to increase the supply of smaller sites, will help ensure the planning system is delivering an adequate supply of housing land.

We also welcome an extension of the Builders Finance Fund to 2020-21, an important initiative to help smaller home builders. Extension of the large sites infrastructure fund will also help support higher levels of home building.

Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation said; “The Government is clearly committed to increasing both housing supply and home ownership. Measures introduced in recent years have led to a big increase in house building levels but the scale of the challenge requires further action to close the gap between demand and supply.

The Chancellor's announcements today will provide extra impetus to deliver further increases in housing supply. 'The industry has been

gearing up to boost its capacity to a level where it can deliver the increases in housing supply that are so desperately needed. Over the past two years the industry has initiated a huge recruitment and training drive, taking on tens of thousands of new staff to achieve the 30 per cent increase in output seen over that period. Today's announcement could lead to thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships created in the sector.

“Boosting home ownership and creating additional actual demand for new homes enables builders to invest in the people, land and materials necessary to accelerate supply. If buyers can buy, builders will build.

“Further reforms of the planning system to increase the supply of smaller sites, to ensure local plans deliver, and to increase the rate at which planning permissions are processed – as well as releasing more public land - would be a huge step towards speeding up the rate at which builders can build.

“Building more high quality homes will give more people of all ages access to their own home, and boost existing communities by providing improved infrastructure and amenities. Building more homes will also deliver a boost to the UKs economy, creating jobs and benefiting local economies in every area.”

Page 28. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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Surefreight

Surefreight Ltd wouldn't be anything like it is today without continual investment in new vehicles.

The fleet is updated regularly with the very latest models on the market in order to offer you the highest levels of dependability. As our business has grown, we have added more and more vehicles in order to suffice client demand whilst also providing the ultimate in driver comfort for our long distance drivers.

Our drivers are ambassadors for our business, and are the backbone of the company, and our responsibility to them is to provide them with the best possible working environment, so they can continue to provide you with a friendly and personal service.

Our Golden Griffin: To celebrate our 25th year in business, we have added a flagship vehicle to our fleet. The Scania Golden Griffin is a limited edition vehicle, of which only 50 have been produced, and has a full host of luxury extras to enhance driver comfort when completing long

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Our Fleet Includes: 路 Our flagship Golden Griffin 路 250 Trucks 路 600 Curtainside trailers Surefreight Ltd Unit 4 Shepherds Drive Carnbane Industrial Estate Newry, Co Down, N Ireland.

BT35 6JQ Tel: 01524 745809 surefreight.co.uk

Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 29.

Page 30. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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1.4 million more pupils from all backgrounds attending the best

schools compared to just 5 years ago

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan today (1 December 2015) thanked teachers for driving forward the government’s vital educational reforms after figures published by Ofsted showed a record 1.4 million more pupils are now getting the best possible start in ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools compared to 2010. The overall proportion of schools rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ has risen by 16 percentage points since 2010, with 84% of schools now achieving top Ofsted ratings.

Figures released today to coincide with the publication of the Ofsted annual report show an increase of 18 percentage points in the proportion of good and outstanding primaries compared to 2010. There are also nearly 320,000 more pupils in ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ secondary schools.

Nicky Morgan emphasised the need to recognise this progress in order to determine how these successes can be embedded and spread across the country, as the government continues to deliver on its commitment to social justice and give every child the

best education possible. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: The landscape of English education has been transformed over the past 5 years through raising both standards and expectations. Thanks to the hard work of teachers across the country and our ambitious programme of reforms, there are now 1.4 million more pupils being taught in ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ schools compared to 2010. This progress should not be ignored, but we believe more needs to be done to deliver educational excellence everywhere and tackle pockets of underperformance, so that we can extend opportunity to every single child.

In November, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan announced the next phase of the government’s education reform programme with a package designed to tackle entrenched underperformance. This includes: the launch of a new National Teaching Service to send some of our best teachers to underperforming schools in struggling areas, starting with a pilot in the North West, with a view

to placing 1,500 outstanding teachers and middle leaders in schools across the country by 2020. new plans to ensure all pupils leave primary with a good grasp of reading and maths. secondary pupils from every background to study core academic subjects through the EBacc details of 5 academy sponsors that will be tasked with driving up standards in schools across the north of England - where historically performance has been poor. Five sponsors have all been awarded grants totalling nearly £5 million, to make an impact on improving performance for pupils in some of the most challenging and disadvantaged areas of the county.

Thanks to the education reforms of the past 5 years, significant progress has been made in raising standards in England’s schools. This includes: increasing the number of academies by more than 5,000 since 2010 the number of pupils not reaching the expected level in the 3Rs at the end of primary falling from 1 in 3 in 2010 to 1 in 5 this year following a focus on getting the basics right increasing the number of pupils studying the core academic subjects which make up the EBacc - which has risen from 22% in 2010 to 39% in 2015 removing poor quality qualifications from performance tables so pupils are leaving school with those most valued by employers and universities reforming GCSEs and A Levels to deliver new, gold-standard qualifications that will equip young people with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the modern world .

Bedford Adult Community

Learning Centre

Bedford Adult Community Learning Centre at Bedford High School, Leigh, offers a wide variety of courses, some of which include, Cupcake decorating for all abilities, Floristry, Spanish, Italian, Painting and drawing and Counseling Beginners All of our courses are taster courses which could lead you onto going to college to do a Qualification course.

A few learners have gone onto college and opened their own businesses; some do the courses for leisure/ hobbies. Enrolment is ongoing for courses starting in January and can

be made at any time by contacting Hannah Karikari on 01942 486379.

Attached is a picture showing work that some of our learners completed and put into an exhibition. The learners started on a beginner’s course and progressed through to improvers then advanced, the class is now a group that meets weekly.

We also have a Bedford Bloomers Floristry Group whom meets every week, they take part in activities within the school, the picture shows an image of some of the completed designs that the group produced for

a graduation evening. Some learners do their own project as the course is a leisure group and has no set agenda.

The tutor does a demonstration at the start of each session and the learners can choose if they do the project or choose their own.

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Lancashire Local. Issue 3. Page 31.

Page 32. Issue 3. Lancashire Local

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WORK BEGINS

AT GAWTHORPE

Burnley Football Club is delighted to announce that the full planning has now been granted to transform the club’s Gawthorpe training complex.

Nationwide Contractors, Developers and Investors, Barnfield Construction Limited has been appointed as the main contractor for the development of a 73,000 m2 area and building of a dedicated new training centre, to bring first class facilities for the first team, development squad and youth team players under one roof for the first time.

Barnfield will work closely with our pitch contractor, J Mallinson of Ormskirk, in developing additional playing surfaces across the new site. The club had sought permission to raise the standard of the facility to meet the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) Category 1 and 2 standard of infrastructure. The build will also include an indoor all-weather area with a small spectator gallery, to meet the requirements of EPPP. Outside, plans include the development of three full-sized training pitches, each measuring 68m x 105m. For youth team players, in addition to the current match pitch and four mini-pitches, we will add further two three-quarter size pitches. A new car park built north of the river, accessed via a refurbished bridge over the River Calder, will ease the pressure on the National Trust Car park close to Gawthorpe Hall, especially at peak times. On

the south side of the river, the existing ‘top pitch’ is to be floodlit. Burnley Football Club had been awaiting full planning consent, dependent upon the discharge of certain conditions.

These have now been adhered to and work will now begin on the new site in the next few weeks.

The club would like to thank the local authority and all statutory bodies in helping the club finalise their plans for the new Gawthorpe training facility.

Burnley FC Stadium and Operations manager, Doug Metcalfe, who is project leading the development, said: “We are delighted we have now managed to get to this stage, where we can see some physical activity on the site.

“We are excited and looking forward to seeing the site develop over the coming weeks and months, cumulating in what we all believe will be a huge part of the strategic development of the club.”

Tim Webber, Chairman and Managing Director of the Barnfield Group, added: “We are absolutely delighted to be delivering the new £4.6 million training facility for Burnley Football Club.

“With our Head Office being based locally to the club we have a large amount of Clarets fans within Barnfield who are looking forward to helping to create what promises to be a first class facility.

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