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First Capital Connect annual student passes
who do not want to receive the money directly as a Direct Payment. In some cases individuals may also be expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their social care.
Claire Bruin is Director of Adult Support Services at Cambridgeshire County Council, she says: “Self-Directed Support enables individuals to identify their own needs. It allows them to say what they want to do and what they want to achieve. The challenge for us (County Council and NHS Partners1) is to support innovation in the ways that people meet their needs. A Personal Budget will enable them to do this.”
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One of the NHS partners involved in the changes is Cambridgeshire Community Services who provide social care to older people across Cambridgeshire. Welcoming the introduction of Self-Directed Support, Alison Gilbert, Associate Clinical Director, Cambridgeshire Community Services says: “The introduction of Self-Directed Support and Personal Budgets really puts people in control of how their needs are met. We are delighted to be working with the County Council to introduce this national programme locally which will help people maintain their independence and have the best quality of life.”
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust provide services to people who suffer from mental health problems and are another NHS partner involved in the changes. Their Director of Adults, Older People and Specialist Services, Annette Newton adds: “We are pleased to work with the County Council to implement Self-Directed Support, which will increase choice for people using Mental Health Services.”
If you think you are eligible for social care support you should call Cambridgeshire Direct on 0345 045 5202 and ask for an assessment.
More information about Self-Directed Support is available on the County Council’s website www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/social/selfdirectedsupport/ by emailing in.controltotal@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or by calling 01223 699650.
NHS Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire Community Services, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
South Cambridgeshire District Council needs you to help them shape your housing service.
If you live in a village with a small number of council properties, as a council tenant we are asking you to come forward and take control over shaping the service South Cambridgeshire District Council provides.
If you think you would be interested you could become the point of contact with the council for your village – A “village voice.”
South Cambridgeshire District Council will provide you with support and advice on how to get started and put you in touch with the network of other village voices.
You can make a difference to your community.
Interested?
Phone Teresa Lucey on 01954 713 227 with any queries or questions, or for an informal chat and information on how to get started.
Over the past couple of weeks I have circulated information regarding the opportunity to convert post-16 student bus passes into rail passes via County Council Education Transport, resulting in savings of about £200. This applies to students living near Foxton, Shepreth or Meldreth Stations and travelling to their designated post-16 education centre in Cambridge. The County Council imposed a deadline of half-term. New information has been brought forward, again by a resourceful resident, not by the County Council.
We had thought that for those who had already purchased an annual rail pass from First Capital Connect, it was simply too late to benefit from the County Council’s much cheaper fare, but it seems that this may not be the case. If you have bought an annual rail pass from First Capital Connect for travel from Foxton, Shepreth or Meldreth to Cambridge, it may be possible to get a partial refund for the remaining five halfterms of the year and to then purchase a new student rail pass via the County Council, good for the remaining five halfterms of the year, with significant savings made – around £200 from Meldreth and proportionally less from Shepreth and Foxton. Apologies as this sounds somewhat uncertain – but I thought you would rather have the information than not. I am about to try these steps myself, as a sixth form parent. 1 Find out from First Capital Connect if your annual pass can be refunded, for the remainder of this academic year, and how much that refund would be. 2 Ring Education Transport on 01223 699790 or 0345 0455 208 and find out if you can still apply for a rail pass for the remaining five half terms of the year and how much that would cost. If there are significant savings to be made and you wish to apply for a County-issued pass, the forms are available on line: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Type ‘Education Transport’ in the search key word box. The form you need is called ‘Application for Post-16
Education Transport – school/college year 2009/2010.’ Many people have said they find it difficult to navigate through the County website to access the form and information booklet. If you have trouble, call the numbers listed above and ask for help.
Many people have said they find the form and the accompanying application booklet confusing, and geared to bus travel. Nevertheless, tick ‘rail’ on the form.
If you have more than two post-16 children, the County Council requires only one payment per family – so very significant savings.
