ROlls OUT faMIlY HUb

matters, employment & education, and leisure so that families are fulfilled in each of these areas, because just one small issue can create a huge impact on everything else. We look forward to rolling out the Family Hubs and Start Life Programme across our communities, seeing families in Sheffield flourish and leading the way in supporting this initiative nationally.”

Investing in families and making sure they get the support they need from birth through to adulthood helps with children’s educational attainment, wellbeing and life chances, while also improving wider outcomes such as poor mental health and unemployment. Previously these services could be disjointed and hard to navigate but family hubs will act as a ‘one stop shop’ to offer guidance and advice on a range of circumstances including, infant feeding, mental health support, health visits and parenting classes. Hubs will also bring together wider wraparound services that can make a huge difference to people who need extra support –such as advice on getting into work, relationship building and stop smoking services. Greg Fell, Director of Public Health for Sheffield, said: “We are pleased to see the Government is acting on their ambition to put families at the heart of communities with the Family Hub initiative. It is well evidenced that prevention and intervention in the very early stages of life is needed to support children and young people to lead healthy and fulfilling lives and prevent ill health in

Mp vIsITs fOOdwORks

future. This then supports communities to not just grow but also to thrive and embed good health at all levels in our society. However, it is important that funding for these measures remains consistent and sustained over the coming years so that the benefits of having this support in place can be felt now and long into the future. While the extra funding is appreciated, it must be matched by an increase to the public health grant so that DsPH across England can continue to deliver services to children, young people and their families who won’t yet benefit from the new Family Hubs.”

To fast-track delivery of these services, 14 local authority areas will become trailblazers and receive extra funding. Sheffield as one of the trailblazers will lead the way and support other local authorities to improve services that are offered to families, so that these can be rolled out more widely across the country. Today’s announcement builds on the Prime Minister’s ambition to put families at the centre of communities and delivers on the 2019 manifesto commitment to champion Family Hubs. Children, Families and Wellbeing Minister, Claire Coutinho said: “Having children can be really tough as well as bringing so much joy. All families, from time to time, will need a helping hand. Family hubs bring services together helping parents, carers, children and young people to access the support they need more easily. Parenting advice ranges from support with feeding and mental health to guidance on how to give children a head start on their learning.”

COUld YOU HOsT a GUEsT fROM UkRaINE as a ‘REMaTCH HOsT’?

As we approach the year anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine, we’re reminded that Ukrainian families and individuals still need our support. Doncaster has always responded to others in their time of need and this situation is no different. Since February last year they’ve had 148 sponsors in total (amounting to 166 groups) across the city, who have stepped forward and accommodated guests. The council are incredibly grateful for their support and now they’re asking if others feel like they can provide help by becoming a ‘rematch host’.

Rematching is for Ukrainians who have already arrived in Doncaster but whose arrangements with their current host have ended (or could not take place at all). Guests under this option are already in Doncaster (or are being housed near Doncaster) while the council try to find a new host for them. Some guests have already stayed with a host family for six months and now need a new family for the second six months.

If you’d like to become a host and would like the council to match you with a Ukrainian family or person already in Doncaster, please email UkraineDateSecure@doncaster.gov.uk to be put on the rematching list. You’ll be asked to complete a ‘Rematching Profile’ and will be invited to meet any potential guests before a rematch is confirmed.

If you know of a Ukrainian family who are already on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme that you would like to host as a ‘rematch host’, please contact UkraineDataSecure@doncaster.gov.uk for council checks to be arranged and the rematch to be formalised. All hosts receive a monthly £350 ‘thank you’ payment for the first six months.

Find out more: www.doncaster.gov.uk/ukraine

This Friday 17 February, Clive Betts, Labour MP for Sheffield South East and Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee visited a sustainable food organisation in Sheffield – just weeks before the Government is due to announce where it will allocate new spending for “good causes”, some of which is hoped be used to support community businesses in the North of England.

The visit comes as the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, which Mr Betts chairs, considers evidence it has received as part of its inquiry into funding for levelling up. It was arranged by Big Society Capital – the UK’s leading financial institution dedicated to social impact.

The Labour stalwart met with Rene Meijer, CEO at Food Works - a social enterprise which used social investment to kick start its critical work intercepting food waste and distributing it to local people on contributewhat-you-can-afford basis through market, cafes, and ready meals. Now the organisation has grown it intercepts 500 tonnes of food waste every year, and serves more than 5,000 people every month across its cafes and market - a number which continues to grow.

The visit comes just before the government is due to announce how it will allocate the English portion of nearly £1 billion of dormant assets that could be used to help level up the UK. A significant portion of the funds are hoped to be allocated to social investment to invest in social enterprises and community businesses serving disadvantaged communities including in the North of England. Analysis by the Social Investment Forum finds that 43% of social investment deals have gone to Levelling Up Priority 1 Areas, totalling £520 million. The Dormant Assets scheme was first launched over ten years ago has already unlocked more than £800m for good causes across the UK by channelling long-forgotten funds from dormant bank and building society accounts towards good causes. The first allocation of funding led to the creation of Big Society Capital – which has helped grow the total amount of capital invested in social impact in the UK tenfold in ten years. Clive Betts MP said: “Food Works is an incredible success – with a vision to continue going forwards. What I’ve learned today is the importance of dormant assets in supporting social enterprises to achieve their future visions. ” Food Works is a social enterprise building a more fair and sustainable food system, using the principles of mutual aid to grow food, redirect food waste, and run community kitchens and cafes. Its 3 hubs and 18 community partners in the city provide more than a million meals worth of food to the city every year while saving 40,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

waRsHIp REMEMbEREd

An act of remembrance service will take place at the Doncaster Minster Church of St George, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Doncaster’s adopted warship the destroyer HMS Lightningtorpedoed on 12 March 1943 in the Mediterranean with the loss of forty-five lives. The Reverend Canon David Stevens will conduct the service, with the Right Reverend Sophie Jelley, Bishop of Doncaster. To an invited congregation of officers and serving Sea Cadets, including Ben Parkinson MBE Sea Cadets Unit President, Commodore Phil Waterhouse Naval Regional Commander for Northern England, together with regional dignitaries, including John Holt HM Deputy Lord-Lieutenant South Yorkshire, Ross Jones City Mayor of Doncaster, Ian Pearson Civic Mayor Doncaster, Mark Holbrook Councillor for Armed Forces, Lt Colonel R A McPherson MBE High Sherriff South Yorkshire, Adrian Hunt Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association – SSAFA, together with invited guests. There will be a marching parade of Officers and Sea Cadets through the city prior to the service.

In March 1942, HMS Lightning was adopted by the County Borough of Doncaster as part of a Nationwide Savings initiative – known as ‘Warship Week’. Doncaster and the surrounding urban areas raised over £800,000 in National Savings and effectively paid for the ship.

A party from the ship including Commander Walters presented the ship’s badge to the Council in October 1942, whilst she was refitting at Chatham. She had been in continuous action having returned after escorting the vital (and now famous) Operation Pedestal to Malta in August 1942. The badge is still on display in the Mansion House.

As a result, a Sea Cadet Corps was created in Doncaster in 1942, known as Training Ship (TS) Lightning and continues to thrive to this day.

In March 1993, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of her sinking, a small group of the remaining survivors, were invited to a civic reception at the Mansion House by Charles W Verrill, the mayor, Cadets from TS Lightning proudly formed the guard of honour.

A book about the ship’s short history (and association with Doncaster) was published in 2019 with first hand testaments and experiences titled: Struck by Lightning: The Story of HMS Lightning 19411943, John Dann