- Precept and Council Tax Support grant payments
- CIL funding applications
- Community Governance Review update
- Help for Ukraine
- Supporting residents taking part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme
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- COVID update
- Reduced bus fares pilot scheme
- Affordable homes and the climate emergency
- The Big Jubilee Lunch
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Precept and Council Tax Support grant payments
Cornwall Council has now made the first instalment of 2022/23 precept and Council Tax Support grant payments to town and parish councils. If your council has not received its first instalment of either by Wednesday 13 April, and Cornwall Council has not already been in contact with you regarding this, please email corporatefinance@cornwall.gov.uk.
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CIL funding applications
The second round of Cornwall Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Fund round is now open. Local councils, constituted community groups and not for profit organisations can bid for between £20,000 and £100,000 CIL funding to deliver local infrastructure projects that will benefit children and young people. A total of £500,000 is available through a competitive application process.
Projects must involve delivery of infrastructure that helps to offset the impact of development on an area, or helps development to come forward, as well as having a children and young people focus.
This year there is an Expression of Interest stage where potential applicants can submit a brief summary of what their project is and what it will achieve. The Expressions of Interest need to be submitted by 5pm on 23 June. Then eligible projects will be invited to submit a full application by the end of October. Successful projects will be announced early in 2023.
More information, forms and guidance are available on the CIL Fund page on Cornwall Council’s website.
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Community Governance Review update
The consultation taking place on the deferred proposals for parish council boundary changes has been extended until 29 April.
The proposals could impact on various parishes and towns across Cornwall, including Penzance, Helston, Newquay, Truro, St Austell and Wadebridge. These proposals were first considered as part of the Cornwall-wide Community Governance Review in 2019-20, but decisions had to be deferred due to the pandemic. Because a considerable length of time has passed, and some of the circumstances that are relevant to these proposals may have changed, this consultation provides a further opportunity to provide feedback.
A full list of the outstanding decisions to be made and details of the proposals under consideration can be found at the Let's Talk Cornwall website. For each relevant area there is a dedicated page with key information and a survey. A downloadable / printable reference copy is also available.
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Help for Ukraine
There’s information and advice on the Help for Ukraine page on Cornwall Council’s website for those who want to support people escaping the war in Ukraine, including contact details. Topics include:
- Homes for Ukraine scheme – for those who have applied to be a sponsor and provide a home
- Ukraine Family scheme – for applicants who want to join family members or extend their stay in the UK
- Information and support for Ukrainian families and relatives – for residents with friends and family in Ukraine
- Travel advice – including free travel for Ukrainians
- How to make donations
- Other support
Please encourage people in your area to visit the web page for information about these topics.
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Supporting residents taking part in the Homes for Ukraine scheme
Cornwall Council is continuing to support residents taking part in the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme and build a local response to the humanitarian crisis.
Recent changes to the Government’s initial guidance means that visa applications are not being held up in anyway by the various safeguarding checks that Cornwall Council needs to make under the sponsor process. Data provided by the Government shows that there are currently 191 sponsors in Cornwall. These sponsors have been matched with 260 refugees. This data is updated daily with new sponsors as visas are processed.
Initial checks for 75 sponsors have been completed, and further safeguarding checks are taking place via Cornwall Council, the NHS and Devon and Cornwall Police.
Cornwall Council does not have access to any other information regarding individuals. Any queries regarding visa applications, the process or offers of interest should be directed to the Home Office.
In all cases a home visit will be undertaken at the earliest opportunity. This will involve a checklist detailing how Cornwall Council can help the sponsor and support the individuals arriving, questions regarding the property and maintenance, as well as basic safeguarding and vetting enquiries. The visits are carried out by skilled volunteers working within Volunteer Cornwall and the Council. Any concerns raised at the visit will be recorded and notified to the Council. The Council, working jointly with its partners, will then liaise with various statutory and local organisations that can help.
Cornwall Council is asking sponsors to email the dedicated homesforukraine@cornwall.gov.uk mailbox when individuals have arrived from the Ukraine so the Council can ensure the essential payments are made. These payments will be made directly to the individuals, using the Council’s Post Office partner. The Council will require the individual’s email addresses to enable these payments.
In addition, Cornwall Council has set up various specialist groups to bring together expertise and develop existing services to meet needs. Areas include health, education, benefits and employment and community integration.
Cornwall Council is also developing a local welcome pack with local groups using the knowledge and learning from previous refugee resettlement particularly that of community sponsorship.
Local support is available through Cornwall Refugee Resource Network (CRRN) and community groups will be established in local areas to provide information, support and activities.
Information on Cornwall Council’s Help for Ukraine web page is updated weekly. Town and parish councils with local concerns should email homesforukraine@cornwall.gov.uk.
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COVID update
Cornwall’s Public Health team would like to thank local councils who helped support our communities by hosting testing sites over the last 18 months.
The Government has now ended the general provision of free tests. All testing sites in Cornwall have closed and infrastructure will be removed over the coming weeks.
Some people – including those living and working in health and care settings – will still have access to free tests, but most will have the option of purchasing them. See the GOV.UK website.
Cases remain incredibly high in Cornwall and residents and visitors should continue to:
- Follow hands, face, space, fresh air guidance.
- If you have symptoms of COVID or winter illness, test positive for COVID or have a temperature, stay at home for five days if you can.
- After the five days, continue to avoid spending time with people who may be vulnerable to the virus. If you can, don’t go to work if you are ill.
- Avoid as much contact with other people as possible if you are a close contact of someone who has COVID-19.
- If you leave home, take a face covering and avoid spending time in crowded places or meeting vulnerable people.
- Get vaccinated. Vaccines reduce the risk of serious illness and help stop the spread of COVID.
See the Information about Coronavirus page on Cornwall Council’s website for support for residents and businesses, including testing and vaccinations, local COVID-19 data, help with food, financial support, mental health support, and more.
Please share this information with people in your area.
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Reduced bus fares pilot scheme
From 10 April, adult bus passengers in Cornwall will, on average, pay one-third less for their fares. The reduced bus fares pilot scheme follows a successful bid by Cornwall Council for £23.5 m funded by the UK Government.
The four year pilot aims to cut car emissions by encouraging more people to hop on the bus and leave their cars at home. Road transport currently accounts for around a quarter of Cornwall’s carbon emissions.
The scheme will be marketed and delivered by Transport for Cornwall, a partnership of Cornwall Council and its transport operators.
The Council has worked with bus operators to transform Cornwall’s public transport network in recent years, following a Government Devolution Deal in 2016. Most of Cornwall’s buses are the newest in the country, stops have been upgraded and many now feature Real Time Passenger Information displays. The latest improvement has seen operators now accepting each other’s tickets for travel – all making public transport easier to understand and use.
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Affordable homes and the climate emergency
Cornwall Community Land Trust is running a free webinar on how to build affordable homes and combat the climate emergency on Wednesday 27 April from 10am-1.30pm via Zoom.
The webinar will include insights from leading housing providers and expert led discussions on the economic and environmental challenges of building energy efficient, sustainable dwellings on a truly affordable budget.
Town and parish councillors and clerks are very welcome to attend.
Register for free here.
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The Big Jubilee Lunch
Have you heard of the Big Jubilee Lunch?
Eden Project Communities, a charity that aims to bring people together and encourage them to actively engage with one another and the places where they live, are inviting local councils to join the flagship event The Big Jubilee Lunch, which this year will be the official community celebration for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend - a right royal knees-up for neighbours and community!
Eden Project Communities work to connect community projects and community organisers across South West England and have some new resources available for local councils and are looking for your support to help to spread the word across Cornwall.
To make promoting The Big Jubilee Lunch really easy, take a look at:
You can also sign up for Eden Project Communities Newsletter and Council Updates.
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