The Winter Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) and the Holiday Activities Programme (HAP) are running from Monday 20th December – Thursday 23rd December. HAF also includes recipe packs and nutritious meals.
For more information you can visit the website www.gloucestercityhaf.co.uk or visit the Gloucester City HAF Facebook page www.facebook.com/gloscityhaf2021
This programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE).
Residents are being asked to give their views on how Gloucester City Council spends taxpayers’ money and to choose their priorities as the council sets its budget.
The council has launched a consultation for the proposed budget for 2022/2023, set to be approved in February next year.
Due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and other pressures it is currently looking at how it can achieve further efficiencies and savings and identify income opportunities, while still delivering key services and value for money.
Residents are being encouraged to have their say by filling in the survey which takes just a few minutes to complete.
It will help let the council know what residents would prioritise when investing in services like waste collections, street cleaning, combatting homelessness or taking steps to reduce the council’s carbon footprint.
The consultation will close at 6pm on Friday, January 14.
To take part in the consultation follow this link. For paper copies call 01452 396396 or email budgetconsultation@gloucester.gov.uk
Our Christmas Anti-Drink and Drug Driving campaign is underway.
Motorists can expect to see more roadside police checks both in urban and rural areas across the county.
Work Christmas Party season is also upon us!
Don’t be tempted to drink & drive.
Pre-book a taxi.
Don’t take the risk!
Message Sent By
Adam Stevens (Police, PCSO, Gloucester City Centre)
Advertising an item for sale online? If your buyer arrives to collect the item and offers to pay via banking app, beware.
Fake banking apps are widespread. Someone with a fake banking app can make it look like they have transferred money into your account, but in reality you haven’t received anything. You could be letting the “buyer” walk off with your items for nothing.
Gloucestershire police have received several recent reports. Don’t be the next.
Message Sent By
Simon Shaw (Police, Fraud Detective Sergeant, Gloucestershire)
Christmas shoppers can now enjoy free parking every Thursday until Christmas at both the Kings Walk and Eastgate Shopping Centre car parks.
Gloucester Business Improvement District (BID) and Gloucester City Council are funding the festive offer, which will see shoppers park for free all day every Thursday throughout December.
The two car parks have over 600 spaces between them, and the free Thursday parking will allow shoppers to not feel rushed and to enjoy the late-night shopping on Thursdays too.
In addition, as part of the council’s support for Small Business Saturday it will be offering free parking on Saturday, December 4 at Westgate Street, Station Road and Hare Lane North.
The announcement comes after Gloucester was recently named as being among the top 10 best places for accessible parking in a national survey.
Gloucester BID and Gloucester City Council are both encouraging people to shop local this Christmas and support the huge range of fantastic independent businesses in the city with great gifts, knowledge and expertise on offer, as well as plenty of fantastic restaurants, bars and cafes to help Christmas shoppers refuel.
Shoppers are reminded to shop safely and wear masks unless they are exempt and advised to regularly wash their hands and if this is not possible to use hand sanitiser to help keep themselves and their families safe.
Gloucester City Council is setting out its draft Money Plan for the next five years and budget proposals for 2022/23 in a report being presented to cabinet.
The Money Plan 2022/27 and budget aims to put the council in a strong position to continue the city’s recovery from the pandemic, despite funding pressures continuing.
It sets out the council’s approach to the management of its finances, gives indications of budgets and council tax levels and identifies any significant financial risks likely to be faced by the council in future years.
The plan also aims to identify the resources needed to fund the council’s priorities and achieve a balanced budget.
The report warns that local government continues to face a tough financial outlook because of COVID-19 and the primary aim has been to ensure councils have the resources and stability to provide vital public services while tackling the pandemic.
The city council will be able to finalise its budget when the Local Government Finance Settlement is announced in December. The revenue budget and capital programme will be presented to full council for approval in February next year.
The council will have to find further savings or income growth, but various measures have already been identified to help achieve this, including a proposal to move offices from Shire Hall to the Eastgate Shopping Centre.
Key projects will continue to be delivered as part of the capital programme, including the completion of Kings Square, Kings Walk improvements, the food dock and improvements to the railway station, as well as the development of the Forum and the regeneration of the Kings Quarter.
Due to a severe weather warning for Gloucester tomorrow, a marquee on the green at Scott Avenue is no longer a viable option.
The consultation is therefore moving to The Ramblers Club (62 Milton Ave, Gloucester GL2 5AS), 11am – 3pm.
The Community Engagement Forum is taking place next Thursday (2 December)
Members of the public are being invited to next week’s Community Engagement Forum in Gloucester.
The event is being held at the Friendship Café, Chequers Bridge Centre on Painswick Road from 6pm to 8pm next Thursday (2 December).
The Community Engagement Forum is an opportunity to meet senior police leaders, ask questions and share your priorities for the community.
This event is jointly hosted by Gloucestershire Constabulary and the Community Legitimacy Panel (CLP). The CLP was formed last year and consists of members of the county’s ethnically diverse communities.
Teddy Burton, who is chairman of the CLP, said: “The purpose of the community engagement forum is to have constructive discussions between the public and the Constabulary.
“Our aim is to hold the Constabulary to account on how it uses its powers towards people of Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
“Over the past year we have reviewed cases and made recommendations relating to use of force, wrongful arrest, stop and search, body worn video cameras and how additional police powers were used during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The involvement of the wider community in what we are doing is the next logical step in pursuing the aims of the CLP and the forum on the 2 December provides an opportunity for this.”
Assistant Chief Constable Rhiannon Kirk added: “I feel that working with the community, through both the forum and CLP, allows the Constabulary to hear from those that we serve to ultimately address their concerns.
We don’t have all the answers to the concerns raised as yet but I truly believe we are on the right path and that is all down to the feedback we’ve received from Teddy and fellow community members.”
Anyone who wishes to attend the forum can register at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-engagement-forum-tickets-191531384527
The free app has been created by Safer Gloucestershire, to help target violence and intimidation against women and girls
Drink spiking, verbal abuse, inappropriate touching or street harassment. All of these can be shared on a new app being launched in Gloucestershire.
The Flare app, created by Safer Gloucestershire, enables women and girls to anonymously share their experiences of how and where they have felt unsafe in public. The app is anonymous, free to download and quick to use.
‘Flare’ has been created to encourage the reporting of a range of behaviours and incidents which often go unreported to police, including sexual comments made in public, catcalling, stalking, upskirting and more.
The app was funded by the Science, Technology, Analysis and Research (STAR) bid to the Home Office which was submitted by the Constabulary and supported by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Information shared anonymously on the app will be used by police, councils and local partner agencies to take action.
The data collected through the app will be used to make Gloucestershire safer. This could include improvements such as police patrols targeting certain places, action taken to support a particular bar or club, increased CCTV or improvements made to street lighting.
Assistant Chief Constable Rhiannon Kirk, the Constabulary’s lead for Violence and Intimidation Against Women and Girls, said: “We are working hard every day to make our streets safer for everyone, and we’re hopeful this new anonymous reporting app will enable local agencies to work together and take action.
“We’ve heard the public’s concerns around how women and girls experience inappropriate behaviour on a regular basis, how this impacts their lives and the changes they feel they have to make to their daily routine to keep themselves safe.
“The Flare app will help to improve our understanding of these types of unwanted and unwarranted behaviours and incidents, as well as where they happen, and enable partners to use the intelligence generated to build a picture of what is really happening on our streets, which often goes underreported.
“Tackling violence and intimidation against women and girls is paramount – we will do all we can to ensure they feel safe from harassment, sexual abuse and assaults, when out in our communities and on our streets.
“It is concerning that so many people feel unsafe – whether walking home in the evening, at a pub or club or in certain areas of the county. We want to improve this, as nobody should fear for their safety.
“Our hope is that this app will help build our knowledge of what is happening and where and to use this knowledge to shape our policing of these areas.”
Gloucestershire’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Evans, who chairs Safer Gloucestershire, said: “Any incidence of violence, intimidation or harassment of women and girls on our streets should be reported to the police, but we know most are not.
“I want to turn that around and for women to have the confidence that in Gloucestershire, we care about their safety. That’s why information gained through the ‘Flare’ app – which is free and easy to use anonymously – will help us take direct action and place cameras in the very places they feel most at risk.”
A series of roadshows are taking place across the county for the launch of the app. Locations include universities and town centres. A launch event was held at the Royal Agricultural University Campus in Cirencester today, Wednesday 24 November.
Dan Tasker, Head of Student Services at the Royal Agricultural University said: “We are delighted to be able to host the Flare App launch today at the Royal Agricultural University Campus. We have a duty of care to our students that we take very seriously.
“We already work closely with our local pubs and clubs and other partner agencies.
“The Flare app is another step in the right direct to take action against the issue of violence and intimidation of women and girls.”
The Flare app can be downloaded onto a smartphone by visiting http://www.flarereport.co.uk.
Flare is not a means for reporting crime and this can be done by the usual channels of calling 999 in the case of an emergency, or phoning 101 or online for non-emergency crimes at https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/soh/seen-or-heard/
New data from Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, reveals that 28,049 shoppers were conned out of their money when shopping online over the Christmas period last year – an increase of almost two thirds (61 per cent) when compared to the same period in the previous year.
Ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Action Fraud is warning the public to take extra care when shopping online as reports of online shopping fraud have continued to surge. Here are some simple tips to help you and your family enjoy a secure online shopping experience this festive season.
Where to shop
Buying from an online store you haven’t used before? Carry out some research first, or ask a friend or family member if they’ve used the site and about their experiences before completing the purchase.
Your information
Only create an account if necessary or to save you effort if you’re going to use that site a lot in the future. Be cautious if the website asks you for details that are not required for your purchase, such as your mother’s maiden name or the name of your primary school.
Payment method
When it’s time to pay for your items, check there’s a ‘closed padlock’ icon in the browser’s address bar. Use a credit card when shopping online, if you have one. Most major credit card providers protect online purchases.
Phishing
Some of the messages you receive about amazing offers may contain links to fake websites. If you’re unsure about a link, don’t use the it – go separately to the website. Report suspicious emails you receive by forwarding them to: report@phishing.gov.uk. Report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to: 7726.
Email accounts:
Make sure that your really important accounts (such as your email account or online shopping accounts) are protected by strong passwords that you don’t use anywhere else.
Need help changing your email account password? You can use these links to find step by step instructions: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, BT, AOL Mail.
If things go wrong
If you’ve lost money to an online shopping scam, tell your bank and report it as a crime to Action Fraud (for England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or Police Scotland (for Scotland). By doing this, you’ll be helping to prevent others becoming victims of cyber crime.
For more of the government’s latest advice on how to stay secure online, visit the Cyber Aware website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware