City of York Council is calling on York’s bus passengers to tell bus bosses their views on local services at a ‘bus surgery’ event on Parliament Street on Thursday 8 October, from 10am – 4pm.
The ‘bus surgery’ event will give residents a chance to speak with representatives from York’s bus providers including First York, Arriva and Transdev. The event will be held on a bus provided by First York giving people who don’t normally use busses a chance to look at one.
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City of York Council is asking residents to nominate members of the authority’s workforce who they think are ‘very important people’ for a new annual awards scheme.
The authority is seeking nominations for its first ‘CYC VIP – Celebrating Your Contribution’ awards which will help highlight the dedication, diligence and enterprise of staff serving the city across a huge range of roles.
With one of the largest workforces in the city, the council’s new awards aim to celebrate the work of teams and individuals who have shown exceptional care, commitment or creativity – and made a positive difference to someone’s day or even their lives.
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To support landlords improve the quality and living conditions of York’s private tenants, City of York Council is running a course on combating cold, damp and mould.
Excess cold is one of the biggest problems in private rented properties in York, largely because of the high number of older, energy-inefficient houses in York. Each year, over 50 per cent of complaints received by the council from tenants in private rented accommodation in York are about condensation and mould – largely caused by cold and poor ventilation – and the complaints peak during the winter months.
To help landlords and agents avoid these issues arising in the first instance and to help deal effectively with them when they arise, a short course is being run. The session will give:
• Latest research on avoiding these problems in the first instance
• Affordable and effective solutions to cold, damp and mould
• Case studies on causes and remedies for damp and mould
• Advice to share with tenants on avoiding condensation and mould.
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City of York Council has teamed up with local GPs and voluntary and community groups to provide a wide range of non-medical help and support to residents.
The new initiative allows GPs to ‘prescribe’ activities such as befriending, confidence building, healthy lifestyle building or budgeting advice for the first time.
Known as ‘social prescribing’, the new scheme has been made possible thanks to £60,000 funding from the council, and will offer ways to help patients’ overall health and wellbeing.
Councillor Carol Runciman, Executive member for Adult Social Care and Health, City of York Council, said: “As a society we’re now realising that we can’t cure every problem with medication and many problems, such as depression, anxiety and weight-related problems can be treated very effectively through social prescribing. Helping people to prevent health problems from occurring or from getting worse is a key element of our long term care and support strategy. I hope this new initiative will help patients across the city.”
A new Social Prescribing Co-ordinator will be appointed shortly to co-ordinate the initiative.
Lesley Godfrey, a GP with Priory Medical Group and clinical lead of the York Integrated Care Team, said: “We’re looking forward to working with the community and voluntary sector to create and implement a social prescribing scheme. It is anticipated that this will enable the residents of City of York improved access to the support and advice that is currently already available locally, by encouraging referrals from health professionals”.
Melanie McQueen, Deputy CEO at York CVS, said: “We’re excited to work with partners to pilot this innovative approach. Social prescribing is gaining pace nationally as a holistic way to support individuals presenting to their GP with a range of needs. It offers access to non-medical support that can impact positively on individuals’ wellbeing.”
To offer greater protection to tenants in the private rented sector, from 1 October, a new law requires that private landlords must fit all of their properties with smoke alarms by this date.
The law (Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015) says that a working fire alarm must be fitted on each storey with a room which is wholly or partly used as living accommodation.
While the law says that it’s the landlord’s responsibility to make sure the alarm is working when a tenancy starts after the 1 October, tenants must regularly check that it is working. If it is not and it is a battery-powered detector they should change the batteries or let their landlord know if it is a mains wired alarm.
The law also says a carbon monoxide alarm must be fitted in any room which has a coal fire, wood burning stove or similar solid fuel burning appliance, and where the room is partly or wholly used as living accommodation.
The landlord or manager of a property failing to meet the new regulations could face a fine of up to £5,000.
Please contact the Council’s Housing Standards and Adaptations Team at housing.standards@york.gov.uk or on 01904 552300 if you have any concerns.
