Month: February 2017
SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE LOCAL PLAN ENGAGEMENT
The publication of a new Strategic Plan for 2016-19 instigates the requirement to carry out a mandatory review of all our Local Fire and Rescue Plans. To inform this review and to contribute to the development of new Local Fire and Rescue Plans we wish to gather views on local service provision.
For ease, a response to these questions can be made online on our consultation hub Citizen Space. Click the following link to access the Local Fire and Rescue Plan Review survey
https://firescotland.citizenspace.com/planning-and-performance/local-plan-review/
Experiences – good or bad
Aberdeenshire Council is carrying out a review of how it communicates. We would love to hear how you feel about this. Interested in giving us your views? Click on the link;
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Commengagestrat
We’d love to hear from you!
Fundraising Masterclass
AVA are ho
lding a Fundraising masterclass event, Getting It Right, in Ellon on the 22nd of March.
The objectives are as follows:-
- To update participants on the changing context of fundraising
- To improve skills and knowledge on making good funding applications
- To improve knowledge and understanding of funders expectations
- To improve the development of fundraising strategy.
To book, contact;
Donna Speed
Funding Officer
Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action
72a High Street, Banchory
Aberdeenshire, AB31 5SS
07964 036821
01330 700 757 or 03718 110008
Strong Communities
To build a truly effective community it needs to be stronger, wiser and more resilient, sustainable and engaged. The Community Empowerment Act seeks to enable this to happen in Scotland’s communities. Where communities are empowered we would expect to see a range of benefits: local democratic participation is boosted; increased confidence and skills among local people; increased community capacity; and more satisfaction with quality of life in a local neighbourhood. Better community engagement and participation leads to delivery of better, more responsive services and better outcomes for communities. Further, our communities’ strengths and weaknesses, such as quality of life, amenities, infrastructure, and workforce skills, determine the potential of our local economy to support economic growth, enterprise and opportunities for all.
‘Early Days and Changing Ways’
Developing Capacity in Scottish Communities through our workshops
Join us at a venue near you
Learn about social investment in the morning : Take part in a practical workshop in the afternoon
14th March 2017
Register your free place here.
Laurencekirk Survey
Greetings Everyone – even if you are not a resident of Laurencekirk.
There are two websites links in this email, www.laurencekirkab30.co.uk, our community website, which gives information about the town and a current survey constructed by Sarah and the board of The Laurencekirk Development Trust; https://sarahleigh.typeform.com/to/xPTqEHk
The issues listed were identified during successive public engagements over the past six years and the objective of this survey is to establish the priorities for the community so that we can focus on these.
As Aberdeenshire Council’s plans will see the current population of the town double once more we want to grow the community in a balanced way with economic, social and sporting developments which are supported by those of us who live in Laurencekirk.
Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and share it with your friends and neighbours.
Many thanks.
Council to set budget for the year ahead
Aberdeenshire Council will meet to set its budget on Thursday, February 9.
Read here to find out about the role your feedback played.
Councillors will have the chance to consider a package of savings worth over £24 million and debate a potential Council Tax rise in order to deliver a balanced budget.
As the budget report sets out, the council will receive £7.4 million less from Scottish Government than in 2016, with no provision for increased demand on services or inflation.
A package of savings has been developed which includes procurement, treasury management and re-profiling the Capital Plan, along with service proposals covering delayed recruitment to vacant posts, the ongoing process of re-designing services, increasing charges and disposing of properties.
Councillors will also have the opportunity to decide whether to pass across all the funding for the Integrated Joint Board, which supports health and social care services.
The budget has been informed by the major engagement exercise which took place in December 2016. The campaign reached an audience of almost 180,000 through social media, with 3,514 visits to the budget webpages.
Councillors have used the responses from the engagement to inform their budget proposals, which include raising charges for some services and investing in renewable energy and solar panels. Raised charges will impact on things like the letting out of council buildings, buying community bedding plants, and out of school clubs and sports and physical activities.
The engagement activity also advised that respondents were generally supportive of raising Council Tax, and supported a range of savings proposals including streamlining waste collection routes, cleaning bus shelters every eight weeks instead of four, and reviewing the school transport network. The full engagement results can be found on the council’s website here.
For the first time in nine years, councils will be given the opportunity to consider raising Council Tax up to 3%. Any rise would come on top of an additional £8.3 million generated through Council Tax reform at a national level which affects bands E to H and has already been legislated for.
