Welcome to the latest edition of our Communities ezine. Since the last edition we have completed six community clear-up days and attended two Oxfordshire Play Association events and a family fun day in Cirencester. One of our younger customers also successfully completed a week of work experience offered by law firm Blake Morgan through their Growing Ambitions scheme.
Social tariffs for broadband and mobiles
Social tariffs are discounted broadband or mobile deals available for those on certain low-incomes. They’re generally cheaper than typical broadband tariffs and you’re likely to be eligible if you receive means-tested state benefits like Universal Credit, Pension Credit, or other equivalents. Social tariffs offer fast, unlimited broadband at speeds over 30 Mbit/s, and they usually don’t have price rises or exit fees.
Please note, you should always check with your existing provider before starting any new contracts to make sure you don’t incur any early termination charges for your existing contracts.
Launch into Veg
Struggling to get your kids to eat vegetables? Don't worry, 48% of parents say they find it tough. Launch into Veg by Simply Veg offers a series of online video tutorials and simple steps to help you progress your child from little to no veg, to eating at least one or two vegetables on a regular basis.
People with dementia sometimes get lost and go missing. If you care for someone with dementia, consider completing a Herbert Protocol form. The Herbert Protocol is a national scheme that encourages carers, family and friends to pull together useful information, which can then be passed to the police in the event of someone going missing.
Completing the form in advance will help the police to start the search sooner and means you don't need to remember all the necessary information when you’re under stress as a loved one has gone missing.
Simply fill in the form and keep it to hand somewhere safe until it’s needed - but don’t forget to update the information if something changes.
You can get your electric blanket tested for FREE across Oxfordshire this September and October. Take a friend, enjoy the refreshments laid on and find out information about staying safe and well.
Appointments must be pre-booked and are on a first come, first served basis. If you can’t get to one of the venues, there are limited collections available so please ask for one of these when booking.
It won’t be long until the ‘heated’ debate begins - put the heating on or just a jumper! Now is a good time to test your heating is working properly before the cold snap begins to ensure:
Your boiler and radiators work
No fault codes display
The pressure is not too low.
If it’s not working, please let us know as soon as possible.
The Scrutiny Group are a team of up to six Cottsway customers who meet regularly to review our services. They have looked at our estate inspection service and completed their annual report since our last ezine and these are now published on our website. Alternatively, you can follow them on Facebook.
At the end of June we reported our first full year of results for the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM’s) to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). Social landlords are required to complete and report on the TSM’s with the aim of making it easier for customers to see how their landlord is performing and to make comparisons with other landlords. The RSH will publish the comparisons later in the Autumn and we will include this in our next ezine, but for now you can find out more and check out our results online.
We’re currently working on plans for our next big community consultation which will start later in the Autumn. We’re interested in finding out more about how you want to be involved in our decision-making processes, what information you would like to receive from us and how. We’ll use an online survey but will also be focussing on customers who aren’t online to make sure we hear their voice too. Look out for a link to the survey sent to your mobile or email address – we look forward to hearing from you.
Food bank referrals
Since our last ezine in May we have made just over 90 referrals to local food banks. If you need a referral, please contact us and we will do our best to help.
Our Community Fund makes £30,000 available each year to support community groups and projects that benefit our customers. It also provides individual grants of up to £250 to Cottsway customers to help with learning and skills development.
For more information on how to apply and to see where we spent the money last year, see our website.
Applications are voted for by customers who are members of our closed Facebook group so follow us now if you’d like to have your say on how the grants are allocated.
We have a private Facebook, just for Cottsway customers, where you can comment, have your say and vote for which of our projects should receive our Community Fund. Sign up now at: communities@cottsway
‘Together we are turning houses into homes, growing and building stronger communities and making a positive difference to peoples’ lives.’
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