Residents to help shape disability strategy

All county residents, including those with disabilities, their families and those who care for them, are asked to give their views on Essex County Council's future Disability Strategy. It is important people living with disabilities, their families and carers, and all residents of the county can feed into the development of the Disability Strategy. A consultation on the future Disability Strategy has now been launched and your views can be given online here: https:// consultations.essex.gov.uk/rci/disability-strategy-consultation/ An easy read version of the consultation can be found here: https://consultations.essex.gov.uk/rci/disability-strategy-2022-easyread/ The consultation will last for 12 weeks, closing on Thursday 23rd February. Cllr John Spence, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: “The aim of this strategy is to be clear about our ambitions, and outline a set of commitments to the citizens of Essex who have a disability, that aligns with our aspiration for everyone to live a meaningful life. “That means we need to know what is important to you so we can work in collaboration with partners to help you achieve it.” “Your views are important to us. We would like to hear from you to make sure we have correctly understood the opportunities and challenges you face.” A short video of Cllr Spence outlining why ECC is seeking your views on the future Disability Strategy can be viewed here: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ88UfsffOc If you would like to help ECC, please fill out this the consultation. It is fine for someone to help you fill out this consultation survey. Details of focus groups to discuss your views on the strategy with other people will be available soon. For any further enquiries please contact the Disability Strategy team disabilitystrategy@essex.gov.uk

Record-breaking temperatures and thousands of extra calls and incidents; 2022 has been a year like no other for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS). This week ECFRS has released its end of year stats as it reflects on what it has achieved during 2022. From 1st January to 30th November 2022, ECFRS attended over 16,000 incidents. From the very start it was an incredibly busy year, with some firefighters seeing in the New Year by dealing with a deliberate fire at a large industrial unit in Braintree. The scale and size of it meant firefighters were at the scene for three days. In total, since 1st January 2022 ECFRS attended over 5,000 fires, over 1,000 road traffic collisions and over 6,000 false alarms but perhaps most notably, it was the incidents related to extreme weather that proved the most challenging. Friday 18th February was an exceptional day for the Service due to Storm Eunice. Between 10am and 9pm, Control Officers and crews dealt with around 500 calls, with up to 100 calls an hour during the peak of the storm, including reports of collapsed and damaged buildings, large fallen trees, damage to power cables and small fires. Thankfully the storm passed in a few days, unlike 2022’s joint warmest summer on record in England and the driest since 1995. It resulted in an incredibly busy two months for the Service. In July and August ECFRS received more than double the average 999 calls and attended 5,000 incidents - around twice as many as the same time the previous year.

 In addition to these large incidents, firefighters extinguished countless other fires, rescued people and animals from a huge variety of situations and supported partner organisations and emergency services across the county and beyond. Of course, it’s not just incidents ECFRS spends its time on. The Service carried out over 17,000 fire safety visits to the public, over 4,000 inspections and audits at commercial properties and over 115,000 school-aged children benefitted from education visits. Over the course of the year 171 colleagues joined ECFRS - adding to the 1,528 strong workforce. Source: Essex County Fire & Rescue Services

As part of its SEND improvement journey, Essex County Council has re-launched the Essex Local Offer website to help families and practitioners access the right support including updated information, new resources and improved access to services across education, health and social care. The website, which is managed by Essex County Council (ECC), provides information about what Special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities (SEND) support is on offer for children and young people in Essex. The aim is to improve families’ experiences of the Essex SEND system, empower parents and carers, and ensure children and young people continue to receive appropriate support that meets their individual needs. There are different types of support that children and their families may need during their SEND journey. The new website makes it clearer how to access early help services and explains when a young person may require more intensive support. ECC has worked with families and practitioners to develop and test the new website. Content has been updated and it is easier to move around the website to find relevant information more quickly. Information is also presented in a new format which is clearer and more accessible for people using the site who may have SEND. Cllr Tony Ball, ECC’s Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, said: “Our aim is for every child and young person to reach their full potential in life, to be the best they can. The launch of new Local Offer website is another positive step forward in our journey to improve SEND services in Essex. However, it is not the end. We know we have more work to do to ensure that every family feels the benefits of the changes we are making. I look forward to building on the progress we have made so far.” The new website is one part of ECC’s efforts to transform the Essex SEND system and improve outcomes for children, young people and their families. It will also support SEND practitioners in their work with families. The site is available here: https://send.essex.gov.uk/. ECC will continue to listen to families and practitioners’ views about the new website to continuously improve it. Individuals can share their views on the new site by emailing essex.localoffer@essex.gov.uk