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OF TONBRIDGE
D O IS N’ SU T E MIS O S F T SO H M EO A C G TO A B ZI E N R E
Cancer treatment turnaround for hospital targets By Richard Williams
But by the start of this month that had risen to £888,800 - an increase of 61.6 per cent per cent on predictions. The council justified the decision to start charging for green waste because the revenue will allow it to expand its kerbside collections. From next week these will now include plastics and glass. Tonbridge & Malling had been one of only three councils in the UK not to offer plastic recycling, along with the Isles of Scilly and Rotherham. There will also be a weekly food waste collection so that this can be kept separate and converted into fertiliser. The council joined forces with its counterpart in Tunbridge Wells to set up
THE local NHS Trust has achieved the national target for cancer waiting times for the first time in nearly five years. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust [MTW], which was in financial special measures until the end of last year, has been languishing at the bottom a nationwide list of all NHS trusts for cancer waiting lists. At one stage earlier this year it was ranked lowest out of all 131 trusts in the country – but now it is in the top 30 per cent. The Government targets require 85 per cent of cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days of a GP referral. The turnaround comes despite suspected cancer referrals increase by nearly a third at MTW over the last two years. Miles Scott, the Trust’s Chief Executive, said the number of patients waiting for cancer treatment has been significantly reduced. “It’s been our priority to get our cancer treatment waiting times back on track, so I’m delighted that we’ve achieved what we set out to do - and earlier than we anticipated too,” he said. “This means we are now seeing and treating more of our patients quicker, ensuring people who have been diagnosed with cancer get access to the treatment and care they need. “We know from what our patients tell us that timeliness of treatment is really important to them, and this is important to us, too. Delivering
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SPLASHING TIME: Competitors get ready to take the plunge at Hever Castle as triathlon season finishes. Full story page 63
Highest take-up of garden waste charge in Kent brings in £900,000 By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk THE council has exceeded its income target by more than 60 per cent after imposing a new garden waste charge across the borough. The levy has been brought in as part of its new Waste Services Contract. The changes in refuse collection began on Monday [September 30] after a sevenmonth period of logistical overhaul for the new contractor Urbaser. Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council [TMBC] also reports that the number of complaints it received fell by a quarter in the first three months under Urbaser. For the first time the arrangements include an opt-in charge of £40 a year
for residents who want to have their garden waste collected. In total more than 23,000 households, or 43 per cent, have signed up - ‘by far the highest in Kent’, according to TMBC. It was initially discounted to £35 for the first two years, with the ‘early bird’ offer expiring on August 2 - 20,400 took advantage of this offer.
In total more than 23,000 households, or 43 per cent, have signed up The initial estimate of annual income from this levy was forecast to be £550,000, based on a take-up rate of 30 per cent.