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Hampers help
vulnerable in Knowsley to keep warm
THE Knowsley Housing Trust
will be helping to spread some Christmas cheer by putting together
special 'Keep Warm' hampers for vulnerable people in
Knowsley. KHT apprentices and residents from Octavia Court, in
Huyton, teamed up to create the hampers which included donated tins
of food, winter recipes and warm clothes such as hats, scarfs and
gloves. "The effort that our apprentices and residents
have put into making the hampers has been amazing and we hope the
items will help provide a bit of warmth and comfort for vulnerable
people across Knowsley this Christmas," said Jamie Sowler,
Senior Customer Involvement Officer at KHT. Partner organisations
and KHT staff donated items for the hampers including John Adderley
Ltd, Cas Environmental, 4 Season Residents Association, Kellogs,
Knitwits, Oldham Brothers Ltd, Structec, Travis Perkins and Knit &
Matter also kindly made donations for the hampers.
New figures show
cash boost for free childcare and Free School Meals
THE North West was given a
boost of nearly £113 million to provide free childcare for 2 year
olds, as well as over £19 million to help local schools provide
universal free school meals to all infants, the Deputy Prime
Minister Nick Clegg was announced on Wednesday, 18 December 2013.
Councils across the country will receive over £755 million of
government funding to provide 15 hours a week of free childcare for
40% of 2 year olds from September next year. In the North West,
nearly £113 million will be available to double the number of
children who will have access to high quality free childcare from
21,700 to over 42,000.
Councils are urged to use the money to make the best use of their
existing facilities; such as school nurseries and childminders; to
deliver a boost to the number of high quality places which offer
childcare from 8 to 6 and fit with the demands of modern, working
life.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said:- "I want to give
children the best possible start in life to get them ready to learn,
progress, and aim high. That's why we're investing in early
education for children in the North West to give them the chance to
start school on an equal footing with their peers. Next year the
number of 2 year olds who receive free childcare will nearly double
giving over 42,000 children in the East of England access to high
quality childcare that can make a real impact to their lives.
Parents, local authorities, nurseries and childminders should take
up the offer their children are entitled to, make sure places are
available and expand local childcare provision. Every child deserves
to have the best start in life, regardless of their background,
financial situation or family set up, and this funding will help
even more children and families get on in life."
Education and Childcare Minister, Elizabeth Truss, said:- "I
want parents to get the early years support their child is entitled
to where they want it and at a time they need it which is why I'm
encouraging North West Councils to make sure this money goes towards
providing parents with places that support those who want to work;
giving them greater flexibility and choice. Encouraging school
nurseries to open from 8am to 6pm rather than 9am to 3pm and passing
on funding to good and outstanding childminders will help offer
places at the times we know parents need them. We have already made
it easier for childminders to access funding for 2 year olds, and I
want Councils in the North West to pass more money down so parents
are able to access the home based, flexible childcare that many
prefer."
Also announced today was the amount of money available to ensure
local schools have the capaCity to provide extra free school meals.
Every child in reception, years 1 and 2 in state funded schools will
be able to receive a free school lunch, saving parents, who
currently pay for a school lunch, over £400 a year per child.
An estimated 1.55 million additional infants across the country will
be able to sit down to a free school meal from September 2014, of
which 200,000 children in the North West expect to benefit. To help
local schools expand their kitchen and dining facilities, where
needed, over £19.2 million of government funding was announced today
for the region.
Commenting on free school meals, Nick Clegg said:- "Making
free school meals available for infants in the North West means
children won't miss out on getting a healthy meal during the day.
This is good for their health and their studies. Parents can fork
out around £400 for school lunches for each child every year. We
want to do all we can to help ease the pressure on household
budgets, and free school meals can help put money back in the
pockets of these families."
Evidence shows that where children have been given a free school
dinner, students were academically months ahead of their peers
elsewhere and more likely to eat vegetables at lunchtime instead of
less healthy food like crisps:-
► Students were found to be on average 2
months ahead of their peers elsewhere.
► The universal entitlement pilot led to
around a 2% point increase in children reaching target levels in
Maths and English at Key Stage 1; while at Key Stage 2 the impact on
achievement was a 4% point increase for English and 5.5% points for
maths.
► Academic improvements were most marked
among children from less affluent families.
► There was a 26% point increase in the
number of children eating vegetables at lunch and an 18% point drop
in those eating crisps. |
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SEFTON POLICE TO
HELP CYCLISTS PUT BIKE THIEVES IN A NEW YEAR SPIN
TAKE NOTE!!! People who get
a new bike for Christmas are being offered a free present... in the
New Year! Police in Sefton are teaming up with a local bike
shop to offer free security marking for bikes and other valuable
property.
On Thursday, 2 January 2013, also
between 1pm and 3pm, they will be at a bike shop in Station Road,
Ainsdale and between 1pm and 3pm on Friday, 3 January 2013 at Formby
Police Station, Officers will be helping people register their
belongings on a secure Police database. They will also be
marking them up to deter thieves.
Ainsdale and Formby neighbourhood inspector, Jim Atherton, said:-
"This is all about protecting your property and detering thieves.
At this time of year people will be getting lots of new stuff for
Christmas, much of which will be expensive and valuable to them. The
last thing we want is find people having their things stolen by
ruthless criminals who don't care about the misery they cause by
helping themselves to things that aren't theirs. By coming along to
these free events, you will be helped by my officers in registering
your bikes, electronics and computers on a secure database that the
Police have access to. If your property is marked as being
registered with Immobilise.com, it may deter a thief, and if it is
still stolen, but later recovered by the Police, we'll know
straightaway who the rightful owner is."
Immobilise.com works by
allowing Police forces throughout the country permanent access to a
database containing the serial numbers of every item of property
registered on it. The database links the serial number to the
contact details of the person who registered it.
If officers stop a suspected burglar or robber in possession of
stolen property, they can make a quick call to Immobilise or a check
on the website so see who it really does belong to.
Police in Sefton are also encouraging cyclists to put a good quality
bike lock on their Christmas list and, when storing their bikes in
sheds or garages, ensure the building has good quality locks and an
alarm. Keeping your bike and other valuables away from windows and
out of sight under a cover is also recommended.
Sefton Homewatch is also encouraging people to protect their
property using Smartwater. Call Merseyside Police on:- 0151 777 3419
or visit the
website to find out more about
this system.
Thousands of
passengers look to get away for Christmas and the New Year via LJLA
LIVERPOOL John Lennon
Airport (LJLA) is once again gearing up for the great Christmas and
New Year 'Getaway', with over 100,000 passengers expected to pass
through the Airport over the festive and New Year holiday period.
With many schools finishing for Christmas on Thursday, families from
across the region are expected to start to head off on flights from
Liverpool on Friday onwards. Many will be setting off in search of
some much needed Winter sun, to go skiing, visit relatives, or
looking for Christmas and New Year festivities across a range of
European cities.
As usual, popular flights for passengers over the coming days are
expected to be Winter ski destinations such as Geneva, Salzburg,
Innsbruck and Grenoble, The Canary Islands and southern Spain for
some warmer Winter weather and City break destinations including
many with famous Christmas markets such as Berlin, Krakow and
Copenhagen.
Ryanair expect Friday 20th to be their busiest day over the festive
period, while easyJet's will be Sunday, 22 December 2013, with the
airline carrying 3,000 passengers from Liverpool on this day alone.
Christmas is also a popular time for passengers to fly via LJLA to
visit family and friends, with many passengers taking advantage of
the great value for money flights available.
Helping to put passengers in the holiday mood, the Airport will be
staging one of its regular 'Funday Friday' events on
20 December 2013, with a mini Christmas grotto in the departure
lounge and a DJ entertaining passengers with popular Christmas
songs. Airport staff have even managed to persuade Santa to be on
hand to listen to any last minute Christmas wishes from passengers
young and old on their way through the Airport, before he too flies
off, back to the North Pole to prepare for Christmas Eve.
All visitors to see Santa will also be able to pick up some great
prizes including free flights from Santa's sack, while many
retailers at the Airport such as World Duty Free and WHSmiths have
special Christmas offers and free samples for passengers to take
advantage of too. The Kissing Gate bar and restaurant will even have
mistletoe for all those holiday romantics!
LJLA Management are once again keen to remind all passengers to
allow plenty of time to pass through the Airport during this busy
period and that restrictions on liquids carried in hand luggage are
still in place.
Passengers are also reminded to
think carefully about what items they are intending to pack in hand
luggage, before they set off for the Airport; especially those who
are travelling with presents for friends and relatives.
To avoid disappointment at the security search point and to help
keep security queues to a minimum, passengers are being asked to
travel with their presents unwrapped if they are to be carried in
hand luggage.
Robin Tudor, Head of PR for LJLA commented:- "This is always a
special time of the year for both our passengers and our staff here
at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. This year we're really trying to
help get passengers in the festive mood though with our 'Funday
Friday' event. With Santa here to listen to any last minute
Christmas wishes, we expect there to be a great atmosphere for
everyone, with some lucky passengers leaving with great prizes too.
We also want to remind all passengers to help us to help them and
avoid some of the disappointment we have seen in previous years when
passing through airport security by allowing plenty of time, coming
prepared and thinking about what they are carrying in their hand
luggage."
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