Rubbish and recycling days will change for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year period.

For detailed information on Christmas recycling advice download a copy of the Christmas Collections and Recycling leaflet (390kB PDF)

https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/.../msdc-a4-xmas-leaflet...

Please make sure your bins are at the edge of your property, at the point nearest the highway, by 7am on the day of collection.

All rubbish and recycling collections will return to normal from Monday 4 January 2021

Garden Waste Collections
The last collection day for green waste bins is Friday 18 December. Please note there will be no garden waste collections between Monday 21 December and Friday 1 January. Garden waste collections will return to normal from Monday 4 January 2021

Bulky Waste Collections
The last day applications will be accepted for this year will be Friday 11 December. Collections before Christmas cannot be guaranteed.

Any forms submitted after this date will not be processed until the service restarts on Monday 4 January 2021

Christmas Trees
Real Christmas trees can be composted in your garden waste bin. Alternatively, there will be temporary sites where you can drop off your real Christmas tree for recycling. These sites will be open from Wednesday 30 December until Friday 8 January 2021 (inclusive).

For further details including a location map click
https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/.../christmas-tree.../

or alternatively download our handy Christmas Tree recycling leaflet (703kB PDF) which lists the recycling locations throughout the District.

MIDSUSSEX.GOV.UK

Christmas Tree Recycling Sites
If you have a real Christmas tree, please recycle it! We have sites across Mid Sussex where you can take your real tree for recycling.

Key Messages:

COVID Pandemic

• West Sussex remains in Tier 2
• Christmas Travel and Christmas Bubbles
• Wearing face coverings with plastic visor - message from West Sussex Public Health and Trading Standards services https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/news/important-information-about-covid-19-visors-and-face-coverings/
• Supporting Vulnerable People and Families this winter – Press Release https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/news/supporting-vulnerable-people-and-families-this-winter/
• Health Leaders urge everyone to help keep West Sussex Safe this Christmas – Press Release https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/news/health-leaders-urge-everyone-to-help-keep-west-sussex-safe-this-christmas/

 

Other messages

• Stay sober behind the wheel – Message from West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
• Beware Loan Fee Fraud – Message from Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to raise awareness about loan fee fraud
• Have your say on School Admissions - we would like your views on our proposed admission arrangements for schools for the September 2022 entry closing date of Thursday 21 January 2021.
• Dangerous Christmas present found for sale online - https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/news/dangerous-christmas-presents-found-for-sale-online/

WSCC Community Hub are still here to help if you need it

https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/fire-emergencies-and-crime/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-and-information/community-hub-covid-19/

 

Latest coronavirus figures in West Sussex Christmas bubbles Travelling between 23 and 27 December Progress on Children’s Services and Fire & Rescue Service recognised Last minute present ideas School travel survey Have you got questions about domestic abuse? Latest coronavirus figures in West Sussex Cases in West Sussex have risen slightly in the past week. There were 539 new confirmed cases in West Sussex in the seven days up to Saturday 05 December. This is 62.4 per 100,000 population (all ages). Our covid-19 data dashboard is available on our website, showing information about the number of cases in local districts and boroughs as well as at county level. West Sussex is currently in Tier 2 ‘High Alert’ and this is being reviewed by Government next week. You can familiarise yourself with the restrictions in full by visiting the GOV.UK website. Remember: Hands. Face. Space. Thank you for your continued support. Christmas bubbles Local tier restrictions will be relaxed between Wednesday 23 and Sunday 27 December, to enable family and friends to form ‘Christmas bubbles’ of up to three households if they want to. Clear guidelines for Christmas bubbles are explained on the Government website. We must each continue to take personal responsibility to limit the spread of the virus and protect our loved ones, particularly if they are vulnerable. If you are clinically extremely vulnerable you can still form a bubble, but it does involve greater risks for you. You will minimise your risk of infection if you limit social contact with people that you do not live with.  Travelling between 23 and 27 December Between Wednesday 23 and Sunday 27 December, you can travel between different tiers and other nations of the UK if necessary, to meet with your Christmas bubble. However, you should not travel if you have any coronavirus symptoms or have been told to self-isolate. And if you do have symptoms, please book a test.  The number of days you need to self-isolate has changed from 14 to 10 days. This comes into affect on Monday 14 December. The government’s rules say you should not travel to see your bubble before Wednesday 23 December or travel back after Sunday 27 December except in exceptional circumstances (for example, if a member of your Christmas bubble develops coronavirus symptoms and you are required to self-isolate).   It’s likely that transport routes will be busier than normal, so please:  plan ahead, check for disruption before you leave, and avoid the busiest routes, as well as busy times  avoid making unnecessary stops during your journey  don’t share a car with people not in your household or Christmas bubble  where possible, keep your distance from other people when you travel   wash or sanitise your hands regularly  wear a face covering on public transport in England unless you’re exempt.  You can find full travel guidance for the Christmas period on the government's website. Progress on Children’s Services and Fire & Rescue Service recognised Children’s Services in West Sussex will remain under the control of the County Council for at least another year in light of progress made; the Department for Education (DofE) has said. The Council received a statutory direction to place services for Children and Families into a separate Children’s Trust following an inadequate Ofsted report back in 2019, and a subsequent report by a children’s commissioner appointed by the DfE to look at the Council’s work. As a result of improvements made since then, the Children’s Commissioner, and Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council, John Coughlan, said in his recent report that there were ‘compelling reasons why a company to deliver children’s services functions on behalf of the Council is no longer required’ and instead the Council should retain control of its children’s services for a period of twelve months pending a review of improvement progress. Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council, said: “This is a significant step for the Council and demonstrates a huge amount of hard work by a great number of people but, more importantly, it is crucial for children and families living in our county.” The news comes shortly after West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service was told that an independent advisory panel set up to support improvement within the service is no longer needed. The chair of the Independent Advisory Panel for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said the service has taken ‘significant’ steps to improve and ‘is moving in the right direction in capable hands.’ Councillor Marshall added: “This Council has not been without its issues and to have such compelling evidence that we are driving forward improvements and making real change is incredibly heartening. Both the Fire & Rescue Service and our Children’s Services support us when we are at our most vulnerable and it is vital for our residents that we get those services right. I want to take this opportunity to pay thanks to all our dedicated staff who work tirelessly to support residents and these achievements are testament to their hard work. We will continue to strive for improvements and make the services we provide to the residents we serve the best they can be.” Last minute present ideas If you’ve still got some shopping to do, then support your local shops if you can, adhering to the national health and safety guidance to help protect yourself and others. This includes:   wearing a face covering inside any shop or business keeping a safe distance from people outside of your household washing your hands or using sanitiser frequently using cashless payments when possible. Take a look at 'Shop Sussex' on our Experience West Sussex website to find a feast of festive ideas for gifts and experiences with a local theme. School travel survey Do your children go to school in West Sussex? If so, then we want your views on the school run. Please take part in our quick survey on school travel. Your views and information will help us make decisions on how to create better, safer and more environmentally-friendly travel. The survey closes midnight on Sunday, 20 December and we also want older students who get themselves to college or Uni to take part. Click on the link below to take the survey and please forward to any other parents you know. Have you got questions about domestic abuse? What is domestic abuse? Does it only happen to women? Who can help? We’re encouraging residents to start talking and asking questions about domestic abuse this Christmas as part of our ‘Ask Us Anything’ campaign. We’re aiming to raise awareness of domestic abuse and to send a clear message that this type of abuse won’t be tolerated in West Sussex. You can submit your questions anonymously by email: [email protected] or via social media (using the #AskUsAnything) to the County Council’s Community Safety Team. Every question will be answered by our panel of experts on Facebook and Twitter. Anyone who believes they are experiencing domestic abuse, or is worried about a friend, neighbour or family member, should contact West Sussex County Council’s WORTH service by calling 0330 222 8181 or emailing [email protected]. Our trained advisors are ready to offer support.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is appealing for donations of old, unwanted vehicles.

The service relies on donations of used vehicles from members of the public for firefighters to use for training.

Recently six more retained (on-call) firefighters completed their road traffic collision training course and used donated cars for their training.

As part of the course, Adam Newton from Shoreham Fire Station, Oliver Lewis from Burgess Hill, Robert Austen based at Steyning, Will Middleton from Bognor Regis, and Warren Boyt and David Loor from Chichester had to demonstrate their skills in responding to a road traffic collision.

This involves the use of hydraulic cutting equipment carried on West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s appliances to allow firefighters to safely extract casualties who are trapped inside a vehicle.

Neil Mason, a Watch Manager in WSFRS’s Operational Training Team who oversaw the latest RTC course, said: “Firstly I would like to congratulate each of our six newly qualified retained firefighters who completed this course. Each of these retained firefighters have full-time jobs elsewhere but chose to become retained firefighters to help support their communities in their own time. It is a big commitment, as is making the time to complete training courses like this.

“We used a number of scrap vehicles as part of this course to give the firefighters the chance to experience the aftermath of a road traffic collision so that they are armed with all of the vital skills and knowledge to respond effectively in a real life emergency situation.

“I would like to say a big thank you to each of the drivers who thought of the fire service when their vehicle had reached the end of its working life and donated it to us for training. It could well have saved someone’s life.”

A number of fire stations are in need of extra vehicles across West Sussex to ensure firefighters gain plenty of experience in rescuing casualties from inside vehicles. Collection and removal of vehicles is managed by Mark Maynard of Autorecovery, who will travel to any address within West Sussex to collect the vehicles free of charge.

Anyone wishing to donate their car can call 0330 2228377, or email [email protected] with the following details:

Name Contact number Make, model and registration of the vehicle Whether the vehicle is taxed or SORNd Full address, including a postcode, of where the vehicle is parked

Give us your views on proposed school admissions arrangements

Are you a parent or carer for a child between the ages of 2 and 18 or, do you have an interest in school admissions?

If so, we would like your views on our proposed admission arrangements for schools for the September 2022 entry.

We are currently consulting and would welcome your views on:

• Admission numbers for all schools
• The admission arrangements
• Proposed catchment changes in the Chichester area
• Associated changes in the Mid Sussex and Horsham areas as a result of the relocation of Warninglid Primary School to Pease Pottage

Nigel Jupp, Cabinet Member for Education & Skills, said: “We welcome people’s views on our proposed admissions arrangements from September 2022, so I would encourage anyone with school-age children or with an interest in education to take part.”

The consultation closes on Thursday 21st January 2021 and people can find out more information about the individual proposals and take part at www.westsussex.gov.uk/schooladmissions2022-2023

The pandemic has made life difficult for many people and it is also having an impact on public services including our police.

Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, would like to hear what is important to you to help inform her Police and Crime Plan for Sussex and spending plans for the next four years.

Please click this link to have your say: OSPCC Consultation 

We understand that people are rightly cautious about clicking on links. If you prefer, you can visit the PCC's website https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/ and then search for the Precept Survey 2021/22.

Surrey & Sussex Neighbourhood Watch are working with University College London to understand how COVID-19 has impacted upon people's routine and online activities, crime and their perceptions of it.

To help with this work, we are encouraging our supporters to participate in a short survey (surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9LGPHDL) which closes on 23rd December.

As well as understanding how the pandemic has affected things to date, the aim of the survey is to understand how it might do so in the future. Your participation will be really valuable and help us understand things that other data cannot.

We estimate that it will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Your responses will be stored securely and you will not be asked for any information that would identify you as an individual.

If you are willing to take part, please complete this survey: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9LGPHDL

Please support this work - with your help I am sure we can gain real insight into the effects of COVID-19 on crime.

Lottery/prize draw scams will claim you have won a large sum of money. However, you must pay a small fee in order to access the funds.

See the link for details on how to send your scam mail to the team this Christmas: www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/scamnesty#ScamAware#Scamnesty

A thought provoking driver awareness programme for young adults has gone digital.

You can watch Safe Drive Stay Alive online here: https://bit.ly/SDSAWestSussex

Due to coronavirus, more people will be doing their festive shopping online this year. This means more opportunities for hackers to carry out cyber attacks. They often do this by targeting people and businesses using:

* email and website scams 

* malware - software that can damage your device or let a hacker in 

* If hackers get into your device or accounts, they could access your money, your personal information, or information about your business. 

You can improve your cyber security by taking six actions: 

1 - Use a strong and separate password for your email If a hacker gets into your email, they could: 

* reset your other account passwords 

* access information you have saved about yourself or your business 

* Your email password should be strong and different to all your other passwords. This will make it harder to crack or guess. 

2 - Create strong passwords using 3 random words When you use different passwords for your important accounts, it can be hard to remember them all. A good way to create strong, memorable passwords is by using 3 random words. Do not use words that can be guessed (like your pet’s name). You can include numbers and symbols if you need to. For example, “RedPantsTree4!” 

3 - Save your passwords in your browser Saving your password in your browser means letting your web browser (such as Chrome, Safari or Edge) remember your password for you. This can help: 

* make sure you do not lose or forget your passwords 

* protect you against some cyber crime, such as fake websites It is safer than using weak passwords, or using the same password in more than one place. 

4 - Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) Two-factor authentication (2FA) helps to stop hackers from getting into your accounts, even if they have your password.  

5 - Update your devices Out-of-date software, apps, and operating systems contain weaknesses. This makes them easier to hack. Companies fix the weaknesses by releasing updates. When you update your devices and software, this helps to keep hackers out.

6 - Back up your data Backing up means creating a copy of your information and saving it to another device or to cloud storage (online). Backing up regularly means you will always have a recent version of your information saved. This will help you recover quicker if your data is lost or stolen. 

For more information, and step-by-step instructions, please visit cyberaware.gov.uk

Every minute of the working day a shopworker is verbally abused, threatened with violence or physically attacked. Please show some kindness to the shopworkers helping to keep us all going this Christmas. #KeepingChristmasKind

76% of shopworkers say that incidents of violence, threats and abuse have been worse during Covid. Please show some kindness to those working hard to keep us going on the festive frontline this Christmas. #KeepingChristmasKind

Steve's a @TheSouthernCoop store manager & father of 2. He's been threatened with violence over 100 times this year just for doing his job. Please show some kindness to shopworkers this Christmas. #KeepingChristmasKind
https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/.../who-is-your-shopworker...

Sammie's a @coopuk store manager & wife. This year she has been verbally abused and even threatened with a flare, just for doing her job. Please show some kindness to shopworkers this Christmas. #KeepingChristmasKind
https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/.../who-is-your-shopworker...

Mrs Paleja is a newsagent owner & a grandmother. She was pushed to the ground by a customer and fractured her wrist just for doing her job. Please show some kindness to shopworkers this Christmas. #KeepingChristmasKind
https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/.../who-is-your-shopworker...