Category: Council Services

Every year we have to put together an annual review of our performance across a number of areas where the council works – things like education, adult social care, the environment, highways, the economy and others.

The results of those reviews are published in our annual Focused On Our Performance reports.

The Focused On Our Performance report for 2019/20 is now available to view, and will be discussed by our Executive Board next week.

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It measures our performance against the well-being objectives and in-year priorities in our 2019-2022 Council Plan, and the four important themes it sets out – economy, people, place and organisation.

It’s not an all-round check-up on everything we do, but instead looks at how we’re performing in key areas.

This year’s Focused On Our Performance report will be discussed at the Executive Board on Tuesday, 13^th October.

Let’s take a look at a few of the key areas set out in the report.

Where we’re doing well

The report points out a number of areas where we’re doing well, which are rated green.

Some of our highlights outlined in the report include:

• Footfall in the town-centre has greatly improved during 2019/20.
• The value of visitor spend in 2019/20 increased to £125 Million.
• A reduction in victim based crimes in Wrexham compared to 2018/19.
• In November 2019, we moved across to the new joint health and social care IT system.
• Addressed anti-social behaviour by reintroducing the Wrexham Town Public Spaces Protection Order.
• An increase of 4,818 volunteer hours supporting sports development and 2,908 hours supporting parks and country parks.
• An increase in the percentage of ‘A’ roads and ‘B’ roads in good condition since 2018/19 and above the Welsh national average.
• Online we now have 76 different services available to customers via the digital platform.

Where we want to improve

There are other areas in the Focused On Our Performance report where we haven’t made the improvements we want, or need to do better, and are rated either amber or red in the report.

Some of our areas to improve, outlined in the report include:

• Improve results of school learners, particularly at Key Stage 4.
• Address the increase in the number of people in Wrexham with no qualifications and the increase in the number of people claiming benefits.
• In Social Care, the percentage of all statutory reviews held within timescale is improving but we have not met our target.
• In Children’s Social Care the percentage of assessments completed for children within statutory timescales is declining.
• The percentage of (C) roads in poor overall condition increased in 2019/20.

Some of these areas are heading in the right direction – but we still want to work hard to make improvements where we can.

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There’s new grant funding available for businesses in the town centre to help them reach more customers whilst maintaining social distancing and ensuring a sense of wellbeing and safety in the area.

It’s provided by the Welsh Government and administered by the Council and is called the Transforming Towns Thematic-Covid 19 Grant.

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It can only be used to purchase fixed assets such as outdoor tables, chairs, seating provision and servery facilities, outdoor awnings and canopies, screening, bollards, planters and social distancing measures. It can’t support any revenue costs such as maintenance or goods and services.

Businesses can apply for a maximum of £2,000 or 80% of the cost depending on which is the lowest number.

Collaborative applications will be welcomed.

Grant applications are made online at: https://www.wrexham.gov.uk/service/covid-19-support-businesses/transforming-towns-thematic-covid-19-grant

This grant funding is an excellent opportunity for businesses

Cllr Terry Evans, Lead Member for Economic Development, said: “We are doing all we can to support traders as more and more people come out of lockdown and into the town centre. This grant is an excellent opportunity for premises to expand onto the pavement to increase their customer numbers whilst maintaining safe social distancing. Customers will feel safe and the town centre will look and feel more attractive.”

In addition to the new grant, the Council continues to operate the following schemes to support businesses in Wrexham Town Centre.

The Property Improvement and Development Grant provides gap funding for commercial building occupiers and owners to enhance building frontages, improve the quality of the signage and bring vacant commercial floor space back into beneficial business use.  This will help to create new businesses and allow current businesses to grow whilst assisting with the overall regeneration of the area.  This opportunity is available until the end of March 2021.

For further information email grants@wrexham.gov.uk for a pre-application form and further information

The Town Centre Regeneration Loan scheme is available for owners of commercial premises in need of improvement or change of use, located within Wrexham Town Centre.

The purpose of the loan is to improve the property for continued ownership, to sell, to rent, or unlock a vacant or stalled site. The loan fund cannot be used to repay existing borrowings. The minimum loan value available is from £5,000 to a maximum of £1,000,000.  The maximum loan term is for 5 years. The loan funding can be used in conjunction with the Property Improvement and Development Grant or the Transforming Towns Covid 19 Thematic Grant.

For further information please email loans@wrexham.gov.uk for a pre-application form and further information.

How to get a test

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The new bin and recycling Collection Calendars for 2020-21 are now on our website.

There are no changes to your collection day – apart from the usual shifting schedules around the Christmas season so please check them out.

Green bin garden waste collections will run once a month from December, 2020 to February, 2021 for those who have paid for the service, with normal fortnightly collections resuming in March.

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All other kerbside recycling will continue to be collected weekly.

If you don’t want to be checking your calendar every week you could sign up for email alerts which will be sent the day before your collection day to remind you to put your bin out and which bin to put out.

“Won’t take five minutes”

Cllr David A. Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “As a growing number of Wrexham residents are now online via smartphones and tablets, we want to make sure residents are aware that they can get their waste and recycling collection calendars online.

“It’s incredibly simple to do and won’t take five minutes of your time, but can save residents from missing bin collections.”

How do I get my calendar?

To download or print your calendar, click here and type in your postcode or sign up for email alerts which will be sent the day before your collection to let you know what bin to put out.

Check out when your bin is being collected

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Wrexham is currently under a local lockdown and Welsh Government has issued published guidance for anyone planning to go out for a drink or meal.

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The full guidance can be viewed here. https://gov.wales/wrexham-county-borough-lockdown-frequently-asked-questions but if you are going out to eat or drink here’s the key things you need to know:

• You cannot meet for a drink or meal with anyone who is not a member of your immediate household until the local lockdown is lifted
• You cannot go out of Wrexham County for a drink or meal until the local lockdown is lifted
• You must wear a face mask to go into a pub or to go into a restaurant or cafe
• You must keep your mask on at all times except when you are seated at your table
• There will be table service only and you may not get up to go the bar. Orders will be taken at the table and drinks brought to you.
• All staff working in areas where there are customers will be wearing masks
• You cannot mingle with anyone outside you table group or move around inside the premises
• You must not move the tables as these will have been laid out in order to keep people from different households a safe distance apart
• Even if you are only out for a drink and not a meal you must remain seated at your designated table for the duration of your visit
• If you need to leave the table for any reason, for example to go to the toilet, you must put your face mask on.
• There are exemptions regarding the wearing of masks which will apply to some customers and these are explained in the guidance

And don’t forget you’ll also need to wear a face mask if you’re going by train or bus and if planning on getting a taxi.

These new measures are there to protect everyone and reduce the spread of the virus. If they fail and infections continue to rise it is probable that more restrictive measures will be introduced.

Please do your bit to keep Wrexham safe

Download the Covid-19 NHS app…and help keep Wrexham safe this autumn.

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In October the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) will be inspecting our social services including services for disabled children and children who are or who have been in care.

If you receive these services or are the parent or carer of a disabled child they’d like to hear about your experiences with social services or care services such as childcare.

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We are proposing to carry out essential resurfacing works on the A525 Ruthin Road, Wrexham between Homestead Lane and Berse Road.

The works will take 4 weeks to complete and will start on Monday the 5^th of October.

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In order to ensure safety the road will be one way with vehicles travelling to A483 from Coedpoeth into town.

A signed diversion route along the Mold Road will be in place for motorists travelling in the opposite direction.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “These are essential maintenance works and we are sure motorists will appreciate the end results. In the meantime we apologise if your journey will be disrupted and ask that you allow further time in order to get to your destination on time.”

Download the Covid-19 NHS app…and help keep Wrexham safe this autumn.
 

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The Welsh Government is undertaking an evaluation of the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), which is an all-Wales standard for all homes that are let to tenants in social housing. As part of the evaluation of the standard, this survey explores the attitudes of social housing tenants and will contribute to how the future WHQS will look post-2020.

You are invited to take part in a short online survey relating to your experience of the WHQS as a tenant in the Welsh social housing sector. The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete.

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Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. Your views and experiences are important in order to help inform future Welsh Government policy. Your responses will be anonymous.

If you would like to participate please follow the link to the survey:

Take the survey

Please follow the link to download the privacy notice outlining how your data will be used:

Privacy Notice

The survey will be live until 14 October 2020.

If you have any queries relating to the survey, please contact Katy Addison katy.addison@gov.wales

Download the Covid-19 NHS app…and help keep Wrexham safe this autumn.

[button color=”” size=”large” type=”square_outlined” target=”new” link=” https://www.covid19.nhs.uk/”]DOWNLOAD THE NHS APP[/button]