Leicestershire Matters

The week aims to raise awareness of the environmental impact caused by using disposable nappies and promotes the benefits of using real nappies instead.

Around eight million disposables are used in Britain every day.  These end up in landfill and cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to dispose of.

Real nappies are more environmentally friendly and can save you money. They can be up to half the cost of disposables from birth until potty training – even less if you use them for a second or third child.

To see for yourself, why not try borrowing real nappies through our lending scheme?

If you then buy real nappies, our cash back scheme will give you £30 back on your purchase.

Find out more by visiting one of the events held across the County during Leicestershire’s real nappy week from March 27^th – April 2nd. For details, including dates and venues, visit waste e-mail: recycling@leics.gov.uk or call 0116 305 0001.

Look out too for the waste recycling trailer attending events around the County advising people on composting, reusable bags, waste-free packed lunches as well as real nappies.

Leicestershire Cares works with employers across the County to offer two-week placements to ex-offenders.

The scheme, which can offer types of work including manufacturing, engineering and admin work, benefits not only the employer and the employee, but also the community by helping to reduce the risk of further offending.

The ex-offender, under the supervision of a trained mentor, has the chance to gain experience, develop skills and prove they pose no threat. The employer can oversee the placement and find out if the person is suitable for a current or future post.

There are 14 employers involved with the scheme – including the County Council. So far, 20 people have completed work placements in our catering, maintenance and printing sections – 10 of these now have jobs with us.

Leicestershire Cares believes everyone deserves a second chance in life.  Mark, aged 34, is an ex-offender who has benefited from his opportunity.

He said: “My work placement changed my life. I now have a reason to get up in the morning and feel like I have some dignity.”

If you are an employer, or potential employee, who would like more information, visit: www.leicestershirecares.co.uk or call Paul Roberts on 0116 275 6485, e-mail: paul@leicestershirecares.co.uk

The Leicestershire Statistics and Research website: www.lsr-online.org has this information and much more. It has 800 databases which include maps, tables, reports and in-depth analysis.

You can ask for details on how many crimes have been committed in an area, or the number of people admitted to hospital. Or you could find out how many traffic accidents there have been on a specific road and the unemployment figures for your ward.

Simply visit www.lsr-online.org and register. By doing this you will also be sent details of meetings being throughout the County to help you use the site.

We are committed to protecting vulnerable adults, including older people and people with disabilities, from abuse.

Abuse can be caused by anyone, including relatives, carers or friends. It can be someone hurting you physically or emotionally, taking money or possessions, or making you do something you don’t want to do, including sexual abuse.

If you feel you are being abused, talk to someone you can trust, a social worker, police officer, doctor, carer or relative.

Someone will talk to you in confidence about what happened and how you can keep safe. The police may become involved if someone has broken the law.

If you know, or suspect someone is being abused, then do not hesitate to report it.

To speak to someone in confidence, or to report an incident, contact your local adult social care office. Visit local offices or call 0116 305 7404 for contact details. Alternatively, you can call the police on 0116 222 2222.

The £350m refurbishment and extension to The Shires shopping centre in Leicester, due to open in the autumn, includes three department stores, more than 100 shops, a multiplex cinema, 120 apartments and 15 cafes and restaurants.

More than 2,500 jobs will be available thanks to the development.  We want to ensure Leicestershire people are aware of, and have the chance to benefit from, the new employment opportunities.

For more details, including dates and venues for the information days, visit www.highcrossleicester.com/jobs or call Sabrina Malik on 0116 305 5951, e-mail: samalik@leics.gov.uk

She has been a carer for 40 years and fostered nearly 400 children.

“I didn’t think back then when I first started that I would still be doing it now,” said Jean.  “But today, I can’t imagine not fostering.”

Over the years, Jean and her husband, Rob, from Wigston, have fostered children from as young as just five days old up to 18-year-olds.  They also have two sons, one of whom is now a foster carer himself, and three adopted children.

Jean and Rob have fostered on both a long and short-term basis – including many children with learning or physical disabilities.

The couple have provided respite care, where children are looked after for a short while to give their parents a break, and emergency placements when children need a place to stay immediately as their parents cannot look after them.

Jean’s efforts have not gone unnoticed and she was awarded an MBE in 2002.

She said: “There are many different types of fostering that you can do.  It’s not a job for the faint-hearted, or if you don’t like a challenge, but it is so rewarding and the good times definitely outweigh the bad.

“Foster carers need a sense of humour, patience, and, if you are a couple, to stick together when you make decisions,” Jean added.

Rob said: “Many of the children we have fostered have been let down by adults in the past.  By fostering, you can help them to have a happy, secure life and give children the chance to be part of a real family.”

To become a foster carer you don’t need qualifications, we give full training and on-going support and all the costs of caring for a child are covered.

Although it would be great to find more carers like Jean and Rob, if you could foster one child or would like to find out more about the different types of fostering, we would love to hear from you.

For more details, visit fostering e-mail: familyplacements@leics.gov.uk or call 0800 587 7767.

We want to raise awareness of how important reading is and to inspire you to talk about and experience different worlds by reading for pleasure. Visit National Year of Reading for more details.

As part of the celebrations we are asking you and your children to name your favourite books and tell us why you like them so much.

Everyone who fills in this form with their favourite read will be entered into our competition. The first adult and child entry picked at random after the closing date will win £25 of book vouchers each.

In addition, Egmont are publishing two Shaun the Sheep storybooks this month, with three further titles in stores in May. To celebrate, ten adult and child runners-up will also receive a copy of The Woolly World of Shaun the Sheep.

The Leicestershire Matters top ten of adults’ and children’s books will be put onto our website shortly after the closing date at top ten books.

Please send entries by Monday 11th April, 2008 online at National Year of Reading. Alternatively send your entries to Leicestershire County Council, Community Servuces Marketing team, 4th Floor, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicestershire LE3 8TD, including your choice of book, why (in 10 words or less) along with your name and address.

Eye-catching road safety messages have been printed on ten of the County’s fire engines. One side says ‘don’t drink and drive’ and the other says ‘seatbelts save lives’.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service is working with us to highlight this key advice as it becomes more involved in promoting road safety.

Nicholas Rushton is the County Council’s Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Highways. He said: “The designs are very eye-catching and remind people of road safety issues. We will continue to develop new ways to promote these important messages.”

The County Council and the Fire and Rescue Service are part of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership.