The latest news from Dorset Council
Making Dorset a great place to Live, work and visit
** Latest updates from Dorset Council
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** Round 4 of the Household Support Fund has now closed
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Round 4 of the Household Support Fund (HSF) has now closed for applications for low-income households in the Dorset Council area.
The government scheme funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, provided support in the form of supermarket vouchers. The HSF scheme for round 4 ran from April 2023 to March 2024. Through the government funding and an additional £350,000 from council reserves, Citizen’s Advice issued over 12,000 vouchers worth more than £1.8 million on our behalf throughout the year to Dorset Council residents.
As well as supermarket vouchers, HSF has also funded a holiday voucher scheme, which has seen 11,500 Free School Meal or Early Years Pupil Premium eligible children receive vouchers for food during the school holidays, totalling over £2m this year.
Read more
** Voters encouraged to get their ID ready ahead of this year’s local elections
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Residents are reminded that they will need be registered to vote and show an approved form of photo ID when they go to the polling stations on 2 May to elect Dorset Council councillors as well as Town and Parish Councils.
The Police and Crime Commissioner elections also takes place on the same day.
Following the Elections Act 2022, photographic identification is a mandatory requirement for everyone voting at polling stations.
Find out more
People stood under a pink gazebo on the beach
** Dorset Council’s Pineapple Project expands to ensure safety of more girls and young women
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The Pineapple Project, an initiative dedicated to safeguarding young women, is gearing up for expansion beyond Weymouth, reaching out to Swanage, Dorchester, and Portland.
This project, aims to proactively prevent harm and create safer communities for girls.
The Pineapple Project combines traditional and innovative safeguarding methods to address the risks faced by young women.
Find out more
** New specialist accommodation for adults with autism opens in Dorchester
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A new supported living scheme for adults with a learning disability and or autism has opened in Dorchester, which is designed to play a key role in enabling people to live with greater independence.
The specialist accommodation, in Dorchester's Prince of Wales Road, includes 16 units - 12 flats over three stories and four bungalows - and has been developed by Specialist Supported Housing Ltd.
Elizabeth Court meets the NHS England Autism standards for accommodation. This includes additional space in shower rooms and doorways to enable wheelchair access and an internal environment that reduces the risk of hazards to residents and minimises potential damage to property.
Find out more
Children riding bikes in a field
** Dorset’s Bike It Plus project gets more children cycling to school
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More children are now cycling to school in Dorset thanks to the success of the Bike It Plus project, says a new report.
Bike It Plus, which is funded by us and run by the charity Sustrans, has been working with schools across Dorset to help encourage more young people to walk, cycle or wheel to school.
In the past year, the project has supported over 36 schools to deliver fun and engaging activities that boost the skill levels of young people in walking, wheeling or cycling. Giving children and their parents the confidence and ability to travel to and from school actively.
Find out more
More news:
* Dorset pupils get their first pick of secondary school
* Celebrating Commonwealth Day 2024
* Landslide and rockfall warning for entire Dorset coastline
* Dorset Council proposes moving to new system for preparing its Local Planl
* A new fun and safe space thanks to the #WillDoesBus
* Third government funding bid secured to help house the homeless
* Dorset Council takes action on empty homes
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