IN THIS ISSUE

1

2

4

5

6

8

3 7

PAGE

CAB MOVE

SUMMERWATCH CAMPAIGN

WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES

ASB PERFORMANCE

GREENHOUSE DONATED

IDENTITY THEFT

CLICK & CONNECT

WHAT’S ON

Housing Services SUMMER

2016

1

Tamworth Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) moved to MarmionHouse in Lichfield Street and opened its doors to the publicon Monday 4 July. 

The CAB – which has moved from its previous base at the Philip Dix Centrein Corporation Street - provides free, independent, confidential andimpartial advice to anyone who needs it.   

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, CAB offers a face-to-face drop-in service between 10am and 2pm.Outside of these times, the service is by a pre-arranged appointment only. Visitors with pre-arranged appointments are to visit Reception Desk 9 in Marmion House.

Alternatively, telephone advice is available on Monday,Tuesday and Thursday each week between 10am and2pm by calling 01827 305950.  Outside these hours,advice can also be sought via the County Advice lineon 03444 111444.  

CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU HASMOVED TO MARMION HOUSE

If you require this document in analternative format or language,

please contact us on 01827 709709.

2 OPEN HOUSE – SUMMER 2016

PARTNERS JOIN FORCES TO LAUNCH SUMMERWATCH CAMPAIGN

Stay safe for the summer is the message from the Tamworth Community SafetyPartnership, which is running a campaign to promote safety and crime preventionover the summer months.

The Partnership includes Tamworth Borough Council, Staffordshire Police, Staffordshire Fire & RescueService, domestic abuse groups, drug & alcohol counselling services and the Clinical CommissioningGroup.

The Summerwatch campaign aims to give prevention and safety advice, as well as reducing crime andASB during the summer.

All operations and events carried out by partners from May through to September come under theSummerwatch umbrella. They tackle priority issues including grass fires, safety around water, shoplifting,drink driving, personal safety, burglary and purse snatching.

A number of events are taking place across Tamworth throughout the campaign, including policecommunity engagement days throughout Tamworth, Community Wardens and Police CommunitySupport Officers carrying out joint patrols late into the evenings, alcohol awareness, road and canalsafety, Flames Aren’t Games and play safety presentations in schools, a Community Safety Partnershippresence at Amington Fete, a partnership Wellbeing Day at Tamworth Enterprise College and the Walk AMile in Her Shoes sponsored event to raise awareness of domestic abuse on September 3.

Summerwatch is also running a wide range of free summer activities aimed at 11-17 year olds, funded aspart of the new Space activity programme launched by Police & Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire,Matthew Ellis, to increase young people’s skills, improve their health and wellbeing and createopportunities for young people to take part in positive activities to help make communities safer.

The activities, which take place throughout Tamworth, include:

l Boxing sessions at the Cornerpost Gym for boys and girlsaged 11-17

l Retro arcade games at Namco Funscape Bowling

l Ten-pin bowling

l Football and other fun sports run by Burton AlbionCommunity Trust, which will be setting up Street Stadia infour venues throughout Tamworth

l Twisted Firestarter performing arts workshop, led by Fired UpTheatre, exploring the consequences of arson and themisuse of fire

More information on the dates, times and places of all the Spaceactivities taking place in Tamworth can be found on the Spacewebsite at www.staffordshirespace.uk

Cllr Stephen Doyle, Cabinet member for Communities &Wellbeing, said: “We want to make sure that everyone inTamworth has a safe and fun summer.

“Our Summerwatch campaign will offer simple crime preventionand personal safety advice, as well as sending out the clearmessage that Tamworth is a safe place to live, work and visit.”

SUMMER WATCH

OPERATION

Working Together FOR A

Safer TamworthWorking Together FOR A

Safer TamworthWorking Together FOR A

Safer Tamworth

safertamworth.org

3

STEPPING OUT FOR A FOURTH YEARAGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCEThe men and women of Tamworth arebeing invited to swap shoes and walk amile – all to raise money for a domesticabuse charity.

For the past three years, people of all ages havepulled on high heels, brogues, wellies and evenflip-flops to take part in the Walk a Mile in HerShoes event.

The walk is organised by Tamworth CommunitySafety Partnership and the Pathway Project. Italternates between Tamworth and Lichfield eachyear and raises vital funds for Pathway Project, acharity which works to support adults, youngpeople and children who are experiencing oraffected by domestic abuse.

This year, the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event isbeing held in Tamworth on September 3, tocoincide with the We Love Tamworth event, whichis expected to bring thousands of visitors into thetown.

Walkers – including the men – are beingencouraged to do the walk in a pair of high heels.Organisers are now appealing for donations ofshoes for the event – either to be worn by thewalkers or decorated by community groups to bedisplayed on the day.

Shoes can be brought into Tamworth BoroughCouncil’s offices at Marmion House in LichfieldStreet. If you would like someone to collect them,please call Charlotte Green on 07854 415865 oremail charlotte-green@tamworth.gov.uk toarrange collection.

The walk will be fun – but it has a very seriousmessage. Its aim is to raise awareness ofdomestic violence, to encourage more people toreport it and to raise as much money as possiblefor the Pathway Project.

Entry is free, but walkers will be encouraged tomake a donation to the Pathway Project and toraise extra cash through sponsorship.

Anyone who would like to support the charitycan donate through the Pathway Project’s JustGiving page atwww.justgiving.com/pathwayproject/donate ortext PATH07 and the donation amount to 70070.

Cllr Stephen Doyle, Cabinet member forCommunities & Wellbeing, said: “This walk is a funway of raising awareness of domestic violence, aswell as raising money for a project which doesgreat work to help and support the victims ofdomestic abuse.

“The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event has been agreat success over the last three years and we arehoping that holding it at the same time as the WeLove Tamworth event will give even more peoplethe chance to take part this year, raising evenmore money for the Pathway Project.”

Anyone suffering domestic abuse can contactthe Pathway Project on 01543 676800 or go tothe website at www.pathway-project.co.uk

The Respect Helpline is a confidential service forperpetrators of domestic abuse, which offersinformation and support to help perpetratorschange their behaviour. It can be contacted on0808 802 4040.

Walk a Milein Her Shoes

Take a mile sponsored walk with us onSaturday 3rd September at 2pm to pledge never to commit, condone or remain silent about domestic violence.

HIGH HEELS ARE OPTIONAL

All proceeds are donated to the Pathway Project, a charity preventing violence against women.

For more information or to register your place, please contact Charlotte Green, charlotte-green@tamworth.gov.uk, call 07854415865 or visit www.tamworth.gov.uk

4 OPEN HOUSE – SUMMER 2016

ASB PERFORMANCE 1 APRIL – 30 JUNE 2016

We plan to regularly update you on how we are dealing with anti-social behaviour,so that you can see what issues are affecting our residents and where the ASB‘hot-spots’ are. If you would like to see any more information included, please letus know (details below).

ASB Performance

Number of new cases for the quarter 91Number of live cases at 30 June 2016  48

Number of closed resolved cases 11Number of closed unresolved cases 1

Top complaints were about:Noise 32%Garden nuisance 19%Pets 12%Verbal abuse/ harassment/ intimidation/threatening behaviour 10%

Hotspot areas for the 1st quarter:Glascote 22%Tamworth and Fazeley 13%Amington 12%

New Anti-Social Behaviour DiaryRecord Sheet

If you need to make a complaint, there is a newAnti-Social Behaviour Diary Record Sheetavailable to use for ongoing open cases.  Thisform can be found in the Do It Online section ofTamworth Borough Council’s website onwww.tamworth.gov.uk and in the UsefulDocuments section of the Anti-SocialBehaviour Zone.

For new complaints of anti-socialbehaviour

If you are experiencing ASB, then you cancomplete a new ASB Incident Form online. Youwill receive an acknowledgement of yourcomplaint within 24 hours.

For ongoing complaints of anti-socialbehaviour

Diaries are an effective way of recordingevidence which will allow it to reach us muchquicker, allowing cases to be managed in a moreefficient and speedier way. In the past, we werewaiting for 2-3 weeks for diaries to be returned.We have now improved this service which meansthat you are able to report incidents in ‘real time’.

Summer is here and the schools are closed,which always leads to an increase in complaintsabout children. We have a Factsheet Library inthe ASB Zone where you will find advice andhelpful information on a variety of issuesincluding Ball Games and Anti-Social Behaviour.

Witness Support Charter

In response to recommendations made byHouseMark following our ASB accreditationaward, Landlord Services has produced aWitness Support Charter. The Charter sets outwhat witnesses can expect when they areinvolved in serious anti-social behaviour caseswhere enforcement actions are necessary.

This charter can be found on the ASB Zoneunder Useful documents.

www.tamworth.gov.uk/asb-zone

Julia GibbsAnti-Social Behaviour Project Officer

Tel: 01827 709709 ext. 310Email: Julia-Gibbs@tamworth.gov.uk

5

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET INVOLVED…

Getting involved is a great way for you to know that you are contributing to improvingthe services you receive. Your voice can empower you and other tenants to improvethe council’s performance and development in areas that matter to you.

Everybody has busy lives these days, but choosing the way you get involved from a wide range of optionscould fit into your lifestyle and put you at the heart of decision making. It doesn’t have to be all aboutattending meetings, it can be as active as completing a survey once a year or popping along to one of ourconsultation events.

We believe in working together with tenants in a real partnership to improve the service we offer. If you areinterested, please contact the Tenant Regulation & Involvement Team on 01827 709709 or emailtenantparticipation@tamworth.gov.uk

Tamworth Borough Council Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7BZEnquiries: (01827) 709709 Main Fax: (01827) 709271

BRITISH GAS DONATE GREENHOUSE TOOAKENDALE SHELTERED SCHEMEIn January this year, tenants at Oakendale sheltered scheme were devastated whenthey realised that torrential rain and strong winds had blown apart their belovedgreenhouse which was used regularly by tenants to grow flowers and vegetables.

Gavin Green from British Gas was working in the scheme at the time when Mark Hubball and Alan Marshall(Repairs Project Officers at Tamworth Council) told him how devastated tenants were about losing theirgreenhouse. Gavin liaised with Mark and Alan and kindly donated a new greenhouse and erected it wherethe old one had been. The men then organised the removal of the old greenhouse. British Gas alsopresented tenant Lyn Ryan with a surprise £50 B&Qvoucher for the garden.

Lyn Ryan, who has been the main gardener at Oakendale,said, “I am totally overwhelmed by the generosity of BritishGas and how the three men went out of their way to helpus in our hour of need. Many tenants were very upset thatthey would no longer be able to grow flowers andvegetables. I would like to offer a huge thank you to Gavin,Mark and Alan for all their help and support. We couldn’thave done it without you.”

Oakendale’s scheme manager, Avalon Cassie, said: “Wordscannot express how grateful I am to Gavin for donating thegreenhouse. Tenants spend a lot of quality time in thegarden which is a relaxing environment for all to enjoy.”

Pictured left to right: Mick Heap -British Gas Operations Manager, Cath Cartwright -Oakendale tenant, Mark Hubball -Project Officer at TBC,Avalon Cassie -Oakendale Scheme Manager, Yvonne Keay -British Gas

Head of Commercial Installations, Lynn Ryan - Oakendale tenant & chiefgardener, Beryl Whiston -Oakendale tenant & treasurer of gardening club.

6 OPEN HOUSE – SUMMER 2016

IDENTITY THEFT

If you’re a victim of identity theft, itcan lead to fraud that can have adirect impact on your personalfinances and could also make itdifficult for you to obtain loans,credit cards or a mortgage untilthe matter is resolved.

Identity fraud

Identity fraud can be described asthe use of that stolen identity incriminal activity to obtain goodsor services by deception.

Fraudsters can use your identitydetails to:

l Open bank accounts.

l Obtain credit cards, loans andstate benefits.

l Order goods in your name.

l Take over your existingaccounts.

l Take out mobile phonecontracts.

l Obtain genuine documentssuch as passports and drivinglicences in your name.

Stealing an individual’s identitydetails does not, on its own,constitute identity fraud. But usingthat identity for any of the aboveactivities does.

The first you know of it may bewhen you receive bills or invoicesfor things you haven’t ordered, orwhen you receive letters fromdebt collectors for debts thataren’t yours.

Criminals commit identity theft bystealing your personalinformation. This is often done bytaking documents from yourrubbish or by making contact withyou and pretending to be from alegitimate organisation.

Protect yourself againstidentity fraud

Don’t throw out anything withyour name, address or financialdetails without shredding it first.

If you receive an unsolicited emailor phone call from what appearsto be your bank or buildingsociety asking for your securitydetails, never reveal your fullpassword, login details or accountnumbers. A bank will never askfor your PIN or for a wholesecurity number or password.

If you are concerned about thesource of a call, wait five minutesand call your bank from a differenttelephone making sure there is adialling tone.

Check your statements carefullyand report anything suspicious tothe bank or financial serviceprovider. If you’re expecting abank or credit card statement andit doesn’t arrive, tell your bank orcredit card company.

Don’t leave things like bills lyingaround for others to look at.

If you move house, ask Royal Mailto redirect your post for at least ayear.

What should you do ifyou’ve been a victim ofidentity fraud?

Act quickly – you mustn’t ignorethe problem. Even though youdidn’t order those goods or openthat account, the debts will endup under your name and address.

If you believe you’re a victim ofidentity fraud involving plasticcards (e.g. credit and debit cards),online banking or cheques, you

must report it to your bank assoon as possible. Your bank willthen be responsible forinvestigating the issue and theywill report any case of criminalactivity to the police. The policewill then record your case anddecide whether to carry outfollow-up investigations.

You should report all lost or stolendocuments – such as passports,driving licences, plastic cards,cheque books – to the relevantorganisation.

If you’re not sure whichorganisation to call, contactAction Fraud for advice.

Contact the Royal Mail CustomerEnquiry line on 08457 740 740 ifyou suspect your mail is beingstolen or that a mail redirectionhas been fraudulently set up onyour address. The Royal Mail hasan investigation unit that will beable to help you.

Get a copy of your credit report. A credit report will show you anysearches done by a lender, whatdate the search took place, whatname and address it was doneagainst and also for what type ofapplication. It will also show whatcredit accounts are set up in yourname. You can contact any one ofthese credit reference agenciesand receive support in resolvingcredit report problems caused byidentity fraud: Callcredit, Equifax,Experian, ClearScore or Noddle.

Look at your credit report closely.If you find entries fromorganisations you don’t normallydeal with, contact them.Remember to keep a record of allyour actions, including the

Identity theft happens when fraudsters access enough information aboutsomeone’s identity (such as their name, date of birth, current or previousaddresses) to commit identity fraud. Identity theft can take place whether thefraud victim is alive or deceased.

7

Council TaxPay onlineCheck Council Tax bandsCheck your balanceCheck reduction entitlementTell us you are moving in ormoving out

Car Parks and ChargesPay an on-street car park finePay an off-street parking finePay a bus lane fine

Housing Benefit Pay your housing rentPay your garage rentPay Housing BenefitOverpaymentsCustomer Feedback/Complaints

Business RatesPay your Business Rates

Waste and RecyclingReport a missed bin collectionRequest an assisted collectionRequest an additional binInfo on what you can put in yourbins

Find Locations for: Children’s CentresLibrariesRecycling CentresRegistrarsSchoolsWedding VenuesLeisure Centres/Sports

Schools and Under 5sTerm DatesChildcareLooking after your under-fiveHelp and Support for my FamilySchool Meals

RegistrationsBook an appointment to registera birthInfo on reporting a death andbook an appointmentInfo on weddingsPay your ceremony balance Order certificates onlineInfo on Nationality CheckingService

Find Things to do/What’s On

Set Reminders/Alerts

Did you know that you can click and connect and do all of theseactivities on your mobile phone? Download the Council’s mobileapp – MYSTAFFS, where you can connect with both TamworthBorough Council and Staffordshire County Council in one go.

CLICK & CONNECT ON YOURMOBILE PHONE

Want to keep up with what the Council is doing? Click and connect to www.tamworth.gov.uk and signup for our alert service where you can receive updatesabout council events, news, elections and much more.

IDENTITY THEFT CONTINUED...

people you’ve spoken to andwhen, and keep copies of allletters you send and receive.

The credit reference agencies willcontact lenders on your behalfwhere fraudulent applicationshave been made or fraudulentcredit accounts opened in orderto restore your credit history to itsformer state.

If fraud has been committed,report it to Action Fraud on0300 123 2040

Credit reference agenciesEquifax - Tel: 0800 121 4752Web: www.equifax.co.uk/ask

Callcredit - Tel: 0870 060 1414Email: vof@callcreditgroup.com

Experian - Tel: 0844 481 8000Email: consumer.helpservice@uk.experian.com

Experian Credit ExpertWeb: www.creditexpert.co.uk

ClearScoreWeb: www.clearscore.com

NoddleWeb: www.noddle.co.uk

8 OPEN HOUSE – SUMMER 2016 Designed and produced by Tamworth Borough Council

www.visittamworth.co.uk

HHeerriittaaggee OOppeenn DDaayySunday 11 September 2016

Where the past comes to life

WHAT’S ON

TamworthFood Gustofestival

Saturday 10th O Sunday 11th September

10.30am-5.00pm

www.tamworthfestival.co.uk | T: 01530 411337

FOOD O Drink Festival Tamworth Castle Pleasure Grounds

Local and regional produce * demonstrations * treatsfun for kids * artisan stalls * music * beer tent

wine tasting and much much more...

meet Gusto Bear

PlusTAMWORTH

Bear

COOK AND HEALTHY EATINGPROJECT ON A BUDGETWe are inviting people to take part in an exciting sixweek project, just a couple of hours a week, whichwill focus on cooking on a budget, developing knowledge, improving skills and enabling participantsto take part in cooking in a fun and engaging way. 

• Can you commit to a couple of hours a week for six weeks?

• Can you cook and could you help others? • Would you like to learn how to cook

and eat healthier on a budget? • Free food and hygiene certificate on offer • Boost your career prospects • Develop new skills • Meet new people in a friendly environment • Learn how to make small changes to

live a healthier lifestyle

Everyone who completes the six weekproject will receive a

certificate ofattendance, free slow cooker and a £20 grocery voucher

To book your place contact the Tenant Regulation and Involvement Team

01827 709374/260

01827 709709 (ext 374)