• Google have been in touch to let me know that Be Internet Legends Day is on the 28th November. The programme, delivered in partnership with Parent Zone, is designed to help 7-11 year old pupils become safer and more confident explorers of the online world. The programme includes a digital curriculum and a wide range of fun, interactive assemblies, that are delivered both face-to-face and online, and engaging family activities. The programme focuses on a number of internet safety pillars, including being kind to others online, being sharp about what they share, and being secure by creating strong passwords and looking after their personal information. Enjoyed by over 145,000 children across the UK in 2022, the whole day event will kick off with a special national assembly which will have teachers, pupils and families from up and down the country in attendance. After joining, schools will be encouraged to run a full day of fun activities, focusing on the theme of online kindness. If you’re interested and are from a local primary school, you can sign up, here.
• I’m really pleased that grassroots community projects in Corby & East Northamptonshire can apply for up to £20,000 of funding through National Lottery 'Awards for All'. I’m excited to see the great ideas come forward that will have a lasting positive impact on our communities! More information, here.
• British Gas have been in touch to let me know that their Energy Support Fund has reopened for applications, which can provide grants of up to £1,500 to customers who are struggling to pay their bills, and which I know will provide much needed support to those in need as we head into the winter months. British Gas has committed £100 million to help consumers since the start of the energy crisis, with support including grants to cover energy debts for consumers and businesses, non-repayable credit to prepayment customers, and funding for advice centres and charities. Find out more, here.
• Good news! The Government has recently announced that the £2 bus fare cap in England will be extended thanks to savings from HS2, as a further measure to help passengers with the cost of living and to help deliver a better transport system. I really welcome this news, not least because buses are the most popular form of public transport and are undoubtedly vital in keeping our rural and urban communities alike here in Corby & East Northamptonshire connected. The £2 bus fare cap has helped fares outside of London fall by 7.4 percent - vital help to support people getting around.
• Calling all filmmakers and scriptwriters here in Corby & East Northamptonshire! 'Film the House' is an exciting film competition celebrating creativity - and your chance to have your work seen by industry experts, sponsored by the likes of Netflix, Warner Bros, Discovery and The Walt Disney Company! I’m always keen for local talent to be showcased, so don’t miss out! Enter by the 29th February 2024, here.
• The National Lottery Community Fund is the biggest funder of community activity in the UK, and between the 1st July and the 29th September this year, they’ve awarded £122 million of funding to over 2,500 charities and community groups in England. Here in Corby & East Northamptonshire, community groups have received £29,943 over this period, with some fantastic projects, including ‘RCW Veterans Coaching for PTSD & into employment’ gaining funding. Projects such as these are hugely impactful to people locally, and I’m sure the additional funding from the National Lottery Community Fund will be put to good use to help support people locally, and will make a real difference.
• Asda have been in touch to let me know that since the 1st November, and until the end of December, they are offering emergency responders the chance to get a free tea or coffee in many of their stores. This offer is available all day, every day, in all stores with cafes or self-serve hot drinks machines and also includes Asda Express and Asda on The Move stores. It’s their way of saying ‘thank you’ to our hardworking emergency responders for their unwavering commitment to keeping our community safe!
• English Heritage have been in touch in respect of a new learning appeal to help provide educational opportunities for young people. English Heritage are the UK’s largest provider of free school visits; in 2022/23, they hosted around 180,000 educational visits to sites in their care. They’re also developing a unique new ‘STEM in Heritage’ programme to inspire students in exploring scientific and technological disciplines, and have also reached over 2,000 young people by connecting them with heritage in creative ways. However, the costs of providing these opportunities have risen, and so they’ve launched an appeal to help ensure they can continue to provide heritage education to as many young people as possible. We’re immensely lucky to have English Heritage sites in Corby & East Northamptonshire, and I know just how important it is to connect young people to our history, bringing it to life, both locally and beyond. This is a hugely worthwhile cause, and I’d certainly encourage you to support them if you can! You can find out more, including how to support the appeal, here.
• Young HealthWatch Northamptonshire are looking for volunteers to help make a positive impact on health and social care in Northamptonshire. Their programme involves visiting hospitals and other healthcare settings, although the work they do will be decided by volunteers. Previous work from Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire has included investigating young people’s mental health, PSHE lessons, and the impact of COVID-19 on young people, and volunteers have also presented at local and national events. This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to gain new skills and meet likeminded others, so do please consider applying! You can get involved, here.
• As part of the 'NHS Elective Recovery Plan', patients who have waited over 40 weeks for a hospital appointment without a confirmed date will be allowed to switch hospitals to be seen more quickly, where clinically appropriate. It’s estimated that around 400,000 people meet the criteria and will be contacted directly by their hospital to arrange this. We’ve already made significant progress in tackling the elective backlog, with the NHS virtually eliminating two year waits and cutting 18 month waits by over 91% since September 2021. This latest announcement builds on these successes and will make a real difference to people in our area and beyond.
If you have anything you would like to be featured next week, please email all the details to pursglovet@parliament.uk.
Also, if you have taken any photos of constituency landscapes or landmarks, which could be featured in my ‘Community Notices’ headers, please send them in and I will try to use as many of them as possible (and credit them accordingly!), as a celebration of the fantastic place we live and work in. I know we have many budding photographers in our community and it would be great to showcase their work!