Community News

Whitehall Director General Stephen Rimmer is confident children in the West Midlands are safer now than they were when he moved to the region two years ago. Stephen, seconded to the West Midlands from the Home Office, today ends two years as the region's strategic leader on action against the sexual exploitation of children and other vulnerable people.

The mandatory 5p charge for plastic bags, which came into force in England on Monday, is set to generate more than £70 million per year for good causes. Supermarkets across the country plan to put profits from the levy to good use by ensuring it benefits charities and good causes, the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has found.

National charity Suzy Lamplugh Trust is urging young men throughout the UK to ‘Keep It REAL’ this National Personal Safety Day (Wednesday October 7) by making themselves aware of potential dangers and taking appropriate steps.

Sandwell Council has unveiled plans for a bus and cycle only zone in part of West Bromwich, to make it safer and easier for shoppers and students using the town centre. The council is consulting on proposals to introduce the zone along 40 metres of New Street, outside Sandwell College’s Central Sixth campus. Many motorists are ignoring existing traffic restrictions on this stretch of road – and the new order would allow the council to use CCTV to enforce a ban on other vehicles.

An additional consultation event is being held for people to have their say about proposed changes to a number of social care services in Wolverhampton. The City of Wolverhampton Council has put forward plans which it says will transform social care services and help older people in the city remain independent for longer.

A ban on smoking in cars carrying children and young people up to the age of 18 which came into force on Thursday 1 October, 2015 is the England-wide ban following the introduction of similar legislation in Wales, and both the driver and the smoker can be fined £50 if found flouting the law. Experts say second-hand smoke is particularly harmful to children and young people as they breathe more rapidly and have less developed airways.

New fire safety measures will help save the lives of tenants and ensure all rented property is equipped with a smoke alarm, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said today. From  the 1st October, landlords are required by law to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their properties, under new Government measures coming into force. It is estimated this could help prevent more than 25 deaths and nearly 700 injuries a year. 

A sniffer dog helped trading standards officers in Sandwell to find more than 5,000 illegal cigarettes and a quantity of counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco on raids on two shops. Yoyo the spaniel helped to find the illegal merchandise in the raids on the shops in West Bromwich and Tipton. The tobacco products were sniffed out by Yoyo from various hiding places including some behind a false panel within a shop's tobacco display.

It was fantastic to see so many local organisations and people from across the Black Country come together as one, to support the latest event celebrating Dudley’s unity. The Dudley ‘CommUNITY’ day of celebrations followed on the back of the hugely popular and national award-winning Funday Sunday event held earlier in the year.

Today, local school children from Southwark and neighbouring boroughs will be setting up shop, trading their home grown fruit and veg in Borough Market. These very select young traders will join the ranks of London's renowned fruit and vegetable market to sell their seasonal fruit and vegetables, grown and nurtured from seed.

Wolverhampton residents have been warned about suspicious calls from phone scammers who are targeting the city. City of Wolverhampton Council’s Trading Standards team have issued an alert after receiving a number of complaints. The tricksters have been ringing households, some of whom have been elderly, pretending to be from the council.

A unique installation that brings the voices of children and young people to the heart of the United Nations General Assembly has been unveiled by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, and two young people from UNICEF Voices of Youth initiative. 

Balsall Heath residents are reminded that there will be a referendum on Thursday 8 October about the adoption of the Balsall Heath Neighbourhood Plan. The question asked will be – ‘Do you want Birmingham to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Balsall Heath to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?’ Residents are entitled to vote in the referendum on 8 October if they are both entitled to vote in local government elections in the area and their qualifying address is in the area.

The popular Make It or Bake It Market returns to Tettenhall's Upper Green for the fourth time today with a wide range of artisan designers and makers set to showcase their talents. This autumn’s market includes 34 stalls selling a range of arts and crafts, bespoke gifts and homemade products like pickles, jams and chutneys. There will also be charity stalls, cafes, English, French and Cantonese street food and live entertainment.

Bilston's links to Mount Everest and the abominable snowman are revealed in one of a series of fascinating talks on different aspects of local history taking place in October. The City of Wolverhampton Council's Arts and Museums Service organises regular talks on a wide variety of historical subjects, including five in October.

Online shopping, WiFi, Google, Super Mario Brothers, wheelie suitcases, Harry Potter, Becks, flat screen TV’s, text messaging and email are considered to be some of the greatest things from the past three decades according to people in Birmingham – a new survey out today has revealed.