It’s that time of year again when we ask for your help and full commitment with the annual canvass of electors. It’s a full canvass, so lots to do and again we are making it easier with an App on a simple hand held device. Please see the main points to be aware of below:

 Annual Electoral Canvass

• Full district-wide canvass – started during July we currently have an excellent return rate of over 63% with the first reminder stage commencing in a week’s time.
  
• All Mid Sussex properties to receive a Household Enquiry form (HEF)
  
• Residents must reply online or complete the paper HEF & return to ES within 28 days
  
• ‘Changes’ and ‘no-change’ can be notified online
  
• Text, telephone and internet reply channels for ‘no-change’ only
  
• Non-responder properties visited by Canvassers from Sept until mid Nov
  
• New 2017 Register to be published 1^st Dec 2017
  

Opportunity to help & earn Extra Cash

• An hourly rate of £9.10 per hour. For this, our expectation is for canvassers to complete at least 8 household enquires in an urban area per hour and 5 per hour in a rural area. Timesheets are required to be completed each time you canvass and submitted to us at the end of each working week via email.
  
• ES looking for Temp Electoral Canvassers – Please see all the background information here: http://www.midsussex.gov.uk/elections/annual-canvass/
  
• Full training will be given at the Council Offices, Oaklands, Haywards Heath to successful candidates.
• Canvassers will commence from 1^st September through until mid-November
  
• Canvassers will assist residents by completing HEFs with them online/offline using a smart device (tablet) – very quick and easy App
  
• Canvasser devices and Electoral database continually synced with secure data centre keeping canvass areas up to date
  
• Improved earning potential as assigned households are definite non-responders
  

I am very much looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Tom Hayes

Senior Democratic Services Officer – Electoral Services

01444 477417

www.midsussex.gov.uk

Local people are being asked to help shape how the County Council delivers adult social care in the future.

The council is considering a new approach where people, their families and carers can meet with council staff in local settings to discuss their social care needs. 

The council wants to:

• Talk to more people at an earlier stage and support them to stay as independent as possible
• Hold informal drop-in sessions in local communities, where people can talk to the county council about social care
• Help to connect people to services and activities in their local communities.

The proposals take account of what people have told the council about their experiences of using adult social care.

The new approach has been trialled in some areas of the county since January this year.

A survey is running until Friday 11 August for people to have their say: https://haveyoursay.westsussex.gov.uk/legal-democratic-services/supporting-lives-connecting-people.

The survey asks for people’s views on the proposals and asks what would be important to them if the council took this approach.

Louise Goldsmith, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Adults, said: “We really hope to hear from as many people as possible who use our services, their families and carers, voluntary and community organisations, and all local people who have an interest in adult social care. We will then consider all the views before we decide on the way forward.”

A decision will be taken in the autumn by the Leader of the County Council about how adult social care will be delivered in the future.

Mid Sussex District Council is offering residents who respond to the annual electoral canvass by telephone, text message or online the chance to win one of three £50 Marks and Spencer vouchers.

Each year, everyone in the UK must confirm their electoral registration details are up-to-date by responding to the annual electoral canvass. Mid Sussex District Council will shortly be sending household enquiry forms to every household in the District and is encouraging local people to respond as soon as possible to avoid the need for any chase up correspondence.

The quickest and most convenient ways of responding to the annual electoral canvass are via telephone, text message or online. By using these digital channels, all information is processed instantly and effectively, there’s no chance of the form being lost in the post and it’s the most environmentally friendly way to respond. Contacting the Council in this way also provides taxpayers with huge savings when compared with the cost of posting back the form.

Mid Sussex District Council is encouraging everyone to respond to the canvass by using telephone, text message or the online form and those who do will be automatically entered into a free prize draw to win one of three £50 Marks and Spencer vouchers.

Tom Clark, Electoral Registration Officer for Mid Sussex said:

“We want to help the residents of Mid Sussex to have their say, maintain their credit rating and ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity to vote.

“By law, everybody must respond to the annual electoral canvass but how you respond is just as important. If you respond by telephone, text message or online then you’ll be helping to save taxpayers thousands of pounds. We want as many people as possible to contact us via these digital channels, so if you do, we’ll enter you into a free prize draw for the chance to win a £50 Marks and Spencer voucher.”

For more information about registering to vote or elections contact the Mid Sussex District Council Electoral Services team by emailing elections@midsussex.gov.uk or calling 01444 477003.

Mid Sussex District Council is running a six week public consultation from Monday 3 July 2017 to find out what local people think about dog control measures in Mid Sussex.

Mid Sussex has a number of Dog Control Orders in place to protect the local environment and deter irresponsible dog ownership. However, the current Orders expire later this year and Mid Sussex District Council will be replacing them with Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in October.

The Council is proposing a simple transfer of all existing powers under the Dog Control Orders over to the new PSPOs. The only proposed change is to extend the Maximum Number of Dogs (6) Order to all Council owned nature reserves, adjoining land and some of the larger recreation grounds.

“With the legal transfer of Dog Control Orders taking place in October, this is the perfect time to talk to us about dog control,” said Councillor Norman Webster, Cabinet Member for Health and Community. “We’re keen to hear from everyone, so please use this consultation as an opportunity to let us know if you like the current arrangements or if there’s anything you would like to change.”

The majority of dog owners in Mid Sussex are responsible, pick up their dogs’ mess and keep them under proper control. However, there is a small minority who don’t and this can create problems. The Public Space Protection Orders enable fixed penalty notices to be issued by an authorised officer when they see an offence occur. These are set at £75 or £50 if paid within 10 days.

The proposed Public Space Protection Orders will cover:

•    Fouling of Land by Dogs

In order to reduce the amount of dog fouling in Mid Sussex, owners are required to clean up their dogs’ mess. This order is applied to any land which is open to the air and to which the public have access.

•    Dog Exclusion

To prevent people or the dogs themselves being injured as a result of sharing activity space, dogs should be excluded from all fenced children’s play areas and fenced recreational areas such as tennis courts, bowling greens and multi activity areas owned by Mid Sussex District Council.

•    Dogs on Lead by Direction

In order to stop a loose dog disrupting sporting or community events or disturbing local wildlife, dogs must be placed on a lead if requested to do so by an authorised officer. This order applies to Mid Sussex District Council owned land on which formal sports and community events regularly take place, and all designated nature reserves.

•    Dogs Specified Maximum Amount (6)

The number of dogs one person can take onto Council nature reserves or selected large parks should be restricted to six.

The consultation will be available to view at the Mid Sussex District Council Reception or on the Council’s website www.midsussex.gov.uk/dogcontrolconsultation for six weeks starting on Monday 3 July 2017.