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Cardiff Council Update: 28 June 2022
Here is our latest update, covering: details of this Thursday's Principality Stadium event road closures; the latest on discretionary, cost of living support; and our online tool that's helping the care community.
Roads closures and travel advice for Rammstein at Principality Stadium on June 30th
Rammstein will be playing at Principality Stadium on Thursday June 30th and to facilitate these events, a full city centre road closure will be in place between 4.30pm until 12.30am on health and safety grounds to ensure people can safely enter and leave the stadium after the concerts.
Those attending these concerts are strongly advised to travel into the city early, leave large bags at home and pay attention to the prohibited items listed atwww.principalitystadium.walesbefore they travel into the city.
Read more here:
https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29301.html
Cardiff Council providing financial help in response to the cost of living crisis
With petrol prices set to hit £2 a litre, food inflation predicted to reach a 20-year high of 11% this summer and gas and electricity bills rocketing, the UK is facing a cost of living crisis.
But Cardiff Council is overseeing the distribution of almost £2.2m worth of grants to ease the burden on those households in the city who are most in need.
The Council has been allocated the money as part of the Welsh Government's £177m Cost of Living Support Scheme. Much of this is going towards a £150 payment to eligible households but £25m has also been set aside for a Discretionary Scheme. This allows local authorities to support households they consider in need of extra help with their living costs, and Cardiff Council's share amounts to £2.193m.
A report which recommended to help the most vulnerable households in the city through this Discretionary Scheme was approved by the Council's Cabinet, at a meeting last Thursday, June 23.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Cllr Chris Weaver, the Cabinet member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance, said: "It's clear that everyone's bills are rising at an unprecedented rate at the moment and we are looking to help anyone who feels unable to cope, whether you are on benefits or experiencing in-work poverty - please come and talk to us.
"We are all too aware of the cash crisis people are facing just from the huge increase in demand we are seeing on council services, with more and more people coming forward looking for help.
"Through the support schemes, we have paid 86% of eligible households in Cardiff - around 76,000 - the £150 payment. That amounts to everyone who had applied as of last Monday and everyone who didn't need to apply because we already held their bank account details. But clearly there are other households which have yet to apply, despite receiving letters from us.
"We'll be writing to them again and emphasising that we are turning around requests for payments within a week. The money is here for them, they just need to apply for it."
Details on whether you qualify for the £150, alongside information on how to apply are available here:
At the moment, the £150 payment is being made to all households living in properties in council tax bands A-D, and those in band E who get a disability band reduction and any property receiving council tax reduction irrespective of their band. In Cardiff, these payments will total more than £13.3m.
The Discretionary Scheme allows councils to make payments to households who are not covered by the main scheme and to make additional payments or cover the cost of essential services, like energy bills or rent. It will be paid by two methods - one means-tested and other not means-tested.
Read more here:
https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29296.html
Cardiff Council's online tool for care community
Cardiff Council's newest recruit has a wealth of information at their fingertips and they're on duty 24 hours a day, ready to help the city's most vulnerable people, families and their carers.
Sara, or AskSARA as it's known, is a new website designed to provide a one-stop, online self-help tool for citizens, carers and care providers and offers information via a simple series of questions designed to tailor solutions to individual's specific needs.
To use the tool, you simply log on to the AskSARA website, pick an area of concern and you are then guided through the issues and options available until SARA has compiled a personal report you can use for advice and guidance.
If, for example, you have difficulty using the bathroom, you will be asked questions including:
- Is access a problem?
- Can you summon help if needed?
- Does the bathroom floor often become slippery?
- Does the water become too hot?
After completing the survey online, a personal report is instantly compiled which assesses your needs, offers solutions to any identified problems, including suggested devices that can help support independence.
You can AskSARA at:
