Devon County Council’s Leader John Hart says the Council wants to engage better with people and give communities more choice and control over the way local services are shaped and delivered.
It has a new draft strategy, setting out how the Council will go about its business of engagement, and is inviting people to tell them what they think about it and how it might be improved upon.
Engagement, with the public and communities, businesses, other public and statutory authorities, voluntary sector organisations and a whole host more, is at the heart of the Council’s decision...
Equality South West has said it is "unacceptable" for academies to pick and choose pupils.
A report, released today by the Academies Commission, reveals evidence that some academies secretly attempt to select and exclude pupils.
ESW's Colette Bennett said: "If academies are picking and choosing their students , then the potential for discrimination is huge. Even if it is unintentional, things such as unconscious bias may lead to children being excluded on the basis of their or their parents' skin colour, their religion or the fact that they are disabled or gay.
Government plans to build Britain’s biggest prison are a titanic waste of money that will do nothing to cut crime, the Howard League for Penal Reform said today (10 January).
In a move which echoes the ill-fated Titan jail proposal of the last decade, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that it is to start feasibility work on a new prison that could hold more than 2,000 prisoners.
The project - combined with the planned construction of four new mini-prisons - follows the opening of the G4S-run Oakwood Prison near Wolverhampton, which has been dogged with problems...
This Christmas period has been tinged with sadness as new statistics released by the RSPCA reveal that three pets were abandoned every hour during the holiday period.
In the past, instead of being left on the streets, pets were given to animal shelters. For many different reasons, however, such as a lack of animal shelters, between 2007 and 2012 the number of abandoned pets went up by 7 million.
Cemeteries have now become a ‘hot-spot’ for leaving dogs and cats, where recently three dogs were left at the Veterans Cemetery in Exeter. Rather than being abandoned at a young age...
John Lewis in Exeter has announced the next three charities it will be supporting as part of its Community Matters Scheme.
It has been revealed the chosen charities selected by Partners are SOCOPS, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and Nightstop Devon.
SOCOPS (Social Opportunities) is a charity group created in 2005, by parents with children on the Autistic Spectrum.
They decided to set up a youth club in Exeter providing social opportunities for their children and others with the same condition as they felt the children were missing out.
The Bishop of Exeter has announced that he will retire after 13 years at the head of the diocese.
The Rt Rev Michael Langrish 67, will take his last service in Exeter Cathedral on June 29.
In a letter sent to all Church of England clergy in parishes across Devon the Bishop states that "Although 2012 has been a challenging year, as have many others before it, I hope that I leave the Church of England in Devon in good heart." He goes on to write of a "...growing God's Kingdom."
Yet, many commentators have questioned whether the Bishop is...
Fire crews received a phone call on Wednesday evening from the resident of a property in Gibson Close, Exmouth, whose kitchen was on fire.
The smoke alarm was sounding and there was smoke within the property.
Two fire appliances from Exmouth were mobilised. On arrival crews found a fire within the ground floor kitchen area. One elderly woman was led to safety by fire crews.
Crews extinguished the fire using two breathing apparatus wearers, one hose reel jet and ventilated the property using a positive pressure ventilation fan.
Blossom Corner Community Children’s Home, in Stoke Hill area of the city, has been rated outstanding by Ofsted after it was visited by Inspectors at the end of last year. The inspectors were impressed with the positive and calm atmosphere in the home, the outstanding outcomes for the young people, and the excellent relationships the young people have with the staff.
The home has six short-term rooms for young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties aged between ten and 18.
Young people at the home spoke movingly to the inspectors about the way the staff at the...
People with a keen interest in our local countryside are invited to join the Devon Countryside Access Forum (DCAF) to help improve recreational opportunities for people to enjoy the great outdoors.
The Forum, now about to enter its 10th year of operation is supported by Devon County Council and is an independent and statutory advisory body. It currently has 15 volunteer members who meet several times a year to consider policy issues aimed at making the countryside more accessible and enjoyable.
If you would like an opportunity to get involved in discussing and advising on...
