There will be a change to the recycling service from May 2022. We will require that paper and card be placed in a reusable blue bag and be presented with the blue bin on collection day. 

The blue bin will then only be used for plastic bottles, tubs and trays, tins and cans and glass bottles and jars.

The blue bag and the blue bin will be collected by the same vehicle, which has separate compartments, see picture.

Below are some FAQs that explain why we are making this change.

Last Updated: 22/06/2022

Under Schedule 3 of the Local Government Act 1992, the billing authority can impose a civil penalty of £70 if you:

• fail to provide requested information
• fail to notify us of a change which would result in the cancellation of a discount
• knowingly make an incorrect statement in order to obtain a discount  

If you have received a penalty notice and do not agree with this decision, you might be able to appeal the decision if you:

• do not have the information we have asked for and are unable to provide it
• have a valid reason for withholding the information 
• dispute that we have contacted you for the information

If you want to make an appeal against the penalty you will need to complete the ‘Compliance Appeal’ at the Council Tax Online Forms.

Your appeal must normally be made within 2 months of the penalty being imposed.  We may be able to consider late appeals if you can demonstrate that circumstances beyond your control meant that you could not appeal sooner.

Further information can be found on the Valuation Tribunal Service website Penalty notice appeal - Valuation Tribunal Service.  It is also possible to make your appeal directly to the Valuation Tribunal Service.

Last Updated: 06/05/2022

This year sees her Majesty The Queen become the first British Monarch to reach the milestone of a 70-year reign.  The end of May bank holiday has been moved and extended and will run from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 June 2022 to provide opportunities for communities to come together to celebrate this historic milestone. 

However, celebrations do not need to be limited to the bank holiday weekend and can be held at any point from January to December 2022.

Communities across Cannock Chase District are encouraged to take part in the celebrations by hosting their own events. Activities could include street parties, festivals, the planting of trees and craft activities to make your own platinum emblem or crown.

To help you with your celebrations, we have produced a useful Event Information Pack which you can download below.

Please let us know what you’re planning in your area by emailing the Communications Team at communications@cannockchasedc.gov.uk

We will list your events in the programme below.

You can also register your event or find out more about events taking place in Staffordshire here link to  https://platinumjubilee.gov.uk/events/

Read the full press release here

Last Updated: 17/06/2022

Applications are now invited for the £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate payment.

Please apply online using these forms:

If you wish to have the £150 paid into your bank account:
£150 Energy Rebate Payment by Bank Transfer

If you would prefer to pay the £150 onto you Council Tax account use this form:
£150 Energy Rebate Payment into My Council Tax account

You will be entitled to a £150 payment it you were responsible for Council Tax on your home on 1 April 2022 and:
1.    Your property is banded A - D and you have not already received your payment 
OR
2.    Your property is banded E - H and you are in receipt of a Local Council Tax Reduction or Council Tax Disabled Persons’ Reduction

You will need to have your Council Tax bill and to hand and if you want the payment into your bank, will need the account name, sort code and account number.   You will not need to upload any documents with your form, bank accounts will be verified by the Council.  We will contact you if we need any more information from you or we are unable to pay.  

If you require further information, please contact cter@cannockchasedc.gov.uk.

The Council’s full scheme policy can be found at the foot of this page and is summarised below. 

MANDATORY REBATE SCHEME
If your property is in bands A-D and you pay by DIRECT DEBIT, your payment has already been made or is on its way to you.  We will contact you if we need any more information. If you do not pay by DIRECT DEBIT you can now apply by completing the forms above.

If you DO NOT PAY COUNCIL TAX because you are exempt or get 100% Local Council Tax Reduction, you will still be entitled to the £150 payment.

DISCRETIONARY PAYMENT SCHEME
If your property is in Bands E to H, you will not qualify for the £150 payment but we may still be able to help you.

Discretionary payments of £150 will be made in the following circumstances:  
•    Households in bands E to H who are in receipt of Local Council Tax Reduction on or after 1 April 2022.
•    Households whose dwelling is valued in bands F to H in receipt of a Disabled Persons’ Reduction 
•    Households in bands E to H where the Council Tax payer or partner are in receipt of any income or disability benefit on or after 1 April 2022. 
•    Households whose dwelling is valued in bands E to H on 1 April 2022 who manage to successfully appeal their band to D or lower, retrospectively to 1 April 2022.
•    Households who move into a property later than 1 April 2022, and would have qualified for a mandatory payment but for the qualifying date, provided they have not received an Energy Rebate payment at another address.

You will need to make an application and we may need you to provide information in support of your application.  The Council has a duty to ensure that the payments are made to those residents who need them the most.

CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT
Both mandatory and discretionary payments are made on the basis of one payment per household.  If you receive a payment, you do so on behalf of all residents in your household and we will not make a further payment to others.

The payment is not a loan and will not need to be repaid.  However if you are not the person entitled to receive the payment, you will need to contact the Council and we will need the money back in order to pay the correct person.

The Council is required to make checks to ensure that we only pay the rebate to those who qualify for it.

Last Updated: 26/05/2022

The Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and set a vision for the District to become carbon neutral by 2030. Local authorities are directly responsible for a small percentage of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced in their areas, but they nevertheless have an important role to play in encouraging their residents, businesses, and local organisations to achieve zero carbon targets.

We can make a difference by changing the way we do things and the way we live our lives including the way we move around and travel.

This survey has been put together to collect information about how our community in Cannock Chase district use different travel types to get around in our day to day activities. We want to understand how you travel to work, school and social activities and why you use these methods.

Please note this survey has now closed and the results are being analysed.

Last Updated: 19/04/2022

The Council’s Community Safety Team has commissioned Loudmouth Education and Training to run their new educational resource on harmful sexual behaviours, ‘Calling It Out’, for pupils in key stages three to five. 

‘Calling It Out’ is a new theatre in education programme designed for students in years 9 to 13 and supports the ongoing work in schools to create a culture where sexual harassment and abuse are not tolerated. 

The programme uses drama, a character question and answer session and discussion to raise the pupils’ awareness of harmful sexual behaviours, where these behaviours are coming from and alternative positive behaviours. 

In the drama the main characters, Sam and Wes, have their friendship tested as they both learn more about the huge impacts everyday incidences of sexual harassment and assault can have on girls and young women and how we all have a role in safely challenging and reporting these behaviours.

After the drama, the students get the opportunity to ask Sam and Wes questions about the key themes for the drama. Small group discussions are held to encourage students to look at different scenarios and to discuss whether they are acceptable or unacceptable including discussions on pornography, consent and misogyny. 

The session ends with information of where the pupils can go for help if they have experienced harmful sexual behaviours and want further information and support. 

Resource packs are being distributed to secondary schools providing information about local support services, details about the drama, lessons plans and further campaign material. 

Campaign messages will also be promoted using the Council’s new Tik Tok channel – ‘Cannock Chase Life’ and wider online advertising via the Council’s other social media platforms. 

This forms part of the Council’s wider safeguarding work and has been funded by the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Locality Deal Fund. 

If you would like a copy of the campaign material, please email the Community Safety Team at partnership@cannockchasedc.gov.uk 

Last Updated: 04/03/2022

Since the pandemic, people are spending more time than ever online. This includes banking, shopping, working, streaming to social media etc. This presents more opportunities for hackers to carry out cyber-attacks. They often do this by targeting people and businesses using:

• email and website scams
• malware - software that can damage your device or let a hacker in

If hackers get into personal devices or accounts, they could access money, personal information, or information about a business.

Be Cyber Aware is the government’s campaign on how to stay secure online. We will be using this campaign and promoting the messages locally with the support of Staffordshire Police’s Cyber Crime Unit.

Advice and guidance will be provided to help people improve their cyber security. This will be provided via online advertising, an interactive guide with video, TikTok videos and an animation. This will be delivered throughout January. 

For more information read the full press release here. 

For the second phase of the campaign we will be working with Staffordshire Police's Cyber Crime Unit to look at a presentation/seminar for local community groups and businesses. We will be linking in with Support Staffordshire and Friends of Hednesford Park in order to promote these sessions.  

In regards to secondary schools and colleges, we will be working alongside the Safe+Sound Project that is managed via Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. This will be rolled out in Spring.

Last Updated: 10/01/2022

The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020, applies to owners and licence holders of residential caravan sites. The purpose of the legislation is to improve the standards of park home site management, by introducing an assessment to ensure that the person responsible for managing the site is suitable and does not pose a risk to the welfare or safety of persons occupying the site.

The fit and proper person requirement makes it an offence for a site licence holder to operate a park home site unless they, or their appointed manager, are a fit and proper person to do so. An application must be made and it is a criminal offence for Site Managers/Owners not to make an application.

See .GOV.UK for more details.

Applications

You can make an application for inclusion on the fit and proper person register by contacting the Private Sector Housing Team. The application fee is £400.

As of the 1st October 2021, existing site owners must also apply again if the circumstances relating to the nominated fit and proper person has changed in relation to an existing mobile home site, for example:

• A transfer of site licence
• A change in management of the site
• The removal of a person from the register by the local authority

In such cases, you will have 3 months to make a new application, providing that the change in circumstances have been notified to the Council within 28 days.

Exempt Sites

A site is exempt from the requirement for a fit and proper person if it is "a non-commercial family occupied site". This is a site only occupied by members of the same family and not being run on a commercial basis.

Register of fit and proper persons

Entry on the Register of Fit and Proper Persons is for a period of 5 years, after which time you will be required to make a new application.

For further information about Mobile Home Site Licensing, please contact The Private Sector Housing Team.

Email:  PrivateSectorHousing@cannockchasedc.gov.uk

Phone: 01543 462621

Last Updated: 14/04/2022

What’s Changed

In 2018, Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Regulations were introduced to improve energy efficiency in privately rented properties in England and Wales. The Regulations have applied to all tenancies since April 2020, even those where there has been no tenancy change.

Landlords must not continue to let a residential property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F or G.  Landlords must ensure that all properties have a valid EPC and that rented properties meet at least an E rating unless a valid exemption has been registered.

Recommendations for energy efficiency improvements can be found on the EPC for the property.

If a private sector landlord continues to rent a property with an EPC rating of F or G, a penalty notice of up to £5000 can be issued.

Further Landlord guidance can be found here.

Where an exemption applies, the exemption must be registered by the landlord (or an agent for the landlord); this registration is made on a self-certification basis and an exemption will apply from the point at which it is registered.

Further details on the applicable exemptions can be found here.

The landlord must register the exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register.

The PRS Exemptions Register is for properties which:

• are legally required to have an EPC
• are let on a relevant tenancy type
• cannot be improved to meet the minimum standard of EPC band E for one of the reasons set out below

What help is available?

Cannock Chase Council is working in partnership with Beat the Cold. Beat the Cold can advise on how to make the property more energy efficient and what heating and insulation measures may be available.

For further information phone Beat the Cold on 0800 389 2258 or email mees@beatcold.org.uk
 

What is the Council doing?

We are encouraging all landlords and letting agents to comply with the Regulations where they have not already done so.  We have also secured funding to proactively investigate potential breaches of these Regulations and are currently writing to all tenants and landlords of known F&G rented properties. Enforcement action will be taken against landlords that fail to improve the EPC rating of a rented property to at least an E and/or do not comply with a Compliance Notice.

A penalty of up to £5,000 can be issued.

If you believe a property is being rented out that does not meet the regulations, please email us at privatesectorhousing@cannockchasedc.gov.uk

Last Updated: 14/04/2022