Cumberland Council set to look at recommissioning sexual health services
A PROPOSAL to recommission sexual health services in the Cumberland Council area will be examined next week.
Members of Cumberland Council's health overview and scrutiny committee are due to meet at the Civic Centre in Carlisle on Thursday, March 13, to consider the report, titled Recommissioning of Integrated Sexual Health Services.
According to the report the council has a statutory duty to provide a range of sexual health services to its population under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
The report states: 'These services provide comprehensive open access sexual health services, including free STI testing and treatment, notification of sexual partners of infected persons, advice on and reasonable access to a broad range of contraception and advice on preventing unplanned pregnancy.
'This report provides the members of the health overview and scrutiny committee with the details of the plans for the recommissioning of the Integrated Sexual Health Service.'
It is recommended that members consider the plans in the report for the recommissioning of the services and provide a response to the executive committee for their meeting on March 27.
The report states: 'Permission from the executive committee is being sought for Cumberland Council to enter into an agreement with Westmorland & Furness Council in order to procure a Cumbriawide Integrated Sexual Health Service for a period of up to 10 years, a six-year initial term plus an optional extension of up to four years.
'Westmorland & Furness Council will be the lead authority and will undertake the procurement and contract with the with the successful provider on behalf of both councils. The estimated value of Cumberland's contribution over the full 10-year term is a maximum of £20 million.'
In addition they are asked to delegate authority to the director of public health and communities to agree to the award of the Cumbriawide contract following the conclusion of the procurement process.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Update on bringing together four council payroll systems
STAFF at Cumberland Council were all paid through the same payroll system for the first time since the unitary authority was formed last month, councillors have heard. Members of the council's business and resources overview and scrutiny committee met at Allerdale House in Workington on get an update on staff sickness absences on Tuesday (June 3). Before she started her update Jacqui Green, assistant director of human resources and organisational development, told members of the progress made in unifying the authority's payroll system. The work is required because when it was formed as a new unitary authority it inherited four different payroll systems from the former Carlisle City, Allerdale, Copeland and Cumbria County councils. Relating to sickness absences Ms Green said there was a big focus on early intervention and staff wellbeing and the aim was to identify issues early on. According to her report there are still four separate sickness absence policies which managers must apply. The report states: 'The human resources and organisational development (HROD) team have engaged with managers and are currently working with the council's recognised trade unions to develop one policy to manage absences. 'It is expected that a new policy will be finalised in June 2025. This new approach will have a focus on prevention and wellbeing. 'This will support a reduction in the council sickness absence rate. The introduction of the policy will be facilitated by a mandatory programme of dedicated upskilling for managers to support them in their line management duties. Trade union colleagues will also be invited to attend the training.' When councillor David Moore (Gosforth, Conservative) asked if there was a timeline for bringing the policies together Ms Green assured him she was hopeful that it should be completed by the end of the month. It was recommended that the next report, which details further progress, is presented to the committee in six months' time which was agreed.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Yahoo
Solar panels 'to cut leisure centre running costs'
Solar panels have been installed on a leisure centre as part of efforts to reduce costs and protect the environment. Workington Leisure Centre in Cumbria has been fitted with 160kW panels, which will provide about 20% of the site's electricity demand. The installation is expected to save money on running costs and generate income by exporting electricity back into the National Grid during periods of low consumption. Cumberland Council's executive member for vibrant and healthy places, Anne Quilter, said the solar panels were one way the council was working to "build a greener, more sustainable future for [its] communities". She said their installation also aligned with the Labour-led local authority's "commitment to tackling the climate emergency and building environmental resilience" across the region. The solar panels were paid for using capital grant funding from the Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund, which also helped to pay for panels at The Sands Centre in Carlisle. Tom Rice, partnership manager at Greenwich Leisure Limited, which runs the centre, said: "One of our key priorities is to futureproof leisure facilities across [the area] and champion environmental resilience." He said the cost savings made from selling electricity back to the grid would be reinvested back into the leisure centre. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. £2.5m work to replace events space roof to begin Crane brought in to remove Raac from venue's roof Cumberland Council
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Yahoo
Dogs on GAP trail surrendered to shelter
CUMBERLAND — Two dogs that were running at large multiple times near mile marker 3 on the Great Allegheny Passage are now owned by the Allegany County Animal Shelter. Danny Porter and Nickole Stemple, of Kansas Avenue in Cumberland, Saturday gave the dogs, a Great Dane and a boxer-terrier mix, to the facility, according to a county official. That action followed a lengthy legal battle between the couple and county, and was set for a hearing Tuesday. However, 'as a result of their surrendering the dogs, the replevin action was deemed moot and we dismissed the action today,' Allegany County Attorney T. Lee Beeman said this week. ComplaintsCumberland resident Christopher Allison, an avid bicyclist who frequently rode on the GAP, complained multiple times for roughly three years to local officials that he and other folks had been terrorized on a regular basis by two aggressive dogs loose on the trail 'to assault bikers and walkers.' He filed with the local animal control office an affidavit that included photos and a detailed description of the dogs. Allison said he complained to the sheriff's office 'after animal control's response to the continuing issue was to advise me to find another place to bike.' At one point, attorneys for the county and state brought charges against the dogs' owners, but the case was dismissed by a judge who said a local animal control officer had failed to list dates of prior violations on a citation. In his fight for safety on the public trail, Allison grew increasingly concerned and frustrated by a lack of attention to the problem. 'I do not understand or cannot identify any legitimate reason why this is a continuing issue,' he wrote in 2023. 'Habitual'Paul Ackerman said he often saw the dogs near mile marker 3 on the GAP during his daily 20-mile hike. 'I can't tell you how many times I or others have encountered those dogs,' Ackerman said in September. 'This has been a habitual problem for a lot of people,' he said. 'I've been very close to getting attacked by both of them,' Ackerman said. 'I should be able to walk and not worry about it.' Mile marker 3 is 'a ticking time bomb,' he said. CaseFollowing the complaints, Allegany County last year updated its code to 'recognize that animals running at large pose a substantial threat to public safety and constitute a public nuisance,' which includes any dog that has repeatedly been found at large, 'bitten two or more persons,' or disturbed the peace by excessive barking. 'The ownership rights of a person owning a public nuisance animal may be forfeited to the county,' it stated and outlined a legal process that requires an animal owner to receive written notice that states 'reasons why forfeiture is sought,' including summary of applicable incidents. Animal control subsequently declared the two dogs public nuisance animals due to repeatedly running at large on the trail near Dakota Avenue, roughly a mile north of Cumberland Narrows, and sought forfeiture of the dogs. A hearing on the matter was held in October and included testimony from Allison and Ackerman. OrderAssistant Allegany County Attorney Ramon Rozas, who presided over the October hearing, in November ordered the dogs to become property of the local animal shelter. 'On many occasions, as shown by witness testimony and photographic evidence, the dogs have been off of the owners' property, or property where they have permission to be, and have been on the GAP, public roads and on railroad tracks,' Rozas said via the order. 'The dogs have threatened users of the GAP, and on one occasion a biker had to use chemical irritants to prevent an attack.' 'The owners have often failed to even be aware that the dogs have left their property, or are running at large,' Rozas said, adding that remedial efforts the couple eventually took, which included use of electric shock collars to keep the animals from leaving their property, 'are classic examples of shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted,' and did not diminish the shelter's case. AppealAfter the October hearing, Stemple called the legal case 'a witch hunt.' She and Porter appealed the county decision to take the dogs. In March, Allegany County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey S. Getty dismissed the appeal. Getty 'found our argument that petitioners failed to follow the procedural requirements convincing, and dismissed the matter as a result of their failure,' Beeman said at the time. PersistenceThis week, Allison recounted his many efforts to stop the dogs from threatening trail users. 'Those chartered to protect and serve demonstrated a commitment to neither and less my persistence to achieve a solution to the danger, no action would have been taken to achieve the final outcome,' Allison said. 'This was a public safety issue that took (about) three years to resolve,' he said.
