Latest news with #Dorrance
Powys County Times
05-08-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Powys council urges hundreds to check PIP eligibility
Hundreds of adults in Powys could be missing out on financial support. Powys County Council believes more than 700 people with a disability or long-term health condition may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) but are not currently claiming it. Cllr Matthew Dorrance, deputy leader and cabinet member for a Fairer Powys, said: "If you have a long-term health condition, or disability, and need help with everyday tasks, or with getting around, then you could be eligible for PIP. "We are here to help, if needed, and want to make sure that everyone is receiving all the financial help they are entitled to, especially households with children. "More than 200 of these letters will be going to parents, or other adults who are looking after a child in Powys." The council identified the individuals using data analytics and will write to them over the coming weeks to encourage them to check their eligibility for PIP. Eligible individuals could receive several thousand pounds extra per year. Those identified are already receiving Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are classified as having Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA), but are not currently claiming PIP. PIP is available to people who have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and who struggle with everyday tasks or mobility. The council's letter explains the benefits and offers support with the application process. To support the effort, Powys County Council has invested in the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT), an intelligent data analytics platform designed to identify those most in need. Cllr Dorrance said: "The LIFT platform should help us target our help where it's most needed." This follows action taken in June, when the council wrote to nearly 900 households believed to be struggling financially, offering support. Those households were invited to access free and confidential help, including advice on managing household bills, energy costs, benefits, budgeting, and debt. This support remains available to anyone in Powys facing financial difficulties. The council's trained advisors can provide support online, by phone, in person at a council office, in the community, or at people's homes. Council tenants can get help by calling 01597 827464, emailing fsogroup@ or visiting
Powys County Times
12-07-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Powys Teaching Health Board 'to blame for waiting times'
Health officials should be blamed for Powys residents waiting longer than English patients to be treated in hospitals across the border, a senior councillor has said. Yesterday (Thursday, July 10), Cllr Beverley Baynham brought forward a notice of motion in front of councillors on this issue. The cost-cutting measure by Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) came into force on July 1 and means that some residents in parts of Powys will face longer waiting times for planned care at English hospitals such as the Royal Shrewsbury or Hereford County hospitals. This is due to PTHB implementing NHS Wales waiting time targets, which are slower than those in England. Cllr Angela Davies said: 'It is really concerning to Powys residents who go over the border, there is nothing in this motion to object. 'We're merely tasking the Welsh Government to adequately fund PTHB as we ask them to fund our local authority so that they can deliver the service that residents require.' She proposed moving straight to the vote. Deputy council leader, and Labour group leader, Cllr Matthew Dorrance then came in and said that his group would be supporting the motion but had concerns on the second point of the motion. The part under concern said: 'Calls upon the (Labour) Welsh Government to provide immediate funding support to PTHB, addressing the challenges of cross-border healthcare commissioning.' Cllr Dorrance said: 'It's important that we come together on this issue and the whole council speaks with one voice 'This Welsh Government are a significant partner and of course they are important in this debate, but they do fund the health board to the tune of over £400 million a year.' He pointed out that health and social care receives over 55 per cent of the Welsh Government's budget. Cllr Dorrance continued: 'I don't believe this is merely about money or resources we know from the evidence that has been presented by PTHB this is about demand management and invoice avoidance. 'So, it's delaying elected care so that the invoices are coming later so that they have an opportunity to deal with their deficit. 'That's what I strongly believe this is about – it's not about the Welsh Government these are decision being taken by the health board on how they deliver health care in this rural setting, and they need to be held to account for their decision.' He added that the Welsh Government had pumped in an extra £600 million into the Welsh NHS this year due to having two Labour government's working together. The motion then moved to a vote and 53 councillors voted in favour of the motion with one councillor abstaining.
Boston Globe
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Opening Jacob's Pillow's season, Dorrance Dance stays true to the beat
Advertisement The stern yet buoyant Tomoe 'Beasty' Carr rotates her forearms with speedy precision; Fritzlyn Hector circles her arms, offers the audience her palms; Zakhele 'Bboy Swazi' Grabowski's handstand is more stable than funding for the arts. With fast feet, bent knees, and heavy arms, each dancer in the ensemble moves through and around the rhythm of composer Donovan Dorrance's score and John Angeles's live percussion, making visible the syncopated, polyrhythmic interplay between motion and sound. (Angeles and Michelle Dorance share roots in the percussion sensation 'Stomp.') "The Center Will Not Hold" at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2025. Christopher Duggan Photography A downcast square of light illuminates Dorrance and Asherie centerstage. They grasp hands but look away; they adjust their black cropped blazers rocking back on one leg; they look toward each other, but find no recognition in the other's eyes. Advertisement Behind them, three more pairs of dancers are revealed in similar dress. The swing of a knee, touch of a foot, and pulsing lift of the torso echoes quickly from one partner to the next with syncopated precision. Some of the best moments are when Angeles performs from inside and among the dancers onstage; he wears a snare drum holstered around his neck, which he beats insistently, twirling his drumsticks for a flourish. His punctilious and insistent rhythms are a worthy match for Dorrance's razor-precise taps that perch on the edge of control. Dorrance Dance has been blending tap with contemporary dance forms for years, but the meat has been percussive movement. This evening's vocabulary is just as much hip-hop as tap. If tap and hip-hop have something in common, it is a shared worship at the altar of 'The Beat.' Dorrance has been hinting at the intertwined histories of tap and hip-hop for years, but this piece, with one dance happening next to the other, reveals through proximity rather than fusion just how tangled the two are. 'The Center Will Not Hold' pairs tap with regional hip-hop styles from the East, West, and Midwest. With so many distinct hip-hop forms on one stage, the dancers are brought into conversation not by the saccharine promise of connection across difference (the dancers often look serious, keeping to themselves), but simply by performing near to each other. The roll of a torso echoes in the fluid locking of an arm; the dexterity of Memphis jookin is made audible by a tap shoe. Historically, tap and hip-hop are both Black American dance forms that originated as street dances — refined and expanded through improvisation and exchange outside the colonialist influence of the 'institution.' Advertisement Jacob's Pillow is nothing if not an institution, and for the festival to open its season with a tribute to the intertwining vernaculars of Black American dance traditions feels important, even if it arrived under the name of a white woman. But Dorrance has long understood this — hence the way she credits the work. The center will not hold, nor should it. THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD At Jacob's Pillow's Ted Shawn Theatre, Becket, runs through June 29. Tickets start at $65. 413-243-0745; . Sarah Knight can be reached at sarahknightprojects@
Powys County Times
22-06-2025
- General
- Powys County Times
Powys council pays tribute as UK marks Armed Forces Day
Powys County Council has paid tribute to members of the Armed Forces and their families ahead of this year's national day of recognition. The council has expressed its gratitude to UK service personnel as the country prepares to observe Armed Forces Day. This year's event carries added importance as it coincides with the 80th anniversary commemorations of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day. Councillor Matthew Dorrance, deputy leader of Powys County Council, said: "Armed Forces Day is a moment to reflect on the dedication and bravery of our Armed Forces. "I want to express my sincere gratitude to all those who serve and have served in uniform. "I am immensely proud of our servicemen and servicewomen – their commitment represents the highest form of public service." Cllr Dorrance, who also serves as the council's Armed Forces Champion and chairs the Armed Forces Covenant Regional Partnership Powys, added: "I encourage residents to take part in local events, fly the flag, and show their appreciation – whether by attending a parade, sharing messages of support on social media, or simply thanking a veteran or service member in your community. "Every gesture counts."
Powys County Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Powys cabinet backs role in Home Office asylum housing pilot
Taking part in a Home Office pilot scheme to support asylum seekers would give Powys County Council greater control over where people are placed, a meeting has heard. The council's cabinet has officially voted to express an interest in being part of a pilot scheme which would see the Government handing over cash to help boost Powys' housing stock. In exchange housing would be leased to the Home Office for 10 years, then returned to Powys wider social housing stock. The plans, which will involve a non-binding expression of interest alongside neighbouring councils Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire, will have no impact on people currently on the housing waiting list, the meeting heard. Speaking at the meeting, the council's deputy leader Cllr Matthew Dorrance said: 'Currently the existing UK Government offering Clearsprings ready homes, procures accommodation within the authority for people seeking asylum. 'We don't have any control over that process; it does not include us in the sourcing of accommodation for asylum seekers and that will continue. 'Bringing a new scheme forward and collaborating with other authorities in the rural sector will give us greater control over the council accommodation that is used.' Cllr Dorrance said this would include the 'location and the support structure' put around the asylum seekers that are brought into Powys. Cllr Dorrance said: 'This scheme will enable the local authority to access UK Home Office funding that will provide us with capital resources for additional homes. 'What this proposal will enable us to do is add to the social housing stock. 'Because at the end of the 10 year period the homes we build using this external home office money will then become housing stock available to be used through the housing register." He said this would have no impact on those people already on the housing waiting list. Former council leader and now cabinet member for a more prosperous Powys, Cllr James Gibson-Watt (Liberal Democrat) welcomed the proposal. Cllr Gibson-Watt said: 'It's very important that this is about asylum not immigration, people who come to this country fleeing very dreadful situations.' He stressed that the UK under various treaties and conventions have an obligation to accommodate asylum seekers and process their claims in a 'fair way.' 'I'm very enthusiastic that the council should participate in this,' said Cllr Gibson-Watt. The cabinet voted unanimously to express their interest in being part of the scheme. Powys council's Reform UK group leader Cllr Iain McIntosh complained after the meeting that he had not been given the opportunity to object. A council spokesman explained that there is 'no provision' under the council constitution that allows leaders of opposition groups to speak at cabinet meetings on any item they wish to. A council spokesman said: 'Section nine of the Home Office Asylum Dispersal Pilot report states that here are no community specific implications for particular wards arising from this report. 'Therefore, the business of today's cabinet meeting was transacted in line with the council's constitution.'
