Devon County Council

More than 10,000 vulnerable people in Devon have been helped by a crisis intervention scheme over the past two years.

The scheme’s been operated by Devon County Council working with the eight district councils and funded by a Government grant.

But the scheme was in danger after the Government withdrew the grant.

However, after extensive lobbying by local councils, the Government agreed extra funding to allow it to continue.

Now Devon County Council has agreed to top up the grant to a total of £1 million to allow more people to be helped.

The Devon...

Devon County Council has agreed an increase of 1.99 per cent in council tax bills.

The increase will support spending of over £500 million including a reprieve for threatened school lollipop patrols, continued support for vulnerable people on welfare and extra winter road gritting.

There will also be an extra £100,000 to cushion bus service cuts and £40,000 for the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

The council tax increase will bring in an extra £6.2 million over the next year to help safeguard services.

But the budget still calls for reductions of £46 million as a...

A cutting-edge Ambulance Special Operations Centre in Exeter (ASOC West) was officially opened today (Monday 16 February 2015) by a very special visitor.

HRH The Princess Royal attended and was welcomed by a host of dignitaries.

The innovative new ASOC is part of the impressive £210 million SkyPark scheme, and is the base for the Trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART). There are two well established HART teams across the area served by SWASFT; one in Bristol and one in Exeter. This base for the Exeter team was chosen owing to its location, its proximity to the M5 and...

New funding has been secured for cycling in Devon, as the County Council announces that cycle trips in parts of the county have risen by over 20% in the past year.

Devon County Council has received a further £675,000 from the Department for Transport to fund more schemes as part of the Granite and Gears project, which aims to develop a network of multi-use trails to open up access to Dartmoor.

The funding will be used to support five cycling schemes which Devon County Council is developing and joint-funding, with an additional £300,000, in partnership with Dartmoor National...

Devon has seen a significant increase in the number of two-year-olds accessing free childcare and early learning thanks to the County Council’s 2gether funding programme.

Since September, over 2,000 children have been offered a funded place at an approved childcare setting, but there are still 600 children who could be eligible for a free place this Spring term who are yet to apply. The 2gether funding was extended to children whose family receive certain benefits, have a household income under £16,190, or if the child has a disability, special educational need or if they are...

Devon County Council has today (26 January) launched a consultation on proposals to cut £1.7 million from its annual public transport budget over the next two financial years.

Councillors agreed this month to reduce its expenditure on bus services that require council funding to operate. People across the county are now being asked for their views on the proposed reductions to services which are being put forward.

It’s the first time in four years that the authority has proposed cutting bus services to meet a reduced budget, but the reductions are needed as part of the...

The Esplanade in Exmouth will be closed for several days due to a problem with the road surface near to the Premier Inn Hotel site.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said: "A hole appeared in the road whilst work was going on at the Premier Inn site revealing a sewer pipe around five metres underground.

"The road is closed to traffic but should partially re-open on Monday with two-way traffic lights and then be fully open by Wednesday next week."

Devon County Council has awarded £113,000 worth of funding to Schools across Devon through its Enterprise in Schools Grant programme to help encourage entrepreneurship.

The programme is designed to help Devon’s schools create or expand educational opportunities within the areas of enterprise and innovation for both pupils and staff, and is informed by the ‘Enterprise for All’ report.

It will enable schools to provide a better balance between education and skills for employment and aims to equip young people with the motivation and confidence to work for themselves.

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Devon County Council’s snow wardens have been put on standby for the coldest spell so far this winter.

Road surface temperatures are set to plummet below -5 C overnight tonight and are not expected to rise above freezing before 9am tomorrow. The County Council is advising people to take extreme care if travelling tomorrow morning, particularly on untreated roads.

Devon County Council gritters will be treating around 1,700 miles of the precautionary salting network across the county from 3pm this afternoon and again in the early hours.

From around midnight, wintry...

Devon County Council this afternoon agreed to lower caps on subsidies for bus journeys that would otherwise have been withdrawn by their commercial operators for being unprofitable.

Currently one subsidised Devon service costs £22.95 for every passenger trip while another bus journey costs £19.38.

The measures were proposed as the authority faces saving £1.7 million out of its annual bus subsidy as a way of meeting the £50 million county council budget reduction required by Government spending cuts next year.

It was the first time that the authority has made bus...