All posts by Miss Baxter

Have Your Say in the Council Election

Have your say in the council election

West Lothian residents are being urged to make sure they are able to vote in May’s local government elections.

You must be registered to vote by midnight on Easter Monday, 18 April, if you want to vote in person at a polling station in the council elections on Thursday 5 May. Please note that although the registration deadline falls on a public holiday, it will be strictly enforced so voters are encouraged to ensure they are registered in advance.

Anyone who is not registered to vote should visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or call the Lothian Electoral Registration Office on 0131 344 2500.

Anyone who will be 16 or over on 5 May 2022 is eligible to vote

Other criteria include being a British Citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the European Union, and normally resident in Scotland.

There are other voting options available to you should you not wish to vote in person.

You can submit a postal vote or a proxy vote where someone else votes in person on your behalf. You can also arrange for someone to cast your vote for you by post (postal proxy vote).

Applications for postal and proxy votes must be made to the Electoral Registration Officer at www.lothian-vjb.gov.uk or by sending complete applications to 17A South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9FL or calling 0131 344 2500. The deadline for applying for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday 19 April, and the deadline for applying for a proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday 26 April

For more information, please visit either www.aboutmyvote.co.uk or https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/vote-local-2022.

 

Parent/Carer Consultation – Whitburn Working Together for Wellbeing

The Whitburn Working Together (NHS Lothian, West Lothian Council & Third Sector partners) for wellbeing group are looking for local views on Health and Wellbeing. The feedback from the questionnaires will help shape future health and wellbeing developments for the population of Whitburn. To help with this journey could you please complete a short online questionnaire at https://forms.office.com/r/5MKHQN4KMEby by Friday 1stApril. No personal details are required. Thanks for your contributions and feedback. Ben Boatman (Whitburn Cluster Active Schools Coordinator)

WLC’s Advice Shop and the Citizens Advice Bureau West Lothian

Message from WLC’s Advice Shop and the Citizens Advice Bureau West Lothian, both of which offer support and advice to families with money worries.

Advice Shop

We know this can be a challenging time for some households.

If you have money worries and need help, please contact the Advice Shop by phoning 01506 283000 to speak to an adviser who can offer advice and support. Or complete the referral form:

If you are in urgent need of immediate financial assistance West Lothian Council’s Scottish Welfare Fund may be able to help. Please refer to the guidance to apply for a crisis grant:

Our ‘Money Talks’ team is a Scottish Government sponsored scheme specifically introduced to help families and older people at or approaching retirement age or any other low income household. This is a very positive programme which will have a major contribution to the reduction in Child Poverty.

Citizens Advice Bureau

The team can offer a free, complete and confidential financial health check to make sure that families have all the support needed and where there is some worry about debt to get access to specialist help. The check can also identify if families are paying too much for services like gas and electricity.

The team can access other specialist services about money, work, benefits or indeed any other issue that families might need a bit of advice about.

Parents can get in touch by:

Calling our advice line – 01506 432977 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) and ask for a call back from Money Talks.

Texting us on 07712 305764

Emailing us at enquiries@cabwestlothian.casonline.org.uk and ask for Money Talks

Visiting our website www.cabwestlothian.org.uk where they can find links to self-help advice and how to access the national Money Talks service.