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Councillor Rupert Simmons, the Chairman of the County Council, performed the opening ceremony, accompanied by Councillor Bill Bentley, the Lead Member for Adult Social Care (ASC) and Keith Hinkley, Director of ASC.

Milton Grange is a dedicated County Council unit providing short-term respite care and day services. It is opening after a £1.6m refurbishment of the old Milton Court Resource Centre. There are a range of services on offer including rehabilitation for older people whose mental health and physical frailties make it impractical for them to live in their own home for a short period.

The new Centre has 37 en-suite bedrooms, with specialist facilities for older people with a primary health care need such as dementia or Alzheimer's. Milton Grange will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the day services will make it available to more people. Hot meals and drinks will be provided and special diets catered for.

Facilities include therapy rooms, kitchens, lounge areas, a café and hair salon as well as a range of daily social activities. As part of this new service the council will work closely with health professionals in the NHS and local voluntary organisations.

Councillor Bill Bentley said: “This is a marvellous state-of-the-art unit which will provide respite care and more flexible day services to some of the most vulnerable people in our community. It also means that carers will have a break from the demands placed on them. The facilities and activities are first-class and it is a great honour to be involved in the official opening of Milton Grange”

Teams from Filsham Valley School in St Leonards-on-Sea and Peacehaven Community School will compete at Eastbourne Town Hall on Friday 5 February at the county stage of the Young Consumer of the Year Competition. The county final starts at 10am and supporters are welcome.

The teams have to answer quiz questions on topics ranging from safety and the environment to consumer rights and responsibilities. The East Sussex winners, who will receive prizes for their school and for themselves, will go on to the South East regional final in March. The winners of the regional final will compete at the national finals in Edinburgh in June.

The national competition is organised locally by officers from East Sussex County Council's Trading Standards team.

Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Member for Community Services said: “The competition is our way of helping young people in our schools and colleges to know their rights and responsibilities when buying and selling. It's run along the lines of University Challenge and is both fun and educational.

“Our pupils take part in a competition that involves hundreds of other schools from across the UK. They all take on the challenge to become the top young consumers and win a £1,000 prize for their school.”

For more information about the work of the County Council's Trading Standards service please visit our pages on Trading Standards – help and advice for consumers.

East Sussex County Council's Cabinet has recommended the one-off fund and the proposals will now go to the Council's full meeting on 9 February for final decision.

However, Council bosses are warning that this could be the last year the County Council has any extra money, over and above its normal budget, to spend on its key priorities.

Deputy Leader Tony Reid said: “We want to use any additional resources we have in the best way possible and due to careful budget management in the last financial year, we're able to recommend this one-off fund. If agreed, it will mean cash for pot hole repairs following the recent severe weather, more money to help residents and businesses fight the effects of the credit crunch, funding to help cover the Government's proposal of free personal care for some elderly people and more cash for vulnerable children following the Baby Peter case.

“However, this could be the last year that we have this flexibility. Because of the effects of the recession and the expected squeeze on public sector funding, the financial outlook for the County Council looks extremely bleak, particularly beyond this coming financial year.”

The extra money for 2010/11 recommended by Cabinet includes:

• an extra £1m to mend pot-holes caused by the recent bad weather
• £900,000 to support the increase in referrals in children's services following the Baby P case
• £750,000 to support the introduction of free personal care if that scheme comes into place
• a further £250,000 for the recession fund to help residents and businesses to fight the effects of the credit crunch
• £250,000 to support different ways of delivering services and working more closely with councils and other partners. This figure includes £50,000 earmarked for web initiatives that will make it easier and cheaper for residents to access services online.

Residents can find more information about the Cabinet Committee and other council meetings, and watch main council meetings live online in our main section About the County Council.

Southern Gas Networks was fined £750 and the County Council awarded £400 costs at Lewes Magistrates' Court on 1 February for failing to provide adequate signs and safely guard the site in Sutton Avenue, Seaford on 10 November 2009.

Councillor Matthew Lock, Lead Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment said: "The County Council is determined that companies must have a high standard of safety at all roadworks. It is essential to protect their employees and the public.

Further information

Southern Gas Networks were fined £750 under section 65 of the New Road and Street Works Act. Costs of £400 were awarded to East Sussex County Council and a £15 victim surcharge resulting in the total of £1, 165.

But parents of persistent truants who refuse to work with the Council to address the problem have been warned that as a last resort the Council can and will use the courts to tackle the issue.

During the last three months of 2009 the County Council brought a total of 38 prosecutions against parents who have failed to work with officers to address their child's regular and persistent non-attendance at school.

And the outcome of those cases at magistrates courts in Eastbourne, Hastings and Lewes was a total of £2,917 in fines and £2,205 in costs.

The bulk of the cases, this time around, were in Hastings where 28 hearings resulted in a total of £2,557 in fines and £1,515 in costs. One parent, whose son had only attended 3% of classes between March and July, was fined £175 with £120 in costs.

Fines totalling £360 with £580 in costs were given to parents in eight cases brought before Eastbourne magistrates. One parent whose son had only attended 21% of classes between June and November pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge.

In the three month period there were only two hearings at Lewes Magistrates Court. One parent was given a supervision order for six months with £60 costs. Her daughter had attended only 61% of classes between April and October.

The cases were brought by Education Welfare Officers who support, help and advise parents if they are having difficulty with their child's attendance. Prosecution only comes as a last resort if parents refuse to co-operate with the officers in tackling non-attendance problems.

Councillor David Elkin, Lead Member for Learning and School Effectiveness said: “Most of the work of our education welfare officers is positive – working in schools to promote attendance and ensure our young people understand why their education and attending school is so important. They also work with families where there is a problem to help resolve the issue. I'm pleased to say that work has proved successful and the amount of persistent absence has reduced.

“However, alongside all this positive work we still do have the powers to get tough with the small minority of parents who ignore their child's persistent absence or who refuse to work with us to address it. It goes without saying that schooling is absolutely vital for a child's learning and future opportunities and if we have to use the courts to make sure parents face up to their responsibilities we will do so.”

The extra money will fund a two-pronged approach: repairing thousands of potholes caused by recent freezing temperatures, and an upgrade to the overall state of the county's road network.

£1m will be invested directly in fixing potholes, and we already have more than 20 extra maintenance gangs working, around the clock where necessary, to seek out systematically and repair them within the next few weeks.

At the same time, we will be tackling the problem of highway drainage, where ditches and road gulleys have become blocked.

The remaining £8.5m will fund a two year programme of improvements to the county's road network, with work due to start in the spring.

We will be working closely with utility companies and developers to plan these roadworks and to keep disruption to a minimum.

Councillor Matthew Lock, Lead Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: "We recognise that, like many other parts of the country, our roads have suffered as a result of the recent freezing weather, but following this announcement residents can look forward to better and safer roads.

"In the meantime, while repair work is being carried out, we urge motorists to drive carefully and according to the conditions of the road. We're putting warning signs up in areas where potholes are worst. It is important drivers take note of these and reduce their speed accordingly."

Bertie Baxter met with Councillor David Elkin to show him how he is learning to become a civil engineer through the East Sussex County Council apprenticeship programme.

Bertie, 16, is one of two apprentices doing a civil engineering apprenticeship in the Highways Team for the Council's Transport and Environment department. He was successfully interviewed and started working at East Sussex County Council in June 2009 after having done work experience one day a week with the team for a year. He met with Councillor Elkin at the Ringmer depot, The Broyle, to talk to him about the work he does.

Councillor David Elkin, the Council's Lead Member for Learning and School Effectiveness, said: “I was an apprentice when I was 15 and I cannot describe how valuable it was for me. I was learning to be a tool maker and not only did it literally, teach me the tools of my trade, but it gave me the confidence to make the most of my career. Because of the skills I learnt as an apprentice I was able to go on and do a whole range of different jobs before becoming a self-employed business man. It was great to hear that Bertie is getting as much out of being an apprentice as I did.”

Councillor Meg Stroude, the County Council's Lead Member for Children and Families, met with Marisa Reid who is one of two apprentices doing a youth work apprenticeship in the Council's Youth Development Service. She started work in September 2009 and works out of the Battle Youth Centre, London Road.

Councillor Stroude said: “It is wonderful to see young people like Marisa being so enthusiastic and interested in helping other young people. The apprenticeship scheme is a great chance for young people to get a step onto the career ladder and gain qualifications at the same time.”

East Sussex County Council is now one of the largest employers of apprentices aged 16 to 18 in East Sussex. It is now working on encouraging other employers to look at the benefits of taking on apprenticeships.

Apprenticeship week runs from Monday February 1 to Friday February 5.

If you are an employer and want to find out how to recruit an apprentice call 08000 150 600.

If you are a young person looking to start an apprenticeship visit The apprenticeships website or our pages on Apprenticeships at East Sussex County Council.

East Sussex County Council Trading Standards is running the Scamnesty campaign during February, asking the public to hand in any suspicious ‘scam' mailings to their local library.

All of the County Council's libraries are taking part in the campaign which is being replicated by Trading Standards across the UK with the support of the Office of Fair Trading. This follows a similar campaign held by the Council last year.

Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Member for Community Safety, said: “During our previous Scamnesty campaign in East Sussex, we received information from our residents on over 1,000 scams. This helped us to better understand how the scammers are operating, how the scams are evolving and how best to tackle them.

“Unfortunately there seems to be a scam designed for everyone from foreign lottery scams, clairvoyant scams and prize draw scams to unclaimed inheritances, easy-money offers and home-working job opportunities – the list goes on. Anyone can be targeted and fall victim if they are not alert to the problems.”

In November 2009, based on information provided by East Sussex residents, the Council's Trading Standards team took legal action to stop a company responsible for sending out 136,000 misleading prize draw letters.

Trading Standards in East Sussex respond to every request for assistance from anyone who may have been a victim of a scam or know of a friend or relative who may have suffered. Trading Standards work with people affected by the scams to try to help them understand the situation and to cut off their contact with the fraudsters.

The following scams have all been reported by East Sussex residents in recent weeks:

• Foreign lottery wins - You've won a fortune! (Despite you never having entered a lottery in Spain or Canada, and before they can send you the cheque you have to send them money to pay the 'tax' on the win.)
• Clairvoyant scams - A mystic is warning you that dark forces surround you, and can only be banished by buying a mystical amulet. (But they send the same letter out to thousands of people.)
• Prize draw wins – You've won thousands! (But you have to buy their overpriced products first, and the prize never materialises, or is of little real value.)
• Unclaimed inheritances - Someone with the same name as you has died abroad and left a huge inheritance, and that could be yours! (But you have to send that dodgy bank worker in the far east some money first.)
• Easy money 'job' offers – All you have to do is send the registration fee first and the work will materialise. (Only it doesn't.)
• Home-working job opportunities – Earn hundreds every week and work from your own home! (So if this is a genuine job offer, how come you have to pay them first?)

If in any doubt, or you are concerned for a friend or relative, contact the Consumer Direct advice line, 08454 040506 in the first instance. Mailings handed into the libraries are used for intelligence purposes and the information on the scammers is shared with appropriate enforcement bodies.

For further information please contact East Sussex County Council Trading Standards on 01323 463466 or visit our Scams, fraud and product alerts page.

East Sussex County Council's Trading Standards Service, the Safer Wealden Partnership, Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council and the local Neighbourhood Watch have teamed up to set up the scheme.

The Heathfield No Cold Calling Zone will be officially launched at 2pm on Monday 1 February 2010 at the Sheepsetting Lane Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane, Heathfield.

Setting up a zone is a warning to cold callers to keep out. Local residents are provided with information that shows them how to deal with unexpected callers.

Councillor Bob Tidy, Cabinet Member for Community Services at the County Council, said: “Community safety is one of our top priorities so I am extremely pleased that the partners have worked together to set up this scheme for Heathfield and Waldron. Rogue traders are a real menace and tend to target older and vulnerable members of the community and victims can literally have their lives ruined by the practices of some cold callers.

“This No Cold Calling zone sends out a clear message that people in Heathfield and Waldron will not put up with this type of doorstep harassment. I look forward to other areas in the county organising similar schemes and joining the battle against rogue traders.”

Residents attending the launch at the Community Centre will have the opportunity to hear more information about the scheme. They will be able to talk to people about crime prevention and home security and will also be able to get advice from the County Council's Trading Standards Service.

For further information about the work of Trading Standards please visit our section:

• Trading Standards – help and advice for consumers.

That was the message as East Sussex County Council agreed the closure of the three schools – Hillcrest, The Grove and Filsham Valley – that would make way for the new state-of-the-art academy schools.

The decision made by the Council's Cabinet on Tuesday 26 January follows the publication of statutory closure notices and widespread consultation on the plans. It lays the foundation for the creation of the two new academies, one on each side of the town, that would provide a 21st learning environment for students.

Councillor Keith Glazier, Lead Member for Children and Families said: “This is an important day for Hastings. Yes there will be some who will be sad to see these three schools close, but what will replace them will be incomparable in terms of what they offer pupils, those with special needs and the wider community.”

During the consultation on the closures, Councillor Glazier said the Council had listened to people's views. “The majority of people who responded to our consultation are in favour of what we want to do and recognise what a fantastic and exciting opportunity this is for the town.

“I know there is some opposition to these plans from Filsham Valley but we must not lose sight of the fact it was only a minority of parents who responded to say they oppose the plans. It's also true that the plans have the support of Hillcrest and The Grove.”

Councillor Glazier said nothing had been said by any of the plans' opponents that had altered his view that this was the right move for Hastings.

“We have here an opportunity. An opportunity to unlock significant Government funding for some fantastic new schools that would transform learning for pupils and enable us to build on the improvements in standards that have been made through our investment with Sir Dexter Hutt and Ninestiles Plus.” He said.

“Realistically there are no other options with the prospect of significant investment or improvement. Much has been achieved at these schools but still much needs to be done. Standards are still too low and we need to raise them not just in the short term but also ensure they are sustainable for the future.”

The closure of the three schools would obviously only happen if the Government gives final agreement and funding for the two new academies. Those new academies would be run by the sponsors: The University of Brighton, East Sussex County Council, and BT.

Councillor Glazier added: “These plans are good news for Hastings in so many ways. Not only would they have two state-of-the-art 21st century schools, but there would be better facilities for children with special needs, and better multi-agency support for families. They also promise to play a significant part in the wider regeneration of the town.”

Further information

The sponsors – University of Brighton, East Sussex County Council and BT – are proposing two new academy schools for Hastings to replace Filsham Valley, The Grove and Hillcrest Schools. On the eastern side of the town the proposal is for a brand new academy on the Hillcrest School site which would accommodate 900 pupils aged 11 to 16 and deliver the core subjects of the National Curriculum. The new academy would open in 2011 and building work on the new buildings has a target completion date of 2012. Meanwhile, on the western side of the town a new academy would provide for 1,500 pupils aged 11 to 16 and would replace The Grove and Filsham Valley Schools. Again, the new academy would open in 2011 with a targeted completion date for the building work of 2012.

The sponsors consulted on the new academies proposal between 7 September and 19 October 2009. By law the County Council had to run a separate consultation on closing the three schools that would be replaced by the two new academies. The council then published statutory notices, which gave a further six weeks for people to respond to the proposals.

Both of the new academies would be state-funded, non-selective schools and each would be fully inclusive with improved special educational needs facilities incorporated into each. Each of the new academies would be developed to minimise disruption to pupils; the approach to ensuring pupils' learning does not suffer during the building process will be developed during the implementation stage.

Councillors agreed in July 2008 to the principle of proceeding with the academy proposals for Hastings. Under the plans East Sussex County Council would be one of the co-sponsors of the academies along with BT. The lead sponsor would be the University of Brighton.