Your Hampshire
Vaccine protection – don’t let your child miss out
Childhood infections like measles and whooping cough are rising, with outbreaks across the country. Some may think these infections are a thing of the past, but with declining vaccination rates through the years, we’re seeing them now.
Routine childhood immunisation schedule
- If you have a child, vaccinations will be offered by your GP surgery when your child reaches eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age, including vaccinations to protect against whooping cough and meningitis.
- Others, such as the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, are also offered at four months, and at one and three years of age.
- Children are also eligible for an annual seasonal flu vaccine from their second birthday.
Adolescent vaccination programme delivered in schools
- The HPV vaccine is given when aged 12 to 13
- The 3-in-1 booster and the MenACWY vaccine are given when aged 14
If you or your child have missed a vaccine, it is never too late to check if you can catch up – check your child’s Red Book or with your GP.
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Future spending plans for local public services
Setting a balanced budget is one of the County Council’s key duties each year, ensuring we continue to make the most of taxpayers’ money – particularly as costs keep rising and demand increases for public services, like social care to support the most vulnerable children and adults. These pressures alone in Hampshire will cost an extra £152million from April.
Local people are already being consulted on options to meet a £132million budget shortfall expected by 2025/2026, but in 2024/25 the County Council has looked closely at various options to balance the books and keep supporting growing numbers of the most vulnerable residents. As well as using reserves to help plug the funding gaps, a proposed council tax increase of 4.99% is being considered from April, of which 2% would go specifically towards adult social care and supporting the county’s higher numbers of older people and adults with complex needs and disabilities.
This could help to generate an extra £39million towards overall service delivery costs. If approved later this month, it would work out as around an extra £1.40 for households to pay per week.
A final decision will be made by the full County Council on 22 February.
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Nature recovery needs you
We’re now leading on developing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Hampshire, including Portsmouth and Southampton. As well as working with the county’s local councils and national parks, along with many wildlife, farming, environmental and conservation organisations, we want to hear your thoughts on nature priorities and find out what's happening in your area to help nature. This will inform the Strategy for protecting Hampshire’s natural environment.
Ban on disposable vapes
We’ve welcomed news that the Government is going to ban disposable vapes – something we have been lobbying for in response to the rise in vaping among children and teens, as well as the environmental impact from discarded vapes and the financial cost of clearing them away. While vaping can help you quit if you're already a smoker, Public Health advice is that vape products shouldn’t be used by children or non-smokers as the risks are not fully known and vaping is addictive.
Hampshire County Council Future Services Consultation
Hampshire County Council is asking for people’s views on the future of some local services in a public consultation on options to help the Authority meet a £132 million budget shortfall by April 2025.
Hampshire County Council delivers most of Hampshire’s public services, to 1.4 million residents, and we are responsible for around 80% of all spending on council services in the county. Further information on our budget and the services we deliver can be found in the Budget Book.
Despite our strong financial management, our costs continue to rise, alongside growing demand for vital local services like social care for children and adults, and our budgets remain under immense pressure. We have almost exhausted the unallocated reserves that usually provide us with a financial safety net, and very soon there simply will not be enough money to go around.
This is a problem faced by councils across the country, and one which local government cannot address on its own. In line with residents’ wishes, we are pressing for a better, long-term national funding solution from central Government, but we cannot sit back and wait for that to happen.
Hampshire is in a better position than many other councils, but tougher decisions and deeper savings will be needed for us to find the £132 million we need by 2025 to ensure we can continue to deliver critical services and help protect and support the most vulnerable children and adults in Hampshire.
In this context, all areas of the County Council have been asked to consider what savings could be achieved from only providing the legal minimum of services that we are required to deliver. We will not go below the legal minimum and will continue to prioritise essential areas such as protecting children from harm, social care for older people, and supporting adults and children with disabilities and additional needs.
Reflecting the views of local residents, we have first looked to make savings through working more efficiently, by streamlining our organisation, by reducing bureaucracy and duplication, and by making the most of our buildings and office space, technology and contracts.
Unfortunately, these efforts still won’t be enough, so we need to explore changes in how we finance and provide services. This includes increasing income, delivering services differently and, in some cases, reducing services, which may directly affect residents, businesses, and organisations in Hampshire.
The 13 service change proposals within this consultation are those that Equality Impact Assessments, informed by residents’ and stakeholders’ views, have identified as having a significant public impact. We are seeking to understand these impacts in more detail, to consult on potential options and to clarify whether there may be other ways in which the savings could be made.
To read the full consultation click here
You can give your feedback using the online response form
No Smoking Day – 40 years on
Even though Smokefree Hampshire has helped more than 13,000 smokers to quit since 2019, and No Smoking Day hit its 40th year this month, there are still more than 115,000 smokers in Hampshire, and almost every hour of every day, someone is admitted to hospital in the county because of the health effects of smoking.
Even though most smokers want to give up, quitting can be daunting, so it’s important to remember that no-one needs to go it alone.
If you want to give up for good, you are much more likely to succeed by signing up to an expert-led stop smoking support service like Smokefree Hampshire, which offers a variety of methods for quitting, including free nicotine replacement therapy, medications and vaping vouchers.
Good things start to happen when you quit smoking – it’s likely you’ll experience health benefits within weeks of stopping, breathing easier and feeling fitter!
You can self-refer to Smokefree Hampshire by calling the Quitline on 01264 563039, by texting Quit to 66777 or by visiting the Smokefree Hampshire website.
Boys need bins
To coincide with Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, male toilets within our premises, including Country Parks and libraries, will have sanitary bins in cubicles, supporting Prostate Cancer UK’s Boys Need Bins campaign. Many of those treated for prostate cancer may also experience incontinence and so need to use pads, catheters or colostomy bags for example. During their lifetime, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, rising to one in four for Black men.