Residents invited to comment on parliamentary constituency boundaries
Solihull Council is encouraging residents to comment on the proposed parliamentary constituency boundaries that have been proposed by the Boundary Commission for England (BCE), as part of an eight-week consultation.
The BCE is required to ensure that the number of electors in each constituency is more equal and in doing so, the number of constituencies in England will increase from 533 to 543. The Commission is undertaking an independent review and will present their final recommendations to Parliament by July 2023.
The West Midlands has been allocated 57 constituencies – a reduction of two from the current number. The proposals leave nine of the 59 existing constituencies wholly unchanged, and 12 unchanged except to realign constituency boundaries with new local government ward boundaries.
The two existing constituencies in the Borough of Solihull – Meriden and Solihull – both exceed the permitted electorate range. The BCE proposes to extend the Birmingham Hodge Hill constituency to take in the Solihull borough wards of Castle Bromwich and Smith’s Wood. And to also move the existing Solihull constituency wards Elmdon and Silhill into the Meriden constituency. It is also proposed that Blythe ward, which is currently in the Meriden constituency, will be moved to the Solihull constituency.
These proposals relate only to the Parliamentary constituency boundaries. There are no plans for any changes to be made to the Borough Council boundaries and this process has no implications for the services provided by Solihull Council.
People can visit www.bcereviews.org.uk to view maps showing the proposed new boundaries and provide feedback before the consultation closes on 2 August 2021. Comments can be made on anything from where the proposed new boundary lines are, to the names of the constituencies.
There will be a further two rounds of consultation in 2022. Following the conclusion of all three consultation periods, the Commission will look at all the evidence received before forming its final recommendations.
To view the case details, track this application and provide comments – please log on to Consultee Access at the following address: https://publicaccess.solihull.gov.uk/online-applications/ If you have not responded by the end of that time, or given notice that you require more time and why, the Authority will assume you have no comment to make.
To view the case details, track this application and provide comments – please log on to Consultee Access at the following address: https://publicaccess.solihull.gov.uk/online-applications/ If you have not responded by the end of that time, or given notice that you require more time and why, the Authority will assume you have no comment to make.
To view the case details, track this application and provide comments – please log on to Consultee Access at the following address: https://publicaccess.solihull.gov.uk/online-applications/ If you have not responded by the end of that time, or given notice that you require more time and why, the Authority will assume you have no comment to make.
The sun’s out at last! We really hope you are enjoying the weather.
It’s also running hot on the phone lines here, as we are getting more calls for help. With the easing of restrictions, warmer weather and increased drinking, we expected to be busy but here’s how you can help us.
If you need our help and it’s not an emergency it’s quick and easy to web chat us online – you will normally get help in less than three minutes.
To do this just log onto our website – www.west-midlands.police.uk and select Live Chat. Our website is also a great one stop shop to find out about a wide range of services, from how to report a shed break-in to how to deal with being stalked online.
We know some people still really want to talk to us on the phone, even if it’s not an emergency. You can still call us on 101, but at busy times it can take a little longer to answer your call. So please bear with us or try online.
If it is an emergency – the crime is happening right now or someone’s life is in danger – don’t hesitate to call 999 for immediate help.
Thank you for supporting us through this busy time, have fun in the sun and stay safe!
To view the case details, track this application and provide comments – please log on to Consultee Access at the following address: https://publicaccess.solihull.gov.uk/online-applications/ If you have not responded by the end of that time, or given notice that you require more time and why, the Authority will assume you have no comment to make.
Over 75,000 properties now able to connect to the fibre network
Topics in this edition:
CSW Project updates – Contract 3 CSW Project updates – LFFN programme Improving broadband for very hard to reach premises – Government call for evidence Ofcom report offers advice on choosing the best broadband ISPs Millions at security risk from old routers, Which? warns Router Security – How to secure your Wi-Fi at home or at work Copy for your own website or newsletter Your questions answered
CSW Project updates – Contract 3
Another 30 Contract 3 structures have gone live since our last newsletter was published at the beginning of March. The communities benefiting from these most recent upgrades include parts of: Ansley Common, Atherstone, Balsall Common, Barston, Bedworth, Berkswell, Bidford on Avon, Brinklow, Cherington, Corley, Fillongley, Grendon, Marston Jabbett, Meriden, Middleton, Offchurch, Stratford upon Avon, Stockton, Tanworth in Arden, Warwick, Whatcote and Whateley. As a result of this, over 75,000 properties across the region are now able to connect to the fibre network thanks to the work of the CSW Broadband Project. As always, once we have received confirmation that a particular upgrade has been completed, we will try and inform as many of the affected residents as possible. With this in mind, we have recently conducted a mail-out campaign to over 6,500 residents and businesses to let them know that their properties have now been upgraded as a result of the work we have already completed in Contract 3.
Remember, once your property has been upgraded, you won’t get a faster service automatically. You need to order the improved service with your chosen ISP in order to benefit from the upgrade.
If your property has benefited from an FTTP upgrade, our Ordering an FTTP service webpage provides you with all the information you need.
CSW Project updates – LFFN Programme
Our work on the LFFN Programme is progressing well. As mentioned previously, the CSW Broadband Project, in line with Government requirements, is using the revised total of nearly £3.9 million that we were awarded to bring full fibre gigabit connectivity to 220 public sector buildings across Warwickshire. All 220 sites have now been surveyed and have moved through to the build phase. We expect that all project sites, which includes a total of 159 schools and 61 other public sector buildings such as libraries and fire stations, will have a live service by the end of September 2021. Work has already been completed at 47 of these sites with final installations to the other 173 as yet unfinished sites, happening on an almost daily basis. It is hoped that with the new full fibre network in place that suppliers will then use it as a springboard to bring full fibre to residents and businesses in the wider community as well. Nearly 200 residential and business properties in close proximity to the 47 completed sites have also been upgraded to full-fibre connections, with many more also due to benefit as the remaining sites are completed. Once these builds are completed, we will inform the local residents and businesses who will also have benefited from this work, that they can now order an improved service.
Improving broadband for very hard to reach premises – Government call for evidence
Through this call for evidence, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) wants to hear the views and experiences of consumers’ broadband connectivity in rural and remote areas of the UK. They are looking for responses from specific groups of stakeholders including rural residents and rural businesses.
The evidence gathered will enable DCMS to assess the options available for delivering improved connectivity to areas where the costs of delivering better digital infrastructure have so far proven to be a barrier to deployment.
Digital connectivity offers rural residents the option to access many services without having to make long or complex journeys and over the last year in particular, has become a key means for accessing, banking services, education and healthcare services to name but a few.
Rural based businesses are also reliant on the need to be able to access fast and reliable broadband and mobile networks if they are to develop, grow and thrive in an increasingly competitive world.
If you are a residential household or business user of rural broadband services and you would like to have your say then you can complete the call for evidence via this online survey. The consultation closes at 11:45pm on Friday 11 June 2021.
Ofcom report offers advice on choosing the best broadband ISPs
Ofcom have recently published their fifth annual report on how service levels compare across the telecoms industry with regards to quality of service, call waiting times, complaints, new service installation times and fault repairs. The aim of the report, entitled ‘Comparing customer service: mobile, home broadband and landline’ is to allow consumers to look beyond the price and see what level of service they can expect from different providers, helping them to make informed decisions about which provider is best for them. It also acts as an incentive for providers to improve their customer service, which is never a bad thing! The report covers customers’ experiences in 2020 and – as usual – is based on data that Ofcom has gathered via a combination of consumer research, submitted customer complaints and data obtained directly from operators. For those of you who are interested in this but don’t have the time to read the full Ofcom report, the ISP Review website provides an excellent summary of the survey’s main findings.
Millions at security risk from old routers, Which? warns
Millions of people in the UK could be using outdated routers that put them at risk of being hacked in their own homes the consumer magazine, Which? has warned. The report examined 13 older router models provided to customers by internet service providers such as EE, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone and found that more than two-thirds had potential security flaws.
Many of these older routers will still be in wide circulation because broadband providers don’t tend to retire them unless they break or the customer switches or upgrades to a different service. The main issues this study found were:
Weak default passwords – A lot of consumers leave default passwords unchanged. However, they can be easily guessed by hackers, are common across devices and could grant someone access. This can be done from outside of the home network, so a hacker could access the router from anywhere in the world.
Lack of firmware updates – These are not only important for performance, they are also needed to fix security issues when they arise. An estimated 6 million homes were using a router that had not been updated since 2018, with around 2.4 million not having had a router upgrade in the last 5 years.
Local network vulnerabilities – While the risk here is lower as a hacker would have to be in the vicinity of the router, vulnerabilities such as this could allow a cybercriminal to completely control your device, see what you’re browsing or direct you to malicious websites.
The study found that not all routers on test were bad though. Old devices from BT and Plusnet had been recently updated and no unfixed vulnerabilities or weak default passwords were found.
Which? provides advice on what to do if you own one of the affected routers listed in the report and also recommends that you ask your provider for an upgrade as soon as you can.
Router Security – How to secure your Wi-Fi at home or at work
The Broadband Genie website also mentions that broadband router security is often overlooked, noting that if the router is not properly configured, your private data and home network – along with everything attached to it – are potentially at risk. Their guide on How to secure your Wi-Fi at home or in the office provides useful information and advice on topics such as updating the router’s firmware, how to secure the Wi-Fi network and disable things like remote administration, UPnP and PING responses. While this all sounds a bit technical, the guide provides simple explanations as to what these terms mean and explains how by taking these simple steps, you can help to minimise the risks to your Wi-Fi set up and easily bolster your home broadband router security.
Here are some of the Questions and Answers (Q&A’s) that residents have raised recently. Our website has a full set of Frequently Asked Questions, which are regularly updated.
Why has my upgrade been delayed?
This is a technically challenging project and we always knew that some areas would be more difficult to reach than others – particularly as we get into the more rural areas that we are now building to in Contract 3 – the current phase of the CSW Broadband Project.
The FTTP (Fibre to the Premise) solutions that we are now deploying often require more civil engineering works (e.g. road closures) than the FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) solutions that tended to be deployed for much of Contracts 1 and 2 and these can take up to 3 months to come into effect.
Occasionally, when one problem has been fixed another may manifest itself further down the line and although visual surveys are carried out, it is not possible to know what is happening under the ground until the actual work commences.
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns and restrictions have also had a knock-on effect with regards to the build programme.
We will not be able to bring regular updates or a lot of details about what is happening as doing that would tie up a lot of valuable resource and time for both the CSW team and Openreach, our build partners.
However, we do continue to monitor the build programme closely and as soon as we have confirmation that a build has been completed, we will inform as many of the residents and businesses who will benefit from that build as we can that they can now order an improved service.
What sort of broadband speeds can I realistically expect if I’m upgraded as part of the CSW Broadband Project?
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) connection speeds will vary depending on a number of factors including the distance your property is located from the street cabinet it is connected to, the local geography, the state of the local copper network and the wiring within your home or business but you could get up to 80Mbps.
Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) connections – where these are available – are in theory capable of 1Gbps (1000 Mbps), but your service provider may offer a range of different speed-related packages to suit different needs.
We need to reach as many people as we possibly can. You can help us by emailing this to all your local contacts and encouraging them to email it to all their contacts.
Why not join the CSW Broadband conversation on social media!
To keep up to date on what we’re doing and to have your say on how the project develops:
Phishing remains the most successful attack vector for cyber criminals targeting individuals and businesses.
Cyber criminals love phishing. Unfortunately, this is not a harmless riverbank pursuit. When criminals go phishing, you are the fish and the bait is usually contained in a scam email or text message. The criminal’s goal is to convince you to click on the links within their scam email or text message, or to give away sensitive information (such as bank details). These messages may look like the real thing but are malicious. Once clicked, you may be sent to a dodgy website which could download viruses onto your computer, or steal your passwords.
As of 30 April 2021, over 5.8 million emails were reported to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS). The tool, which was launched by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the City of London Police last April, allows the public to forward suspicious emails to an automated system that scans it for malicious links. Since its launch, over 43,000 scams and 84,000 malicious websites have been removed.
What are the most common phishing scams?
The most commonly spoofed organisation reported in phishing emails was TV Licensing, with victims of these emails reporting losses totalling £5.3m. The majority of losses occurred as a result of victims following malicious links in the emails and inputting their personal information into what they thought was the legitimate TV Licensing website. Shortly after, they would receive a call from criminals impersonating bank staff who was able to convince them that their bank accounts were compromised and persuaded them to transfer all of their money to a new ‘safe’ account. Some of the other most commonly impersonated organisations included HMRC and DVLA. We also received more than 40,000 suspicious email reports relating to COVID-19.
How you can protect yourself from phishing messages.
Fake emails and text messages can sometimes be difficult to spot and criminals are constantly getting better at finding ways to make them seem more authentic. Email address spoofing, for example, is just one of the tactics criminals will use to try and make their fake emails look real. Here are some tips you should follow to protect yourself, and others, from scam emails and text messages:
1: Be cautious of messages asking for your personal information. Official organisations, such as your bank, should never ask you for personal or financial information via email or text message. If you receive a message and you want to check that it’s legitimate, you can call the organisation directly using a known number, such as the one on a bank statement or utility bill.
2: Report suspicious emails. If you receive an email you’re not quite sure about, you should report it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) by forwarding the email to: report@phishing.gov.uk. Your reports will help government and law enforcement agencies to remove malicious emails and websites.
3: Report suspicious text messages. If you receive a suspicious text message, you can report it by forwarding the message to 7726. It’s free of charge and enables your mobile network provider to investigate the origin of the text and take action, if found to be malicious.
4: Report fraud. If you’ve lost money or provided personal information as a result of a phishing scam, notify your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud.
Have you received a neighbour notice regarding a planning application? Or have you submitted a planning application yourself?
The Parish council is a statutory consultee for all Planning applications in the Parish. If you have any concerns, or feel you might be affected by a planning application, please forward your comments to us at the Parish Council. This will help us to take residents’ views into account when making our representations to Solihull MBC.
To view the case details, track this application and provide comments – please log on to Consultee Access at the following address: https://publicaccess.solihull.gov.uk/online-applications/ If you have not responded by the end of that time, or given notice that you require more time and why, the Authority will assume you have no comment to make.
