June 2022

5 Buckden Roundabout June 2022 From your District Councillor Buckden Neighbourhood Watch RICHARD WEST Village Coordinator 01480 811467 / 07841 866630 To contact the police: 999 in an emergency; 0800 555 111 Crime Stoppers; 0300 123 2040 Action Fraud. EMAIL burglarycrackdown@cambs.pnn.police.uk or visit www.crimestoppers.uk.org or you can telephone 101 Suspicions or concerns can be reported via the police force ’ s online web chat function here https://bit.ly/3tfssQF Or via the online reporting forms here https://bit.ly/3ck9z85 DON ’ T BE FOOLED BY COLD CALLING FRAUDSTERS Fraudsters are cold calling residents and posing as government representatives and then requesting bank details to enable householders to receive the government ’ s £150 energy re- bate. There is no need for eligible households to initiate any action. The one - off rebate is available to most properties in bands A - D, around four - fifths of homes on England fall in these bands. All households in bands A - D who pay council tax by direct debit will receive the rebate direct into their bank account, others will be sent a letter with details of how to claim. There are other fraudsters who are taking advantage of the war in Ukraine and are pretending to represent a charity help- ing Ukranian refugees. DO NOT give any of your bank details in response to a cold call including telephone, text, email or Social Media platforms. WORRIED ABOUT GETTING HACKED? Secure your email and social media accounts in just a few minutes. HERE ’ S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO 1. Use a strong and separate password for your email, as well as other important accounts, such as your banking or social media accounts. 2. Enable two - factor authentication (2FA). It will help to stop hackers from getting into your online accounts 3. For detailed instructions on how to reset your pass- word or enable 2FA on your accounts visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/secureyouraccounts From your District Councillor Fellow Villagers, I'm proud to have been elected to be Buckden, Diddington and Southoes's District Councillor. I hope that I can represent the villages well. Thanks to everyone who voted in the election. Irrespective of how we voted as individuals, we ’ re privileged to be part of a democratic process in which, each of us can have our say. I draw your attention to the following summary of results from Huntingdonshire District Council: • Results for local District Council elections have been counted and verified. Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) now has 22 Conservative councillors, 11 Inde- pendent councillors, 10 Liberal Democrat councillors, four Labour councillors, four St Neots Independent Group councillors and one Green Party councillor. • This means that there is no overall control of the Coun- cil. Elected Members are in active conversations about forming a new administration. • The Council was previously a Conservative administra- tion with 29 Conservative councillors, 10 HDC Independ- ent Group councillors, seven Liberal Democrat council- lors, three Labour councillors, two Independent council- lors, and one vacancy. • Councillor Ryan Fuller, Executive Leader of Huntingdon- shire District Council, was not re - elected, which means there will be a new Leader for the Council. At the Annu- al Council meeting on 18 May 2022, formal announce- ments will be made about the new administration and new Leader for HDC. The election was historic because it is the first time in 47 years that a Conservative Administration has not had overall control of the Council. My observation, as a former Chief Risk Officer (CRO), is that it was culturally unhealthy for a single party to have been in control for so long. I believe that a new admin- istration is likely to be beneficial to Huntingdonshire residents. As I write this article it ’ s highly possible that there will be coop- eration between several parties to form a new administration with the aim of constructively working wholly for the benefit of our local communities in Huntingdonshire. I hope that the new administration will keep the good e.g., refuse collection and remove the bad e.g., slow response to climate change. Please watch this space for further updates. If you would like to contact me with any District Council related issues my new email address is martin.hassall@huntingdonshire.gov.uk Wishing you all well, Martin Hassall Buckden, Diddington and Southoe District Councillor