SERVICES
Police
Although a police building is still present on the High Street, Belford is serviced
from Seahouses where a Sergeant and 8 Constables cover Belford, Bamburgh, Seahouses
and the surrounding areas.
Policing in Belford will have started some time after 1857 when the Northumberland
County Constabulary was established. This covered the geographical county except
for Newcastle, Tynemouth and Berwick who had their own separate forces at different
times. Berwick was taken into the County in 1920 and in 1969 Newcastle and Tynemouth
were merged to form the Northumberland Constabulary. This did not last long and
in 1974 after the creation of Tyne & Wear County the forces under that area
were merged to form the Northumbria Police. They had an area from Houghton-le-Spring
to Berwick-upon-Tweed with a headquarters in Ashington. All the constituent forces
took some digestion and eventually a new force headquarters was set up in Ponteland
in 1981, which still serves Belford to this day. The Present Chief Constable is
Mr J.A. Stevens.
Up until 1994 Police cover in Belford only operated from 9.00am to 1.00am on 2
shifts. Now, however there is 24 hour 3 shift protection. Even so the police station
at Seahouses is still not continuously manned.
Social Services
The Social Services Department which is now one of the largest in Local Government
is a relatively new innovation. Indeed there was no such thing as a Social Worker
until 1962 when training began. The community's needs were met by a Children's
Department or the Health Department, often aligned to a Hospital. In 1966 the
Department of Health and Social Security was given umbrella responsibility for
all health, social security and personal social services.
The Local Government re-organisation of 1974 created the Department of Social
Services within Northumberland County Council which supplies services to Belford
to the present day. The service for Belford is administered from an office in
Church Street, Berwick with one team responsible for Community Care and another
for Children's Services. People applying for assistance will be assigned a Social
Worker who will endeavour to arrange appropriate help.
The Berwick Social Services Office is located at Church Street, Berwick in the
same complex as the Library.
Benefit Rates 1995
A comparison between the level of State Benefit entitlements in 1970 and in 1995
would show that though standards of living have improved, the difference between
those entitlements and the average wage has increased. Those living on state benefits
are poorer in comparison with the average wage earner, though many low-wage earners
live at, or around the means-tested benefit level. A Citizens Advice Bureau chart
of benefits has been placed in the box of additional material (BRO.564).
The following are a selection of benefit rates from that chart. The average weekly
wage for 1995 is £235.00
The full rate of State Retirement Pension, dependent on qualifying contributions
and taxable, is £58.85 per week for a claimant and £32.65 for a dependant.
Child Benefit is non-contributory and not taxable. £10.40 is paid for the first
child and £8.45 for other children.
Income Support is an income-related benefit and sets a minimum standard to which
all other means-tested benefits are closely related. A sample of entitlement rates
for Income Support are:
16-17 years old - £28 per week
Over 25 single - £46.50 per week
Couple with 2 children - £104.90 per week
Other benefits include Family Credit (for low earners), disability and disablement
allowances, attendance allowance, invalid care allowance.
Then there are benefits paid by either the State or the employer which are dependent
on contributions - but again the highest rate is comparable with the Income Support
rates. Among these are Incapacity Benefit, Sick Pay, Maternity Allowance, Maternity
Pay, Unemployment Benefit and Widows' Benefits. It should be noted that where
allowances to widows and disabled include £11.05 for each child the sum of £1.20
is deducted for the eldest child who receives the higher rate of Child Benefit.
Council Tax Benefit is means-tested and is in the form of a deduction from the
"rates" bill. The old rates were replaced with a Community Charge known
and hated as the "Poll Tax" which was levied from 1990 to 1993. It was
withdrawn after very strong protests. The "Poll Tax" had a serious effect
on rural housing stock because as well as a charge per head of the adult population,
there was also a charge for second homes and for empty property. Dozens of cottages
in Belford and the area were set up for holiday letting - both second homes and
farm cottages (formerly tied) which had been standing empty - to raise the considerable
amounts of Poll Tax demanded. Its replacement in 1993 was the present Council
Tax based on new criteria for the valuation of property.
The system of payment of Housing Benefit has again made a difference to the letting
of houses in Belford. The benefit is paid directly to the landlord (private or
Housing Association) on behalf of those tenants who are in receipt of other benefits.
It replaces some or all of their rent payments. Many of the holiday cottages set
up during the "Poll Tax" years have been turned over to letting on a
six-month contract to families eligible for this top-up benefit.
Home Help Services
The Home Help service in Belford is controlled from the Social Services Area Office
in Berwick-upon-Tweed. The Domiciliary Services Manager is Mrs Pat Minto and the
Local Co-ordinator for Belford, Lowick and Holy Island is Hilda Hogg.
Home helps in the Belford group are Hazel Athey, Irene Dickinson, Thelma Elliot,
Joan Ions, Elizabeth Scott, Betty Straughan and Ann Sim. Weekend Home Helps are
Hilda Friar and Helen Thompson.
Irene Dickinson retired from the service in November 1995 after 25 years sterling
service. Her place was taken by Sarah McDonald. After 1992 the government "Care
in the Community" plan was put into operation by Northumberland County Council.
This plan meant that if the elderly people concerned wished to stay in their own
homes, instead of going into residential homes, then they could do so and help
would be given on a daily basis, financed by Northumberland County Council.
At the same time, much of the available money was pointed in the direction of
private agencies as they are believed to give a cheaper service. Much of the care
in the Belford area is now being given by Albury Home Care based at Berwick and
Help the Aged based at Alnwick.
A standard weekly charge is paid by clients. This charge is for the week, no matter
how many calls are made. In 1995 the charge was £4.00 per week.
Medical Services
The Belford Medical Practice operates from a new, purpose built Medical Centre
at Croftfield. The Centre was built in 1992.
Three partners, Dr Robert Pawson, Dr David Gill and Dr Jeremy Evans give the primary
health care supported by a comprehensive team led by the Practice Manager, Mrs
Iris Gilhome. The practice also has a surgery at Seahouses and gives medical services
to patients in the surrounding areas such as Bamburgh, Beadnell, Beal, Fenwick,
Lowick, Haggerston and Holy Island.
The services offered by the doctors are supplemented by many other health care
professionals, some of whom hold regular clinics at the centre. These include
District Nurses, Practice Nurse, Midwives, Health Visitor, Physiotherapist, Community
Psychiatric Nurse, Psychologist, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Dietician,
Chiropodist and Speech Therapist. Arrangements will also be made to see Consultants
and obtain hospital treatments where this is necessary.
Specialised advice is available on a number of issues such as Family Planning,
Pregnancy Care, Child Development and Immunisation.
Preventative care is promoted through the 'Well man' and 'Well woman' clinics
which look out for early warning signs of ill health such as high blood pressure
etc. This is offered to all new patients and at intervals to existing ones. Screening
services for specific disease are also given where appropriate. For those with
continuing and chronic illness, specialist health care clinics are run to improve
the management of the following conditions- Asthma, Diabetes, Menopause, Heart
Disease/Stroke Prevention, Smoking, Weight, Back pain and Stress.
Belford Dental Care
54B High Street,
Belford
Tel: 01668 213744
Opening times: Monday - Friday 9.00am - 4.30pm
Jenny Smith has had the care of Belford's teeth since January 1990, assisted by
a full-time nurse and a part-time receptionist. The practice covers a 12 mile
radius of Belford from premises which were previously occupied by Robertson (decorators)
Current NHS charges:
Examination - £4.00
Cleaning - 6.44
Small filling - 4.36
Gold Crown - £63.44
Fire Service
Belford is served by a volunteer group based at the fire station on South Road.
The familiar practice tower stands little used, a gaunt reminder of the 'benefits'
conferred on the village of a centralised service.
Ambulance Service
The ambulance station is sited on Station Road in a modern, purpose built building
opened in 1992. It is manned 24 hours a day in shifts with room for 2 vehicles
but usually only one is present. Prior to the new station opening the ambulance
was stationed behind the present Spar shop at the rear of the High Street and
was manned by call-out crews. Since 1970 the service has had several administrative
changes but the most significant is the introduction of paramedic training for
some staff enabling them to deal more effectively with a wider range of emergency
situations. Concurrent with this development has been the introduction of larger
ambulances to carry the extra paramedic equipment and to cope with some of the
more difficult road conditions. Although the careless drivers on the A1 are still
a steady source of work for the ambulance crews, the recently introduced speed
cameras have significantly lessened the numbers of call outs for accidents.
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