Bus users in Somerset can now travel on most routes in the county and beyond for just £2 until July. The major fare cut is part of a national initiative funded by the Government aimed at boosting bus use while helping passengers to save money. It was introduced in January and was originally due to […]

Evening bus services on some key routes in Somerset begin running from next week (30 January 2023). Somerset County Council is subsidising evening services from Monday to Saturday connecting Taunton with the towns of Minehead, Bridgwater, Wellington and Chard after 8pm and running to at least 10.30pm. Currently most of the services stop between 8-8.30pm. […]

The ‘My Time to Care’ campaign was shot entirely in Somerset and stars local carers in six new videos being launched today (Monday, January 16). Somerset County Council has joined forces with the NHS and Registered Care Providers Association for the new campaign, which aims to empower carers, and show how working in social care […]

Over 350 national, regional, local, and multicultural news publications are taking part in a press partnership to promote the importance of looking after mental health.  The campaign encourages people to maintain their mental wellbeing with the help of a wide range of free, easy to access mental health resources and helpline services. Developed by policy, […]

Child Protection professionals in Somerset unite today on 18 March for Stop Child Exploitation Day 2023, joining the national #HelpingHands campaign to #EndCSEin23. Professionals across the county have shared their pledges to end child exploitation in the following video, which has been shared on social media. SOMERSET SAYS NO TO CHILD EXPLOITATION – YouTube Stop […]

Somerset County Council is carrying out essential highway drainage improvements along the A358 Williton Road, at Yarde Farm in Combe Florey from next week (Monday 20 March). The scheme will see upgrades of drainage grips along the eastern verge of the A358 to allow surface water to better drain off the road surface and help […]

Somerset County Council is backing a major new campaign aimed at younger drivers to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive speed on rural roads.  The Department for Transport launched its Think! campaign earlier this month on video and radio and the Council is set to roll out its own radio version of the campaign […]

Many Somerset residents who provide unpaid care do not access the support available to them. This could be because they do not see themselves as carers because they are simply supporting a relative, friend or neighbour who needs them to due to disability or illness.  Somerset County Council has recently launched a three-month pilot project […]

A special service of Thanksgiving took place at Wells Cathedral  on Sunday 12 March to mark an historic milestone in Somerset’s history. The service celebrated the contribution and coming together of Somerset’s five councils before Somerset Council comes into effect on Saturday 1 April. Councillors and staff from the councils – Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West […]

A new scheme to support people leaving hospital and returning to their own homes has been praised by senior councillors today, 15 March 2023, as demonstrating the advantage of bringing services together in the new unitary Somerset Council. The headline benefit of the scheme, published in the Somerset Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy, is the […]

Local residents, businesses and community leaders are being invited to a drop-in event in Watchet later this month to discuss concerns around the Cleeve Hill road closure.  Somerset County Council supported by Somerset West and Taunton Council is running the public event at Watchet’s Phoenix Centre on Thursday, 23 March from 4-7pm.  The B3191 at Cleeve […]

Step Up to Social Work is an intensive, 14-month full-time programme for people who want to become social workers, but do not have a degree in social work.  The application window closes at noon on Friday 24th March The Department for Education covers the cost of university tuition and provides a tax-free bursary of £19,833 paid […]

Somerset County Council has been awarded more than £410k from Active Travel England to support its aim of making streets more cycling, walking and wheeling-friendly.