Welcome
Welcome to the 23rd issue of Hampshire Now – the magazine produced for Hampshire residents by Hampshire County Council.
By the time this edition goes to print there will no doubt be a definite chill in the air and winter will be on its way. As the seasons continue to change, so too does the County Council and its services, and this edition is a great example of some of the new projects and initiatives we’re involved in.
One such change is the recruitment of a new Chief Executive following a robust and rigorous appointment process over the summer months. Andrew Smith, who is currently our Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services, will take over the management of the County Council in December when the current Chief Executive, Peter Robertson, retires.
Awarded an OBE for services to local government last year, Andrew has been responsible for the management of multi-million pound projects such as the provision of 10 new nursing care homes across the county, new schools and colleges such as the £27 million Everest Community College at Basingstoke and the development of a countywide community safety service – the first of its type in England.
Another exciting development this autumn is the opening of our new Winchester Discovery Centre, part of a new generation of nationally acclaimed libraries in Hampshire. Discovery centres are a great way for more people to make use of the wide range of services we offer and the new centre in Winchester boasts, not only, a refurbished and much improved library with many more books than before, but an art gallery and performance hall, as well as lots of other fantastic facilities.
In this information-packed issue, we also bring you an update on HATs (Hampshire Action Teams), and learn about the work and priorities they will be focusing on over the next year or so.
And, with growing concern about the origin of our food, county food group Hampshire Fare explains the benefit of buying locally sourced food and drink in this edition’s Health and wellbeing column. You can also find out about our new Buy With Confidence directory. This handy guide lists reputable Hampshire businesses and traders that have all been approved by our Trading Standards team here at the County Council.
As always, we hope you’ll find there’s something for everyone inside. Our regular features, including the Review and our walking feature, give you some great ideas for things to do, see, read and listen to this winter.
Enjoy!
Councillor Ken Thornber CBE, Leader of Hampshire County Council
Leader replies
I have been trying to find an answer to a question and hoped you could help. When I go out for a meal can I be refused a glass of tap water? I was recently told in a restaurant that I must have bottled water. Is this correct? Please help.
Many thanks,
Mrs R Skrzypczak
I have spoken to our Trading Standards team here at Hampshire County Council and they explained that, contrary to popular belief, there is no legal obligation on a restaurant to provide tap water to a customer on request. Different rules can apply to some licensed premises such as night clubs.
You may also be surprised to learn that currently there is no requirement to display a price list or tariff for all of the drinks a restaurant sells. There is a minimum requirement, and restaurants are obliged to display the price of just five soft drinks and five wines.
I hope that helps, but if you have a complaint about pricing or other matters concerning a restaurant, there is a really helpful advice line called Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06. They can help with a whole host of other queries too.
Councillor Ken Thornber CBE, Leader of Hampshire County Council