News Release

18th January 2012

Midhurst District Police Force Pledges to Lend a Helping Hand

Jonathan Chapman, Sergeant for Chichester District Neighbourhood Policing Team, has pledged to lend a Helping Hand to Midhurst residents by telling them about the help available from the Switchover Help Scheme.

With only six weeks to go to switchover, Midhurst District Police is urging Midhurst residents to follow in its footsteps and lend a Helping Hand by thinking of someone they know that may need help switching to digital and letting them know about the Switchover Help Scheme.

Sergeant Jonathan Chapman is leading his staff to back the Switchover Help Scheme’s ‘Helping Hand’ campaign to make sure every eligible older and disabled person in the area knows about the help they can get from the BBC-run Help Scheme to convert one of their TV sets to digital.

Jonathan said: “Digital switchover is happening in March and even if you’re ready, you may have friends or neighbours who may be confused about what to do. The Switchover Help Scheme offers practical support to help older and disabled people convert one of their TV sets to digital. We can all lend a helping hand by making sure that older and disabled members of our community know about the help they can get from the Help Scheme.

“The services provided by the digital switchover team are vital to maintain entertainment and information services, particularly to housebound, elderly residents.  We will be working closely with the Switchover Team to ensure that the Help Scheme is rolled out smoothly and safely for our residents”.

The Midhurst transmitter serving much of West Sussex will begin to switch to digital on 29 February 2012.

Eligible people have been posted a Help Scheme information pack explaining the offer and will be getting a follow up reminder letter. However, Jonathan is urging everyone who has already switched to digital to reach out to those older and disabled people they know who may still need help and have not yet made contact with the Help Scheme.

Local Help Scheme representative Fiona Wellings is staging an event next week to help spread the Helping Hand message. To find out more about how you can help simply come along to this or any of the other Helping Hand events happening in your area:

Help Scheme Bus at Grange Road Car Park, Midhurst 23 January  9.30am – 4pm

Helping Hand leaflets and bookmarks can be picked up at the above events so that people can ‘lend a Helping Hand’ and tell someone they know about the Help Scheme.

• The Help Scheme makes it easier for eligible older and disabled to switch to digital TV. People are eligible for the Help Scheme if they are:
• Aged 75 or over, or
• Have lived in a care home for six months or more, or
• Get (or could get):
  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or
  • Attendance or Constant Attendance Allowance, or
  • Mobility supplement, or
• Are registered blind or partially sighted

Most eligible people will be asked to pay £40 towards the standard option of help which includes:

• Easy to use equipment to convert one set
• An approved installer to supply and install the necessary equipment, and
• A 12 month aftercare service including a free helpline
• A check on their TV aerial and replacement if necessary, where possible

This service is free for people who are eligible and who also receive pension credit income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance.

People need to respond to get the help. Completed information pack forms can be returned to the Help Scheme, or, to make it even easier to apply, eligible people can also apply by calling the Help Scheme free on 0800 408 7654. Any eligible person who needs help to apply can nominate someone else to complete their form for them.
If you would like to find out more about the Help Scheme and who is eligible to apply, please log onto helpscheme.co.uk.
ENDS
 
Media contacts
For more information please contact the Help Scheme Press office on on 0800 40 87 658  or email pressoffice@helpscheme.co.uk. 

Notes to editor:

The dates for switchover in the Meridian TV region are as follows:

Switchover Help Scheme
The Switchover Help Scheme is run by the BBC through an agreement with the Government to help older and disabled people make the change to digital. 

In the run-up to switchover in each region, every eligible person will be offered practical help to convert one of their TV sets to digital. People are eligible if they are aged 75 years or more, or if they are registered blind or partially sighted. Also eligible are people who get (or could get) attendance or constant attendance allowance, mobility supplement, or disability living allowance and those who have lived in a care home for six months or more.

Most people will be asked to contribute £40 towards the help.  The service is free for people who are eligible and also get pension credit, income support, income-based jobseekers allowance or income-related employment and support allowance.

For further information visit helpscheme.co.uk

Digital television switchover is the process of converting the UK’s terrestrial television system to digital. Between now and 2012, analogue channels will be switched off region by region and replaced with free-to-air digital TV and radio services (Freeview). Switchover will extend Freeview coverage to the whole of the UK and free up airwaves for new services such as ultra-fast wireless broadband and mobile television. 

Digital UK
Digital UK is the independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2005 to implement digital switchover. It is jointly owned and funded by the public-service broadcasters (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, S4C and Teletext), and the digital multiplex operators.

For further information visit digitaluk.co.uk