All Sutton residents have been offered a primary school place for their child, with more than 95 per cent being offered one of their preferred schools, despite there being more applications than last year.

Parents in the borough have been told which primary schools have made offers of places for their children for the September intake.

Even though there were 44 more applications for primary school places this year than in 2015, 95.87 per cent of children have been allocated one of their six preferences for a school place in Sutton.

There were 2,711 applications for places this year compared to 2,667 in 2015. Of these, 83.18 per cent got their first preference and 93.69 per cent of the children are getting a place at one of their top three primary schools.

In September, Sutton’s children will start at primary schools that have been consistently ranked by the Government as being among the best in England for teaching and exam results.

The most recent research by the Department for Education (see Notes for Editors) ranks Sutton primary schools joint third highest in the country for pupils achieving level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics. The only boroughs in England to rank higher than Sutton are Kensington and Chelsea (91 per cent) and Richmond upon Thames (88 per cent). Sutton, at 87 per cent, tied in third place with Greenwich and Redcar and Cleveland boroughs.

Cllr Wendy Mathys, Chair of the Children, Family and Education Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We have worked together with our primary schools to ensure there are sufficient places for all our borough children. Parents can be assured that their children will receive a high standard of education from our borough primary schools, which are ranked third highest in England.”

More than 4.6m Sutton names dating back to 1538 are being made available online for the first time thanks to a joint initiative by Sutton Archive service and Ancestry, the world’s largest family history online resource.

Ancestry, at www.ancestry.co.uk, has digitised Sutton’s parish registers, which include baptisms, marriages and burials from 1538, rate books including poor rates, lighting rates, highway rates and sanitary rates between 1783 and 1914, and electoral registers from 1931 to 1970. Records of hundreds of girls from the Royal Female Orphanage in Beddington, now Carew Manor School, from 1890 to 1913 are also being made available for the first time.

There is fascinating information about people who have lived in the borough including:

• Elizabeth Throckmorton (1565-c.1647), who married Sir Walter Ralegh (correct spelling), was born and baptised in Beddington and whose family lived at Carew Manor.
• Singer and entertainer Des O’Connor lived at 221 Stafford Road, Wallington between 1963 and 1965.
• Formula One world champion James Hunt lived in Cheam and is recorded in the electoral registers in 1969 and 1970.

Sutton residents can now go online at all Sutton libraries and trace their family tree for free from today (Wednesday 6 April). If they visit the Ancestry website from home they will have to pay to access it.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We are delighted to help all Sutton residents looking to learn more about their family histories by making Ancestry access free to all those using the computers or wi-fi at any of our borough libraries. This fantastic resource will make tracing the branches of your family tree easier than before.”

Sutton resident and historical novelist Alison Weir, the top-selling female historian whose books cover the Tudor period – the same era the parish registers date from – is delighted with the new initiative. She said:

“Nearly everyone wants to know something about their ancestry, but trying to obtain genealogical information can often be a time-consuming and frustrating challenge. In Sutton, though, we are very lucky to have this wonderful new online resource that will make tracing the past a joy, and which is easily accessible to all. As a historian and, more importantly, a local resident, I feel privileged to be endorsing this stunning initiative on the part of the London Borough of Sutton and Ancestry.”

The database of some 4,619,369 names will allow residents to learn about household names who were born, grew up or lived at one time in the borough.

Other people on the database include:

• Thomas Wall, of Wall’s ice cream and sausages fame, lived in Sutton for a number of years. He is in the rate books living in Worcester Road, Sutton in 1902.
• Writer and raconteur Quentin Crisp (real name Denis Pratt) was born in Carshalton and his family later moved to Sutton and Cheam. His father, Spencer Charles Pratt, is in the rate books.
• Legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck, who grew up in Wallington and attended Sutton Manor School, now Sutton Grammar.
• The late singer, actor and television presenter Harry Secombe lived on Cheam Road in Sutton.
• The world-famous percussionist James Blades, who died in 1999, lived at 191 Sandy Lane, Cheam and is in the electoral register. One of his pupils was percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

The following parish register collections are available online:

• Sutton, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 Records: 26,907
• Sutton, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915 Records: 42,381
• Sutton, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1940 Records: 49,687
• Sutton, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1985 Primary Records: 28,258
• Sutton, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1985
• Sutton, England, Electoral Registers, 1931-1970 Records: 320,807
• Sutton, England, Tax Collection Rate Books, 1783-1914
• Beddington, Surrey, England, Royal Female Orphanage List of Children, 1890-1913 Records: 595
• Ancestry LLC is the world’s largest online resource for family history with more than 2 million paying subscribers across all family history sites.

ALPS – Advice Link in Partnership with Sutton is being led by Sutton Citizens Advice Bureaux and supported by organisations from the Sutton Together consortium including Age UK Sutton and Sutton Carers Centre, as well as the borough’s Library Service.

ALPS is being funded by Sutton Council and the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund. The council ran a competitive tender for information and advice services. The ALPS bid won the contract, ensuring borough residents have access to expert information and advice services for at least three years.

One ALPS telephone number – 020 8254 2616020 8254 2616 – provides access to Sutton Citizens Advice Bureaux, Sutton Carers Centre, Age UK Sutton, and Sutton Library and Heritage Services, which is providing local community information. The 020 8254 2616020 8254 2616 telephone number also provides access to other services including the Citizens Advice Consumer Service and out-of-hours connections to the Samaritans and the National Domestic Violence helpline.

Whenever possible, the caller will speak to the right organisation at the first contact and the enquiry will be dealt with at that first point of contact.

Sutton Library staff are providing information from local libraries and when necessary will assist people contacting the ALPS service through its website, www.suttonalps.org.uk.

Cllr Simon Wales, Deputy Leader of Sutton Council and Lead Member for Finance, Assets and the Voluntary Sector, said:

“Sutton Council is delighted to continue its financial support of information and advice services through the ALPS service as it will provide borough residents with the information and advice they need.

“ALPS will provide an invaluable service to Sutton residents and we are delighted that it is bringing together local charities in this way.”

Steve Triner, Chief Executive of Sutton Citizens Advice Bureaux, said:

“ALPS is a partnership of local organisations with real expertise in issues such as welfare benefits, debt and housing. The new service aims to give local people the right information and advice, from the right organisation at the right time.”

Rachael MacLeod, Chief Executive at Sutton Carers Centre, added:

“Family members and friends caring for someone with an illness or disability need the right information and advice to care well, and to keep themselves well. Our teams will add health and social care expertise to the ALPS partnership, to benefit community members of all ages.

“We are really excited by this new way of working as we think it will mean an improved quality of life for many residents.”

Sutton Council has discretion about how it implements some areas of the Act, and it consulted about these areas with the public and users of adult social care services.

In the extensive three-month consultation on changes to adult social services brought about by the Care Act, residents broadly supported the council’s approach to applying the Act’s regulations and guidance concerning the charging and financial assessment of people using residential and nursing care services in the borough.

Just under two-thirds (65.1 per cent) of respondents agreed that Sutton Council should use the national eligibility criteria provided in the Act to access care and support for elderly people. While they said they would like the eligibility for services to be more generous as this would help more people, they understood that there were no additional funds available to do so.

On the basis of the consultation findings, the council’s Adult Social Services and Health Committee decided at a meeting on Wednesday 23 March:

• That the eligibility criteria used to access care and support should remain the same as required in the Care Act 2014;
• That deferred payment opportunities should be extended to owner occupiers moving to live in extra care or supported living schemes;
• That the council should recoup any administrative costs incurred in making arrangements for those people able to afford to meet all of their care and support costs;
• That the capital limits should remain the same as those set by the Government;
• That a maximum weekly capped charge should not be applied; and
• That Personal Independence Payments be subject to the same income disregards applied to Disability Living Allowance for charging purposes.

Cllr Colin Stears, Chair of the Adult Social Services and Health Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We are very pleased with the response to the Care Act consultation from residents and I want to thank everyone who took part.

“The purpose of the proposals within the consultation was not for the council to benefit from any new charges introduced but to cover the cost of administering some of the new requirements under the Care Act 2014.

“The majority of respondents agree that the council is right to use the eligibility criteria provided in the Care Act, and following the consultation we have decided to continue to financially assess people living in residential care and nursing homes and to charge them according to their ability to pay.”

The consultation process included eight public meetings, an online survey, a direct mailshot to service users, and consultation packs sent to all current users of adult social care and all known carers. More than 490 people took part, with just under 40 per cent of respondents declaring themselves as carers.

Among the other key consultation findings were:

• 41.9 per cent of respondents agreed and 36.7 per cent disagreed that people living in care homes should still be charged for their accommodation and support. While some felt it was unjust that people should pay for residential and nursing care, others thought that those who could afford to pay should pay. Sutton Council collects £3.4m per year as income from people living in residential and nursing home care, and if it were to no longer levy a charge, there would be less available to pay for the services people need.

• The deferred payment scheme means that people should not be forced to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for their care. By taking out a deferred payment agreement, which is legally binding and registered with the Land Registry in the same way that mortgages are registered with banks, a person can ‘defer’ or delay paying the costs of their care and support until a later date, so they do not have to sell their home at a point of crisis. Of the respondents, 37.7 per cent agreed and 28.4 per cent disagreed that Sutton Council should use the interest rate set by the Government for setting up deferred payment agreements.

• 60.1 per cent of respondents agreed that the council was right to extend the use of deferred payments to help people moving into other types of accommodation that are not residential care homes, such as extra care housing, supported living accommodation and shared lives accommodation, where a person lives with a family that provides the person with care and support.

• More than three quarters (76.7 per cent) of respondents agreed that it was a good idea for the council to provide a choice of Direct Payment options, such as pre-payment cards that could be used to pay carers but would not allow people to spend unless they had money in their account.