A special project between Cumbria County Council and BBC Radio Cumbria will come to fruition next week, when the local radio station broadcasts a full day of programmes highlighting the range of services provided by the county council.
The 'Day In the Life Of The Council' will include live broadcasts, special guests and packages running throughout the day from 5am to 7pm on Wednesday 16th August on 95.6, 96.1 and 104.1 FM.
The programmes kick off at 5am on Richard Corrie's show with a look at the work of the council's emergency social care team, who work throughout the night on urgent issues involving children or vulnerable adults needing emergency social care.
The early morning programme will also feature live broadcasts from a Carlisle residential home for the elderly as they prepare for breakfast.
One of the most unusual morning commutes in the country - on the council-run Windermere ferry - will feature on Gordon Swindlehurst & Helen Skelton's 7am-10am show, along with live hits from the Library Link at Halbankgate Co-op and a live link-up with a roads maintenance team in Barrow.
At 10am Paul Braithwaite will be broadcasting live from the Cumbria Archive Service's Carlisle Record Office. He'll be learning why genealogy has become one of Britain's top pastimes, meeting some people delving into their past, and also learning a little more about the history of his own house.
Following another live broadcast at 12pm - this time as clients at a day centre in Barrow help prepare their own lunch - love will be in the air on the Tony James programme between one and four in the afternoon. Tony will be looking at the work of the council-run Registrars offices around the county, as well as playing the most popular tunes for brides to walk down aisle to in the county's registrar offices.
At 4pm Richard Nankivell takes the reins and will be examining the work of the children's centre in Workington, as well as a report on how the new household waste recycling centre in Flusco is working since its launch just over four months ago. Towards the end of the show, he'll be seeing how the day has been at Consumer Direct, the Barrow-based call centre run by Trading Standards.
Other programmes to run during the day include a report on the impact of the fire safety checks carried out by Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, a visit to a children's home and a report on a new cycling safety initiative for schoolchildren.
Councillor Elizabeth Mallinson, cabinet member responsible for communications, said: "It's only when you try and cram the council's business into a single day that you realise just how diverse its responsibilities are. There are many areas of the council that can't be represented because of time restraints, but hopefully this day will give people an interesting and insightful depth into what the county council does."
Nigel Dyson, Editor of Radio Cumbria, said: "It’s a great opportunity to focus on the varied work undertaken by the County Council and to give our listeners an insight into how their money is spent.”