Last week’s news from South Staffordshire  Council.

• COVID 19

Following the latest announcement and the third national lockdown for England starting on Tuesday 5^th January 2021 and information on the new national restrictions can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

During the national lockdown, pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops will have to close, Colleges, primary (reception onwards) and secondary schools will remain open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. All other children will learn remotely until February half term. Everyone must stay at home and may only leave for a limited set of reasons and there will be a ban on meeting anyone from outside your household indoors unless they are part of a  support bubble.

Under the new lockdown restrictions, everyone must stay at home and must not meet socially indoors or in private gardens with family or friends unless they are part of their household or support bubble. Clinically vulnerable people are once again being asked to Shield, and children can move between homes if their parents are separated.

You must not leave or be outside of your home except where necessary. You may leave the home to:

• shop for necessities, for you or a vulnerable person
• go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home
• exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
• meet your support bubbleor childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one
• seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
• attend education or childcare – for those eligible

Businesses and venues which must close

To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. The full list of businesses required to close can be found in the guidance on closing certain businesses and venues in England, but includes:

• non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment) and market stalls selling non-essential goods. These venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services.
• hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway (until 11pm), click-and-collect and drive-through. All food and drink (including alcohol) can continue to be provided by delivery.
• accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites, except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for providing accommodation or support to the homeless, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes
• leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, sports courts, fitness and dance studios, riding arenas at riding centres, climbing walls, and golf courses.
• entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, indoor play and soft play centres and areas (including inflatable parks and trampolining centres), circuses, fairgrounds, funfairs, water parks and theme parks
• animal attractions (such as zoos, safari parks, aquariums, and wildlife reserves)
• indoor attractions at venues such as botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open for outdoor exercise.
• personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. These services should not be provided in other people’s homes
• community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities, as set out below. Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect services

Businesses that can remain open include food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services. Non-essential retail can remain open for delivery to customers and click-and-collect shopping. Construction sites and manufacturing workplaces can remain open and hotels, hostels and other accommodation should only open for those who have to travel for work purposes. A number of public services will also stay open including the NHS and medical services like GPs, Jobcentre Plus sites, Courts and Civil Registrations Offices

Places of worship will be open for services, Funerals can be attended by a maximum of 30 people. Weddings, civil partnership ceremonies must only take place with up to 6 people. These should only take place in exceptional circumstances, for example, an urgent marriage where one of those getting married is seriously ill and not expected to recover or is to undergo debilitating treatment or life-changing surgery.

For the latest updates about council services, guidance and support, visit:

www.sstaffs.gov.uk or sign up to receive regular eAlert updates at

https://www.sstaffs.gov.uk/myaccount

• Other useful COVID-19 links

• Information about COVID-19.
• Information about face coverings.
• Information about meeting others safely.
• Information about making a support bubble with another household.
• Guidance on making a childcare bubble with another household.

• Information about what you can and can’t do.
• Guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable.
• Guidance on visiting care home residents.

• Information about the financial help for businesses during COVID-19.
• Discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant and Local Restrictions Support Grant.

• Information about NHS test and trace.
• Information about the NHS COVID-19 app.

• Community Hub
  This week’s update about the Community Hub contains building news and a selection of photos.

• Scam Alert – warning over text message claiming to be from the NHS

Please watch out for a text message claiming to be from the NHS, which says you are eligible to apply for a vaccine and includes a link asking you to click through to apply. Click here for more information.

• Leisure Staff assist with waste collection

Due to the latest national lockdown our leisure facilities have had to unfortunately close once again.  However, Leisure Services staff have still been busy and this week members of the team attended training delivered by Biffa (our waste contractor) to enable them to operate as loaders and assist Biffa with the collection of domestic waste around the district.

Due to the poor weather and impact of Covid-19 Biffa have suffered operation delays.  Leisure Services staff came forward to support a challenging role and something that is very different to their day jobs.  They all passed the induction and test and are now able to support Biffa where needed.  The team all discovered that loading the bins onto the back of the vehicle is trickier than it looks but have all really enjoyed learning new skills and are looking forward to supporting the Council and Biffa in keeping services going for residents during the current challenging conditions.  Click here to see Emily Langford pictured during training.

The staff involved were Jane Turner, Rob Sharratt, Laura Carnell, Sinead Ryan, Lee Hodgkinson, Matt How, Emily Langford (pictured) and Mark Moore – well done everyone!

• Online Classes January Offer: £6 PER MONTH

Join our online exercise class membership in January for just £6 for your first month.

The online classes give you access to a range of 25 classes per week which are for all abilities and tailored to make sure they can be done in small spaces with minimal and no equipment required. The online class membership is £12 per month but if you join in January, you’ll receive your first month at half price.

Don’t let coronavirus stop you from getting fitter and healthier this year.  Take control and sign up TODAY.  Click here for more information.

• Changing Lives Through Childcare
  This FREE national webinar on 9 February 2021 at 9:30am- 12:30pm provides family-facing professionals with the knowledge and strategies useful for promoting the benefits of the two-year old entitlement to 15 hours early learning. Click here for more information.

• Parent and Carer Forum Events – January 2020

Do you have a child with a special need or a disability?  Would you like to be involved in Council decisions and share your thoughts on processes that involve your children?  Click here for more information.

• New Tenant moves into Jubilee House

We are delighted to welcome new tenant, Executive Corporations, to Jubilee House. This move takes Jubilee House to 100% occupancy. In total, Jubilee House now contributes just over £33,500 per annum into the Council’s MTFS.

• Lucky Lottery supporters Scoop Boxing Day and New Year Prize
  We are delighted to congratulate two lucky lottery supporters who each scooped £250 in the Boxing Day and first draw of 2021. As of 4 January 2021, a total 141,169 tickets have been bought, which has generated just over £84,500 for good causes, charities and community groups in South Staffordshire. As the traditional means of fund raising has been paused, this online Community Lottery continues to provide a vital fund-raising lifeline. If you know of a community group, school PTA, charity, sports club or good cause that would like to benefit from this free fund raising opportunity, please encourage them to register as a good cause at southstaffslottery.co.uk

Regular information

• Next week’s Committee/Panel meetings
• Standards & Resources Committee – Thursday 14 January 2021 – 2:30 pm – Virtual Meeting via Teams

Members of the public can virtually attend this meeting via Microsoft Teams – a link can be found in the news section on the Council’s website at www.sstaffs.gov.uk.

• Council job vacancies
• Corporate Director Resource, Corporate Resources, closing 10 January 2021 – application information
• Senior Planning Officer, Development Management, closing 5pm on 19 January 2021 – application information
• Housing Strategy Officer (Maternity Cover), Strategic Planning, closing 5pm on 19 January 2021 – application information

Everyone is encouraged to submit news items, please email: comms@sstaffs.gov.uk

A new National Lockdown was announced on Monday, 4th January 2021, with the instruction to Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives.

You can find information about the new National Lockdown here – National lockdown: Stay at Home – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Spreading Christmas cheer

The Community Assistance Group have been an important part of many residents lives this year, providing assistance with shopping, prescriptions and companionship during the first lockdown and well into the summer.

The group, which consists of some Parish Councillors and the Clerk to the Council as well as other volunteers from local groups such as Wombourne and District Community Association, Wombourne Carnival and Wombourne Best Kept Village, still meet regularly via Zoom, and you will have seen the recent newsletter they produced and distributed across the village.

Aware of how isolated some elderly residents are, they set about sourcing plants from a local business, and handmade cards from residents and local children for distribution before Christmas.

This week, the plants arrived, and have been distributed over the last few days.

The feedback has been overwhelming and the group are pleased to have spread some Christmas cheer this festive time.

With the vaccine being rolled out now, it’s likely the group will not be needed very much going forward, but their time and efforts will be remembered by many for a long time to come.

We are pleased to announce that the public toilets on Windmill Bank will be re-opening on Thursday 20th August 2020.

We would ask you to follow the recommendations below to ensure that our public toilets remain a safe place for all –

• Please only use the toilets in an emergency, if you can use the toilet at home before you leave to visit the village centre and once you get home
• Carry hand gel with you and use it before you enter the toilets and after you leave
• Ensure that you wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet, this should be for at least 20 seconds
• Ensure that social distancing is maintained if you are queuing to use the toilet

These facilities are cleaned once per day, and therefore we would ask you to be respectful of how you leave the toilets to ensure they are as clean as possible for the next person using them.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Parish Council office on 01902 896300.

Last week’s news from South Staffordshire Council.

• Update on Council services
The last few weeks have been a challenging time for everyone and our teams are going above and beyond to keep council services running, although sometimes delivered in a slightly different way to ensure social distancing guidelines are followed. We know it is appreciated by residents and thank you for your support and showing your appreciation. Here’s an update on council services along with an overview of some of the important work being carried out by our teams.

o Over 400 applications for Business Grant payments have now been processed, providing almost £5 million of welcomed relief for businesses in the district. Applications are being processed within a couple of days of receipt and the Council has received many compliments from the business community. For more information about business support and how to apply for a small business grant, click here.

o Housing Benefit applications are being processed within 12 calendar days to provide support to those in need in district.

o All Street Scene work and scheduled waste and recycling collections are taking place as normal and if you follow the Council’s Facebook and Twitter social media accounts, you’ll have seen the fantastic response from our residents thanking the crews.

o The South Staffordshire COVID-19 helpline was manned throughout the Easter break and has received over 100 calls so far. This helpline is available to all residents in the district, providing an essential service for some of our most vulnerable residents and prioritising those over 70 or under 70 with underlying health conditions, self-isolating but with no friends, family or neighbours to help. Please contact the helpline if you need help with collecting prescriptions, shopping, topping up gas or electricity meters, dog walking, or if you’re feeling anxious or lonely and need to talk to someone.

The helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Tel: 01902 696499 Email: Covid-19@sstaffs.gov.uk

o Our Environmental Health and Licensing team continues to monitor businesses and compliance with COVID-19 regulations. Over 250 site premise visits have taken place since the lockdown and the team has even rehomed a rescue hedgehog although, unfortunately, he’s run away already.

o Baggeridge Country Park remains open and we are monitoring it on a daily basis. All amenities on site are closed and visitors are asked to abide by the recommended social distancing guidelines and keep at least two metres (six ft) away from other people. Car parking capacity has been reduced to 30 cars at any one time.

o Strawberry Lane and Sytch Lane Cemeteries remain open on a daily basis from 9am to 8pm. Again, visitors are asked to abide by the recommended social distancing guidelines. If you have any queries relating to our cemeteries and funerals please contact us on 01902 696405.

o The Leisure Centres in Cheslyn Hay, Codsall, Penkridge and Wombourne are closed but please follow their Facebook pages for information about activities you can participate in via the internet and social media.

o The Council Offices remain closed. If you have any queries, please email info@sstaffs.gov.uk or telephone 01902 696000.

• Council Plan 2020-2024
The Council’s corporate plan for 2020-2024 has now been approved by Full Council. Entitled ‘Shaping South Staffordshire’s future’, the plan is a very important document as it outlines the strategic direction of the Council and sets out its vision and priorities for the next four years. Its vision will be delivered through two priority areas that are divided into ‘Prosperous Communities’ and ‘Vibrant Communities’. Each priority area has five key objectives and outcomes, and each of these is supported in its delivery by five key themes including financial stability, embracing technology, a flexible and skilled Council, working with our communities, and creating a business and community hub.

Click here to download a copy.

• May PFCC elections postponed
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner elections scheduled to take place on Thursday 7 May 2020 have now been postponed until next year and will take place on Thursday 6 May 2021. Commissioners elected in 2021 will be in office for three years, not the usual four.

• Financial advice and assistance
As a result of the impact of coronavirus, we know some residents may find themselves with reduced levels of income and there are a number of actions we have taken as a council to help residents.

o Council Tax – If you are on a 10-monthly instalment plan, you can amend payments so that they start in June 2020 and end in March 2021. If you are on a 12-montly instalment plan you can agree a flexible payment arrangement where you can pay a reduced amount in April and May 2020 or you can change your payment plan to a 10-montly instalment plan and start paying in June 2020.
o Suspension of debt recovery – The Council will not be undertaking any debt recovery between now and the end of April 2020 and will assess the situation then.

• Beware of fraud and cybercrime
We’re continuing to see an escalation in cybercrime and fraud in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police and taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe. Please be on your guard and don’t click on links or attachments in suspicious email or text messages. Click here for more information or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk.

• Domestic abuse – support available
Domestic abuse can often get worse during times of stress and uncertainty. If you are in an abusive relationship and need help, there are a number of organisations who can help and here are some useful telephone numbers.

National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 3778 (24 hours)

New Era, a domestic violence abuse service offering help to all those affected by domestic abuse in Staffordshire
Tel: 0300 303 3778

Home

• Stay home to help save lives
Remember to maintain social distancing measures and keep at least two metres away from other people to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus. Right now, the safest place to be is at home. To help reduce the risk of catching or spreading coronavirus, please continue to follow the advice from Public Health England and the NHS.

o Wash your hands more often.
o Use soap and water for 20 seconds.
o Or use hand sanitiser.

Follow official NHS advice at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

• What to do if you have symptoms?
COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus that can affect your lungs and airways. Symptoms include a new, continuous cough, a high temperature (37.8 degrees or higher) and shortness of breath. These symptoms do not necessarily mean you have the illness and the symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common such as cold and flu.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, self-isolate at home immediately and do not go directly to your GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. If you live alone, self-isolate for seven days and for those with a family it is 14 days. For most people COVID-19 will be a mild illness but there is a need to protect others in your community while you are infectious as older people and others with weakened immune systems or with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease may experience severe illness.

To relieve your symptoms, doctors are advising stay-at-home COVID-19 patients to take whatever they would for a cold such as paracetamol, eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and drink lots of fluids. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after seven days, contact the NHS online coronavirus service at https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 or call 111 if you cannot get help online.

• Manage your health and wellbeing at home
While you are at home it’s still easy to get NHS help using your smartphone, tablet or computer and there’s a new Health at Home webpage at https://www.nhs.uk/health-at-home/

This webpage contains information about how to:
o Contact your GP.
o Order repeat prescriptions.
o Manage long-term conditions.
o Maintain your mental and physical wellbeing.

If you need to contact your GP, click here to view a useful video..

• Health and wellbeing in the home
A dedicated web page has been created on the Council’s Leisure website where customers and staff can access free online home workouts. The information contains advice and links signposting to other websites such as the NHS as well as links to YouTube channels including videos showcasing some of own instructors delivering sessions. For home workouts click here. We will be extending the list as our instructors continue to develop videos of home workouts.

In addition, this section includes additional pages to support people in general at home with advice on mental health and wellbeing, how to keep children active at home and how to work safely from home. Content is being developed and added all the time so please check back regularly. Click here to view.

• Wombourne Leisure Centre
Click here to view a short video that staff from Wombourne Leisure Centre have created for their customers in attempt to keep everyone smiling.

• Befriending service
If you are feeling lonely or would like someone to talk to, a friendly voice on the other end of the phone is now available. More information is available from Wendy Sutton on 01902 851682 or email w.sutton@sstaffs.gov.uk.

• Songs for you
Well done to Kenyon Walker who is leading virtual singalongs and bringing music to isolating elderly residents with the support of South Staffordshire Council and Care Plus. Click here to find out more and click here for the link to Kenyon’s Facebook page where over 200 people are watching him live every day.

• South Staffordshire Connect service available
The South Staffordshire Connect dial-a-ride bus service is now available.
This local, bookable bus service is once again helping many people
who struggle to get out and about and it is aimed at residents who live
away from regular bus routes or who find it difficult to use a standard
bus. The new Connect service operates between 10am and 3pm to
three zones. For more information, please click on the following for
more information – Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3.

Everyone is encouraged to submit news items, please email: comms@sstaffs.gov.uk

This week’s news from South Staffordshire Council

• Stay home to help save lives
Remember to maintain social distancing measures this holiday weekend and keep at least two metres away from other people to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus. We’re expecting more good weather and people may be tempted to ignore official advice and spend more time outside. Right now, the safest place to be is at home.

To help reduce the risk of catching or spreading coronavirus, please continue to follow the advice from Public Health England and the NHS.
o Wash your hands more often.
o Use soap and water for 20 seconds.
o Or use hand sanitiser.

Follow official NHS advice at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

• Council services over the Easter break
o The Council Offices will remain closed. If you have any queries, please email info@sstaffs.gov.uk and we will be in touch on Tuesday.
o All scheduled waste and recycling collections will be taking place as normal on Friday and Monday.
o The COVID-19 helpline for vulnerable residents will be open over the Easter holiday weekend.
o Baggeridge Country Park remains open and we are monitoring it on a daily basis. All amenities on site are closed and visitors are asked to abide by the recommended social distancing guidelines and keep at least two metres (six ft) away from other people. Car parking capacity has been reduced to 30 cars at any one time.
o Strawberry Lane and Sytch Lane Cemeteries remain open on a daily basis from 9am to 8pm. Again, visitors are asked to abide by the recommended social distancing guidelines.
o The Leisure Centres in Cheslyn Hay, Codsall, Penkridge and Wombourne are closed but please follow their Facebook pages for information about activities you can participate in via the internet and social media.
o Our Environmental Health and Licensing team will continue to monitor businesses and compliance with COVID-19 regulations and liaise with the Police.
o Our other services will be closed until Tuesday but the Council always remains open for emergencies out of hours – call 01902 696000.

• COVID-19 helpline
If you are over 70 or under 70 with underlying health conditions, self-isolating but have no friends, family or neighbours to help, please contact the South Staffordshire COVID-19 helpline, your dedicated community support helpline. The helpline will be open over the Easter holiday weekend, 9am to 5pm.

Tel: 01902 696499
Email: Covid-19@sstaffs.gov.uk

Please only use this telephone number and email address if you are considered vulnerable and in this category. For any other customer enquiries, please contact our Customer Services team on 01902 696000 or email info@sstaffs.gov.uk, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

• Small business grants
Officers at the Council are working hard to process all applications for small business grants to ensure all eligible firms receive their funding as soon as possible. We will be making payments on a daily basis, in the order applications were received, and the first BACS payments commenced on Wednesday 8 April 2020. We hope to process each individual application within seven working days of submission, although there may be another two days before funds are cleared through the banking system. We will ensure no applications are omitted and that every single eligible firm receives the funding they are due as soon as practically possible. Thank you for your patience whilst we work to process several hundred separate applications.

For more information about business support and how to apply for a small business grant, click here.

• Beware of fraud and cybercrime
We’re continuing to see an escalation in cybercrime and fraud in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police and taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe. Please be on your guard and don’t click on links or attachments in suspicious email or text messages. Click here for more information or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk.

• Domestic abuse – support available
Domestic abuse can often get worse during times of stress and uncertainty. If you are in an abusive relationship and need help, there are a number of organisations who can help and here are some useful telephone numbers.

National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 3778 (24 hours)

New Era, a domestic violence abuse service offering help to all those affected by domestic abuse in Staffordshire
Tel: 0300 303 3778

Home

• Health and wellbeing in the home
A dedicated web page has been created on the Council’s Leisure website where customers and staff can access free online home workouts. The information contains advice and links signposting to other websites such as the NHS as well as links to YouTube channels including videos showcasing some of own instructors delivering sessions. For home workouts click here. We will be extending the list as our instructors continue to develop videos of home workouts.

In addition, this section includes additional pages to support people in general at home with advice on mental health and wellbeing, how to keep children active at home and how to work safely from home. Content is being developed and added all the time so please check back regularly. Click here to view.

• South Staffordshire Connect service now available
The South Staffordshire Connect dial-a-ride bus service is now available.
This local, bookable bus service is once again helping many people
who struggle to get out and about and it is aimed at residents who live
away from regular bus routes or who find it difficult to use a standard
bus. The new Connect service operates between 10am and 3pm to
three zones. For more information, please click on the following for
more information – Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3.

Everyone is encouraged to submit news items, please email: comms@sstaffs.gov.uk

Staffordshire Police have issued the following guidance to volunteers (Street Wardens) to follow –

All volunteers need to:
• either work alone if they can or be 2 meters apart
• wear gloves when handling food or medication
• ensure packages, boxes etc. are as clean as they can be
• have a letter or ID card to hand explaining their role of volunteering in the community
• the packages will just be for food and medication to those that are vulnerable and not able to get out themselves.

Please ensure that you have a printed copy of our email asking you to now become a Street Warden, or you can access the email on your phone if you are stopped by the Police.

If you have any queries, please call the Parish Council Office on 01902 896300.