Council provides essential supplies for most vulnerable shielding from Coronavirus

Parcels of food and emergency supplies for the most vulnerable in our communities who are shielding from the Coronavirus are being delivered to residents across the county from this week.

The Government has promised that a national food distribution scheme will be up and running very soon, to support 1.5million people nationally who need to be shielded from the virus for at least 12 weeks because of serious health and medical conditions.

Every one of those people is being contacted by the NHS to advise them of this, and to ask whether or not they have a reliable support network in place to make sure they receive food and medicines, and other supplies, to prevent them from having to leave their homes.

Those who don’t have such a network will be provided with food and medicines via a national scheme which is being developed with food wholesalers, supermarkets and community pharmacies.

In the period up until this national scheme is fully operational, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council have been working with the British Red Cross to ensure that those residents who need food, medicine and emergency supplies are looked after.

During the weekend council staff telephoned residents who they knew were shielding to see if they needed help and then arranged deliveries of items to those that did.

Yesterday (Monday) a team of council staff and British Red Cross volunteers packed tens of boxes with emergency supplies which have been delivered by the Government, which will be delivered to residents who are shielding at home in the coming days and weeks.

The council and British Red Cross have also been supported by a planner from the military and staff from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.

A warehouse facility has been secured in the centre of the county, from which distribution of the parcels will take place via the local hubs network.

Residents are asked to note that they will NOT be asked for payment or bank card details, either at the door or by any other contact.

If you are at home and shielding because of serious health or medical conditions and we have not been in touch, please visit our Coordination Hub page or call us on 0345 045 5219

Please visit our Cambridgeshire or Peterborough websites for further contacts details.

Shielded Patients List

NHS Digital has published the shielded patients list (SPL) which is enabling partner organisations across government to support and protect those who need shielding at this time.

People who have not yet received a text or letter from NHS, can self-register (or register a family member) if they are extremely vulnerable and think they should be on the NHS Shielded Patient list https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable

People who believe they have been included in error on the list can ignore the communication provided they have checked the list of identified conditions does not apply to them, and may wish to contact their GP or clinical specialist for advice

Community translation videos

The Government’s information about staying at home for all but essential reasons, keeping your distance when you must go out, and washing your hands when you return is vitally important for everyone to know and understand to prevent the spread of the virus. Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council identified that there was a problem reaching some people in our communities with this message who may not have understood the important public health messages, either because they cannot read or understand English or because they cannot access translations.

As a result we have worked with people across our communities to produce video messages of this advice in other languages. Video blogs have been produced covering 29 different languages so far – with more being added every day – and these are available to view and share on our websites and on all our social media sites. People across our communities have been sharing the messages and we are asking other organisations to use them widely to reach as many people as we can.  Cambridgeshire Constabulary is already doing this.

Please help us to share the videos as widely as you can, helping to reinforce the message that people must stay at home unless for the reasons set out by Government. Take a look at the video blogs on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough websites.

Domestic abuse and COVID-19

We know that this is a difficult and worrying time for everyone – but particularly so for adults and children living with domestic abuse, and the professionals working hard to support them.

During the current coronavirus ‘stay at home’ situation, one of the concerns is that there will be an increase in reports of domestic abuse. Home is not likely to be a safe place for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and they will be increasingly isolated from sources of support.

The window of opportunity for anyone with an abusive partner to make a call and seek help is often very limited and that window is now likely to be even smaller. Research undertaken in China during the Wuhan lockdown revealed an increase of a third in reported domestic abuse incidents.

Councillor Mark Goldsack, White Ribbon ambassador and lead member for community safety and domestic violence at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “As a White Ribbon ambassador, domestic abuse of all kinds is constantly in my mind. Under current rules for COVID-19, families will be under new and different pressures which could put vulnerable people in a heightened risk of domestic abuse.

“We want to make sure that despite the conditions our support services are available for those that may need them. Please stay safe and contact specialist support services or the police if you are suffering any form of domestic abuse, sexual violence or coercive behaviour.”

Councillor Irene Walsh, Cabinet Member for Communities at Peterborough City Council, said: “Under the new ‘stay at home’ rules in place for coronavirus, families will be under new and different pressures which could put vulnerable people at a heightened risk of all kinds of domestic abuse.

“We want to make sure that despite the current circumstances, our support services are available for those that may need them. Please stay safe and contact specialist support services or the police if you are suffering any form of domestic abuse, sexual violence or coercive behaviour.”

Find all the contact details and read more here on our news pages at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Dr Liz Robin vlog

Today Dr Liz Robin, Director of Public Health, reminds us the measures we are taking will help to beat the spread of coronavirus and give us five simple tips that you can do every day to improve your mental and physical health.

Click here to watch today’s video blog.

Dr Liz Robin is available for down the line interviews about the current COVID-19 situation or the contents of today’s Vlog.  Please contact the Communications team if you would like to set one of these up.  

Support for businesses in Peterborough

From tomorrow (Wednesday), businesses in Peterborough will begin receiving financial support from the city council, following a package of measures announced by Central Government last week to support businesses which have been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

12 month Business Rate Holiday

This applies to any retail, hospitality and leisure businesses and also non-local authority childcare providers. These businesses will have nothing to pay from tomorrow (Wednesday, 1 April) for 12 months. The collective saving for these city businesses is £33m and revised bills – with zero to pay – will be sent.

Small Business Grant Funding

All businesses in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief (over 2,000 businesses in Peterborough) will automatically receive £10,000. The collective payment for Peterborough businesses is £22million. We are getting in touch with these businesses and will make the payments over the next two weeks.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Funding

This affects almost 640 businesses in Peterborough who will each receive £25,000. The collective payment is £16million. We are getting in touch with these businesses and will make the payment over the next two weeks.

Support for city residents

Central Government has now provided the council with further clarification over which households should receive a slice of a national £500million Hardship Fund to help ease financial worries during Covid-19.

Over 7,700 city households will be eligible for a £150 payment. Residents across the city will collectively receive £1.6million. This will appear as a credit on their April council tax bills.

Businesses in Cambridgeshire

The Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Combined Authority (CPCA), working with the County Council and Peterborough City Council, wants to ensure businesses across Cambridgeshire are fully aware of the various financial support measures being made available by Government and that as many businesses as possible secure the support they are eligible to receive.

The CPCA have set-up an email address to receive and respond to general business queries – business@cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk

Further support and advice for businesses can be found on our websites: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

 Junction 18 (Rhubarb Bridge) works complete in Peterborough

The works are now complete, the bridge has been strengthened and traffic can flow at the main roundabout. The contractors will return as soon as possible to put the finishing touches to the pedestrian crossings, which then means they can be used. In the meantime the footbridge is open as usual.

Children in school are all smiles

While the current situation may be difficult for many of us, it is certainly not holding back those children attending Cherry Hinton Primary School in Cambridge. Not just content with keeping the positivity to themselves, they have been helping those passing by the school keep in good spirits too!

Bin collections in Peterborough

City residents are being asked not to overload bins and to ensure that recycling, general waste and food waste is in the correct bins. Crews are noticing some residents are having non-essential clear outs at home and are filling bins with many more items than usual. This means crews are taking longer to complete their collections and could place strain on the teams if workers begin to fall sick and are unable to come to work during the COVID-19 outbreak.

For more information about what should go in your bin, visit our website.

You can keep up-to-date with any changes to our services on our websites:

• Peterborough – https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/healthcare/public-health/coronavirus/disruption-to-council-services
• Cambridgeshire – https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/coronavirus/disruption-to-council-services

Our advice and latest information on Coronavirus can be found on both websites – www.peterborough.gov.uk/coronavirus and www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus

Coronavirus: what you need to do

• Stay at home
• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (where this absolutely cannot be done from home)
• Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Anyone can spread the virus.

Full guidance on staying at home and away from others

Sharing Parish Updates

You are welcome to share this Parish Update by forwarding the email to people in your community, who can also subscribe to receive updates from Cambridgeshire County Council by registering and selecting ‘Parish and District Updates’ from the list under Covid-19.

parishesCV@cambridgeshire.gov.uk