Update on Bolton Council’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Bolton benefits from symptom-free testing
A targeted COVID-19 testing programme has been introduced in Bolton, helping protect our community by identifying those who have the virus but may not realise it.
Asymptomatic rapid testing is initially being offered to a targeted group of critical workers across the borough. This will help support vital health, social and community services to keep running safely.
Many people infected with COVID-19 suffer no symptoms but still risk passing it on to their colleagues, family, friends and members of the public. As well as the obvious health risks, if the virus is allowed to spread quickly through a workplace it can seriously disrupt the vital services we all depend on.
The programme is targeted at those most at risk of catching the virus, including care workers and emergency services personnel. With support from the Ministry of Defence, tests are being delivered at key sites in the borough with results available in as little as 30 minutes.
Testing is by invitation only and walk-in tests are not available to members of the public.
Ready, steady, census
Households across Bolton are being asked to get ready to take part in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) census which takes place on Sunday, 21 March.
Whilst the census provides great benefits to all our communities it is also a legal requirement for people to complete and return the questionnaires, and Bolton Council are supporting the ONS to encourage people to respond to maximise census returns.
Bolton’s school catering service “getting it right” on food parcels
Bolton Council has welcomed the news parents with children on free school meals will be able to get vouchers again from Monday, 18 January.
This week the government announced councils can offer food vouchers as an option again - in addition to packed lunches or food parcels for parents of pupils currently not able to attend school.
Bolton's food parcels for pupils on free school meals have been widely praised. An extra £3.50 per pupil per week has also been made available to enhance food parcels going out to families.
Bolton Council's school catering service is currently providing a range of options for families - and has earned praise for the quality of its food parcels and packed lunches.
Bolton businesses fined for lockdown breaches
Two more Bolton businesses have been fined for lockdown breaches – and police and council enforcement teams are urging firms to do their bit to help fight the virus.
A barbers in Bolton town centre and a mobile phone shop in the north of the borough are the latest firms to be issued with £1,000 fines by Bolton Council.
Council enforcement officers and police visited the town centre barbers on Thursday after receiving information that customers had been coming in the back of the shop for haircuts. Under lockdown rules designed to help stop the spread of Covid-19, barbers and other close contact services such as beauty parlours must remain closed.
At the mobile shop, customers were being allowed into the shop to browse and speak to staff. Mobile phone shops are only currently allowed to open for click and collect services.
The owners of both businesses were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices.
Have your say on tackling climate emergency – just one week left to complete the survey
Residents can help tackle the global climate emergency by sharing their ideas for making Bolton a cleaner and greener place to live.
Bolton Council and local partners are working to develop a 10-year climate change action plan for the borough – and residents and businesses can now contribute their suggestions and priorities in an online survey.
In 2019, the council declared a climate emergency, in common with many other towns and cities in the UK. At the same time, the council committed to a low carbon future by setting an ambitious target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
People now have until 29 January 2021 to take part in an online consultation which asks local residents to think about the best options for reducing carbon emissions.
Find out more and complete the survey
Last opportunity to join - Community Mental Health Event Friday 22 January 2021, 2.00pm - 4.00pm via Microsoft Teams
Taking care of our mental health and emotional wellbeing has never been more important.
Bolton CVS and NHS Bolton CCG are hosting an online event in partnership with organisations across the borough.
This informal event will be an opportunity to get an overview of wellbeing support available in Bolton and participate in activities such as a resilience session.
Mental Health in the workplace podcast
Public Health England has a new podcast episode is on the timely topic of public mental health in the workplace.
Discussion includes:
- Influencing factors on public mental health in the workplace, such as managers and company culture
- Impact of Covid-19, particularly on small and medium enterprises
- Absenteeism vs presenteeism
- Real world case studies, training & interventions - linked in the episode description.
You can listen to the episode here.
Starting & Running a Creative Business in 2021 – free online workshops
- How a Creative Business Works - Thursday 28 January 2021. 10am–12noon
In this workshop we start with an introduction to what is a creative business. We will
discuss how creativity and small business fit together and how it can work for you
successfully.
- Your ideas for a Creative Business. Will they Work? - Thursday 4 February 2021. 10am-12noon
You may have one or more ideas for starting a creative business. How do you come up with new ideas and how can you think out of the box to earn your living?
- Earning Regularly from your Creativity - Thursday 11 February 2021. 10am-12noon
Most creatives, especially when starting, up have what’s called a portfolio career.
We discover how to create a number of different income streams that cover the gaps and allow you to earn more consistently.
The workshops are FREE for businesses in Bolton and Greater Manchester, but places are limited.
Grants available through Bolton’s Fund
Charities and volunteer groups can still apply for grants from Bolton’s Fund to support a wide variety of community projects.
The Bolton’s Fund is an investment programme for the VCSE sector in Bolton, bringing together funding from Bolton Council, NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, Bolton at Home and Bolton CVS.
Applications for the “Health and Wellbeing” and “Children Getting the Best Start in Life” funding rounds are open until January 27.
Additional funding rounds are available to support COVID-19 community engagement and to those distributing food and essential supplies.
Holocaust Memorial Day live stream event
Holocaust Memorial Day is next Wednesday, 27 January. At 10am Bolton will be standing together with the rest of Greater Manchester by joining in with the Greater Manchester Holocaust Memorial Day Service which is being live streamed.
Everyone is welcome to attend. You don’t need to register or book a place for the service as it can be watched live at 10am till 11-15am via The Mayor of Greater Manchester’s Facebook page or YouTube by searching ‘Greater Manchester Holocaust’ Service on YouTube.
More information and activities about Holocaust Memorial Day can be found on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website: www.hmd.org.uk including how to register for the UK Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony at 7pm on the same day, Wednesday 27 January.
Renewals of concessionary TFGM travel passes - don’t travel to renew at a Travelshop
As you know, if you have a TfGM-issued pension-age concessionary pass or a Women’s Concessionary Travel pass), to benefit from unlimited off-peak travel on trams and trains in Greater Manchester there is an annual £10 fee.
Everyone should be staying at home to help protect the NHS and save lives, and only making journeys for legally permitted reasons, so please don’t travel to renew.
TfGM want to avoid unnecessary trips on public transport and to TfGM Travelshops or PayPoint stores during lockdown, particularly as passholders are at higher risk from Coronavirus (COVID-19).
TfGM are allowing concessionary passholders, whose tram and train add-on is due to expire in February or March, to carry on travelling for essential off-peak journeys. If you need to travel, you can continue to use your pass, without renewing, until 31 March 2021.
After this, you should renew when you plan to start travelling by tram or train and your £10 will last for a full year from your new start date. (You can pay up to 7 days before your chosen start date).
Remember, you are entitled to free, off-peak bus travel across England and, if you only use buses, you can choose not to pay to add tram and train.
More information is available on the TfGM website or by phoning 0300 323 8346.