Bulletin Monday 2 November 2020

New national measures in England

The Prime Minister has announced new national measures that will apply in England from Thursday 5 November.

Until then residents should continue to follow the ‘Very High’ Level measures for the borough of Bolton.

The Prime Minister will update Parliament on Monday, and MPs are set to vote on the measures on Wednesday.

From Thursday 5 November, everyone must stay at home, and may leave only for a limited set of reasons:

• For education;
• For work, if you cannot work from home
• For exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household, support bubble or on your own with one person from another household
• For all medical reasons, appointments and to escape injury or harm
• To shop for food and essentials
• And to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer

Essential shops including supermarkets, click and collect services, takeaways and food delivery services, will remain open.

Public services, such as job centres, courts, and civil registration offices will remain open.

Early years settings, schools, colleges and universities will all remain open. Parents will still be able to access registered childcare and other childcare activities where reasonably necessary to enable parents to work. Parents are also able to form a childcare bubble with another household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under.

Non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will be closed. Pubs, bars, and restaurants must close, except for takeaway and delivery services.

Places of worship except for funerals and individual prayer, organised team sports, or children’s activities, must also close.

Shielding is not being reintroduced, but the clinically vulnerable, or those over the age of 60, should be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise contacts with others. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable should not only minimise their contacts with others, but also not go to work if they are unable to work from home.

People cannot travel within the UK or go abroad unless for work, education or other legally permitted exemptions.

Updated guidance and support for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable individuals

The guidance for residents that are classed as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) has been updated. This is to protect those most at risk of serious complications should they get the virus by reducing the number of contacts they have, and so reducing the number of chances they may have to catch it.

• Don’t go to work if you can work from home;
• Don’t go to shops or pharmacies;
• Only travel for essential purposes;
• Exercise is allowed outdoors;
• Meeting is allowed outdoors with the individuals support bubble.

It is a hard thing that is being asked of you if you are clinically extremely vulnerable. If you need help please contact our support helpline by calling 01204 337221.

People who are defined as clinically extremely vulnerable are at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus. People with the following conditions are automatically deemed clinically extremely vulnerable:

• solid organ transplant recipients
• people with specific cancers:
• people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
• people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
• people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
• people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
• people having other targeted cancer treatments that can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
• people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
• people with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• people with rare diseases that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), homozygous sickle cell disease)
• people on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
• women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired
• other people who have also been classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of their needs. GPs and hospital clinicians have been provided with guidance to support these decisions

Furlough Scheme extension

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (also known as the furlough scheme) will remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2500.

Under the extended scheme, the cost for employers of retaining workers will be reduced compared to the previous scheme.

In addition, business premises forced to close in England are to receive grants worth up to £3000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant and £1.1bn is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly. Mortgage holidays will also no longer end on 31 October.

Help for businesses

The government has announced a national lockdown from Thursday 5 November 2020. Details of any grant schemes to accompany the national lockdown will be published here once the council has been provided with the information.

Further information about the grant scheme for businesses that have been required to close as a result of Bolton being placed in Tier 3 or ‘Very High’ COVID Alert Level from Friday 23 October and the Tier 2 grants backdated to 5 August 2020, will also be published here once the council has received it.

Remembrance Service wreath laying

The announcement of a new measures for England to control the spread of coronavirus means that plans for Remembrance Sunday have changed.

There will be a short, virtual Remembrance service, including wreath laying, on Sunday 8 November at 10.50am that anyone can watch: www.bolton.gov.uk/remembrance

£25m investment plan maps out future of Bolton town centre

Bolton Council has submitted its plan for up to £25 million of funding from the government’s Towns Fund.

If successful, the town centre will see major improvements to much-loved existing locations such as Bolton Market, Central Library, and Aquarium, as well as the creation of new green spaces and pocket parks, and a new innovation hub created for growing and start-up businesses in the Wellsprings.

Bolton is one of just 101 places which have been given the opportunity to secure funding from the government’s £3.6bn Towns Fund.

Bolton Council team cleans up at national awards

The council has won the ‘Best Service Delivery’ category in the prestigious national LGC Awards 2020.

The annual awards, run by the Local Government Chronicle, were held virtually on Wednesday (October 28) to recognise the best in innovation and service delivery.

The Environmental Service’s behaviour change teams scooped the award for their work with residents and volunteers to encourage the public to take more responsibility for the environment.

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