Free Coronavirus test for people with NO SYMPTOMSAll residents, including children, and workers in North Warwickshire are being encouraged to take a rapid Coronavirus test at our Community Testing Centre, Water Orton. By testing people who don’t have symptoms, we are hoping to catch those who are not aware that they have the virus to ensure that they don’t unwittingly spread it to other people – including friends, loved ones and work colleagues. Test is ONLY for people with NO SYMPTOMS. More information about testing and to book visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/covidcommunitytesting Help & support https://www.northwarks.gov.uk/covid19
North Warwickshire Borough Council will be providing Self Isolation Payments The UK government announced there is now a new legal duty on all UK residents to self-isolate if they test positive for COVID-19 or are identified by the NHS Test and Trace as a close contact of someone who has done so. As this new legal duty may impact your ability to work and earn a living, the government has introduced a grant scheme, which will run until 31 January 2021. North Warwickshire Borough Council will be providing Self Isolation Payment support to local residents who need financial assistance due to having to self-isolate because of Coronavirus. Leader of the Council Cllr David Wright said; “It is so important, for the safety of our communities, that those people who receive a positive Covid-10 test result self-isloate for 10 days. I appreciate that self-isolating can cause a financial impact for some people, especially those who are self-employed and can’t work from home, so we hope that this payment will help to bridge the gap for these people and support them whilst they do the right thing for North Warwickshire. Although the government scheme came into place on 28th September, the council is awaiting further guidance before beginning to make payments. The council hope to start making payments next week and residents will be able to apply online. Any claims submitted this week will be dealt with as a priority. The council also want to reassure North Warwickshire communities that they are also there to offer other advice and support working with partners and community groups for anyone needing to self-isolate please visit www.northwarks.gov.uk or ring 01827 715341 (the One-Stop-Shop is currently closed). People who have received notification from NHS Test and Trace with a unique 8-digit identifier number and are eligible under the scheme criteria will receive a payment of: • £500 if they have tested positive for coronavirus and must self-isolate for 10 days (from the point they first developed symptoms or from the date they tested positive if they do not have symptoms), or if a member of their household has tested positive for coronavirus and they are told to self-isolate for 14 days (from the point the other household member first developed symptoms or from the date they tested positive if they did not have symptoms) The criteria that individuals must comply with to be able to receive this payment, as set by the government is as follows: • Have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because they have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive • Are employed or self-employed • Are unable to work from home and will lose income as a result • Are currently receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit There will be further information to follow on Discretionary Lump Sum payments availability in exceptional circumstances, however we are awaiting further information to clarify on this area.
Help is available for people who may be struggling to cope
Warwickshire County Council’s hotline on 0800 408 1447 remains open for people who need urgent help to access food and well-being support during these difficult times.
The hotline was set up in March 2020 to provide rapid response to people extremely vulnerable to Covid-19 and isolated without support. Despite the pausing of the Government shielding programme, and relaxing of some measures, the hotline remains a vital point of contact for people in need of help to support themselves and their family.
The council’s welfare scheme, accessible via the hotline, or online at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/localwelfarescheme can also assist people in crisis by providing short term support to manage the needs of their households. To qualify for support from the scheme people need to be a UK resident, aged 16 or over, and have no other financial means to access food or fuel. Anyone facing serious hardship is invited to get in touch to find out more.
In addition to the welfare scheme, the hotline can direct callers to other food and well-being solutions, as well as council, health and community sector support available locally, so people can find out how to protect themselves and address any issues they may face.
People finding it difficult to access food or essential items or hard to cope can call 0800 4081447 9am to 5pm Monday-Thursday, 9am to 4.30pm on Fridays and 10am to 1pm over the weekend.
Additional information about services and support is available online at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirusvulnerable by calling Warwickshire County Council contact centre on 01926 410410 or by contacting local councils.
Meeting people from outside your household From 13th June, single adult households (in other words adults who live alone or with dependent children only) can form a ‘support bubble’ with one other household. All those in a support bubble will be able to spend time together inside each others’ homes, including overnight, without needing to stay 2 metres apart.
Work continues to support vulnerable people get the food and other provisions they need. The Coop have launched an offer this week and you will find some of the detail from their press release below:
• Launched a gift card scheme for those shielding or self-isolating and reliant on others to do their shopping or who are volunteering to help someone they know, including as part of a local support group. By calling a dedicated Co-op phone line on 0800 029 4592, they can purchase a gift card which can be shared with friends, neighbours or volunteers to pay for shopping in their local Co-op store*. If a volunteer group wishes to buy multiple cards to support vulnerable people, they can do this by emailing their requirements to giftvouchers@coop.co.uk Please do promote it to vulnerable people in your community that it would benefit. • Donated £1.5m worth of product to FareShare and why we dedicated our Easter advertising campaign (worth a further £2.5m) to fundraising for FareShare. Plus, set up a text to donate code (text MEALS to 70490) to encourage those who can to donate to do so. We would encourage you to point any community groups in need of food donations to FareShare.
• Last week, the Secretary of State confirmed that schools served by a Co-op would be able to buy vouchers directly as an alternative to the National Voucher scheme and that the full cost of this would be reimbursed. So if there is a school in your area who you think might benefit from buying Free School Meal vouchers from the Co-op, please share our email address - giftvouchers@coop.co.uk
Healthwatch Seeks your Views on Local Services During the COVID-19 PandemicHealthwatches in Warwickshire and Coventry would like to understand the public's views on health and social care support during the current pandemic. The organisations are launching a survey to find out how services are working for people and to ensure that high-quality safe services and support are being delivered now, and as the lockdown eases.
They are seeking to find out:
How the pandemic has affected your experiences of health and social.
Have you been able to access all the information that you need in order to keep you/your family safe and well?
Has your mental health been affected? And if so, what support have you been able to access?
Healthwatches’ role is to gather the views and experiences of people who use health and social care services locally and use these views to inform local services and local decision makers so that improvements can be made. Its work also feeds in nationally through parent organisation Healthwatch England.
In recent weeks, NHS and social care staff have been working hard to keep us well and safe, adapting the support they offer in response to Covid-19. Healthwatch is keen to hear about all experiences of how these changes are working for people, including positive ones.
Healthwatch Warwickshire’s Chief Executive, Chris Bain, said “This survey is really important to help make services better in your local community. If anyone wants to get more information on what services are available, we would encourage you to get in touch with your local Healthwatch.”
Help Tree We really hope you are keeping well during this challenging time. This note is intended to ensure that EVERYONE has some level of support at hand, and that NO-ONE feels as though they have got to endure this alone. The ‘Help Tree’ is simply describing the line of contact and support which is available to you. Currently our “help tree” remains as: 1.Family / Friends 2.Local community support (You will have received the details of Penny Scambler or Mandy Yates) 3.Council As you can see from the help tree, the Council can be called call if local support is unavailable. This is also a number that can be called at anytime for advice about a resident or they can call themselves. A single point of contact has been set up and individuals should contact 0800 4081447if they require support. Those considered clinically vulnerable by the NHS will have received a letter and should follow the instructions given. More information can be found at https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirusvulnerable . Warmest wishes Shuttington & Alvecote Parish Council On behalf of North Warwickshire Borough Council
ADULT SOCIAL CARE SUPPORT FROM WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
For people who believe they have unmet care and support needs they can visit web site or failing that call us on one of the numbers below. If it is COVID-19 related people can use this information leaflet as a guide - https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/13/here-for-you-leaflet Before you contact us, these links may help solve your problem or answer your question:
If you have the email address of your social care practitioner or allocated team, you will need an Egress Switch Secure Email account to contact them https://www.egress.com/media/v4mpr22i/egress_quickstart_email_protect_recipient_user_access_en_digital.pdf Setting this up will allow you to send and receive emails about your care securely. You will not be able to receive emails from us without this. By telephone 01926 410410 (Monday to Thursday 08:00am – 5:30pm / Friday 08:00am – 5:00pm#0 During out-of-office hours – an emergency duty social worker is available from the time at which the offices close (5.30pm Monday to Thursday, and 5pm on Friday) until 8.30am on the next normal working day. Call us on 01926 886922.
WCC Children’s Services
In the event a single parent finding themselves in difficulty with no provision of care for their children – e.g. if they have to go into hospital as a COVID-19 emergency, WCC will help parents and try and locate family members and connected others, friends etc who may be able to help.
If not and there are no other options WCC will step in and provide care. WCC sometimes have such situations normally where a single parent needs to go into hospital and has no support network that can help and would provide a similar service in these circumstances.
Out of these hours if you have an emergency contact the emergency duty team on 01926 886922. If you think that a child is at immediate risk, contact the police immediately on 999
Information & advice about services for children & families
The Family Information Service can be contacted by professionals and members of the public for information and advice about local support services for children and their families. Contact via email at fis@warwickshire.gov.uk or call01926 742274. Our updated website has a lot of useful information including advice and information guides available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fis
Child abuse concerns
If you have child abuse concerns contact the MASH on 01926 414144. The MASH telephone lines are open from 9.00am - 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am - 5.00pm on a Friday.
North Warwickshire Rural Area – Warwickshire Rural WatchClosing the gate on rural crime
Appeal From Warwickshire Rural HubBy RURAL-WATCH on Mar 27, 2020 02:45 pm Appeal from Warwickshire Rural Hub:The current coronavirus crisis is affecting all of us. But what if you were a farmer unable to feed your stock because of your own self-isolation, or because all of your staff had been required to self-isolate for 7 or 14 days? And what if you also required help with lambing, calving or another job on the farm? The Farming Help charities are working together to support the farming community during the COVID-19 outbreak, supported by the Prince’s Countryside Fund. This initiative is in conjunction with The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, The National Farmers’ Union, and the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust. To aid this initiative Warwickshire Rural Hub is drawing together a list of volunteers who would be available to help out on farms in Warwickshire experiencing labour shortages during the coronavirus crisis. If you would like to join the list please email Jane on info@ruralhub.org.uk with your: Name Contact details Experience Location Please note your contact details may be shared with the Farming Help charities or Warwickshire NFU. If you are a farmer requiring assistance during the current crisis please contact Farming Community Network on help@fcn.org.uk or tel: 03000 111999 Thank you to everyone and we hope that you remain healthy and well.
COVID-19 - PARISH ASSISTANCE Hello, if you are self Isolating we can help. SHUTTINGTON My Name is Penny and I live at 3 East View, School Lane, Shuttington and I have set up a village support group to help those residents in Shuttington who are isolating. ALVECOTE My Name is Mandy and I live at 27 Alvecote Cottages and I am happy to be a point of contact and support for those in Alvecote who need support during this difficult time. The Parish has come together to form a group of more than 20 volunteers (mainly in Shuttington) to help with shopping, prescription collections or a friendly phone call or video call to keep us all connected and well. If you are in a high risk group or need support please contact Penny for Shuttington on 07855 764892 or Mandy for Alvecote 07854 812059 and I will alert the village helpers to your needs and someone will contact you within 4 hours of your call or text. We will leave supplies on the door step and we should all make sure we are washing our hands, disinfecting door handles and surfaces and stay 2metres away from vulnerable people. Let's spread more kindness and keep the virus under control.
, SHUTTINGTON PARISH COUNCIL We want to reassure residents that the Parish Council is still here to help and support you, although all Parish Council meetings have been suspended for the moment. Any queries, please contact the Clerk - Anita Allsopp on 01827 830086 May we also remind/advise you that our local village shop has many supplies which we may need and also the Four Shires Farm Shop in Seckington has an abundance of food, for which they are offering a pre-order facility and free local delivery to those that may need it. Their contact number is 01827 839171.
In addition, we are in very close and continuous contact with the Borough Council and County Council, being alerted to any developments, guidance and assistance which can be utilised as and when necessary.
It is clear that the current challenges are going to be with us for a while and will change regularly. Please be assured that the Parish Council will be constantly monitoring any developments and where possible, shall act accordingly to safeguard our local residents. Sadly this means that Alvecote Play Area is now closed, but following extensive consultation with the governing bodies, it has been decided that Shuttington Playing Field can remain OPEN for the time-being, but it is conditional upon continued sensible use of the grounds with social distancing being strictly adhered to and no congregations of groups. Should it be found that this is not the case, the field shall be closed.
For those entitled to FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES call Warwickshire Welfare for 6 weeks of support for food – 0800 4081448
Potential increased aircraft activity around Birmingham Airport hose of you living in communities close to the airport will have noticed the unprecedented reduction in aircraft activity resulting from the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. This is expected to last for some time yet. However, I did want to draw your attention to two requests we have received as a result of the current situation: As part of a contingency programme to enable patients to be rapidly transferred to hospitals within the region, the military will have a force of Puma helicopters available for such duties. In poor weather conditions, helicopter pilots will need to undertake what is known as a ‘cloud break’ procedure, where the aircraft needs to safely descend until the pilot has visual contact with the ground. For helicopters en-route to local hospitals, that procedure will involve using the standard approach procedures for Birmingham Airport – effectively following the ILS approaches until visual contact is made with the ground, at which point they will fly directly to their destination hospital. The military has requested that training flights be undertaken within the next few days so that pilots can practice these procedures. With airlines having grounded their majority of their fleets, opportunities for pilots to undertake the required number of flying hours needed to maintain their licences are severely reduced. Some of our airline partners have therefore requested that a number (as yet unknown) of training flights be permitted to facilitate this. We expect the numbers of both types of operations to be very small in comparison to normal operations, but given that normal flying operations have virtually ceased, they may well be more noticeable to residents than would ordinarily be the case.
North Warwickshire Rural Area – Warwickshire Rural WatchClosing the gate on rural crime
Trading Standards Warn of Scam Text Re Coronavirus (COVID-19)By RURAL-WATCH on Mar 26, 2020 04:57 pm Throughout this period, Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards is endeavouring to keep Warwickshire consumers and businesses updated on Trading Standards related Coronavirus (COVID-19) issues including scams, doorstep crime and business advice/regulations. Please see the attached document for more information: Trading Standards Coronavirus Scam Alert Warwickshire residents warned of scam COVID-19 texts Following yesterday’s genuine GOV.UK national text message, ‘GOV.UK CORONAVIRUS ALERT’ scammers have begun to send bogus text messages encouraging recipients to click on links contained in the text message. One of the first states that the UK Government has issued a payment of £458 to all residents and encourages recipients to apply by following a link in the text message. Those that do place themselves at risk of theft and ID fraud. Visiting these websites may also expose your computer to malicious programmes/computer viruses. Advice to consumers: •Never follow links in unusual/unexpected text messages •Never as a result of receiving such a text message divulge any personal or financial information •Delete suspect text messages •Advice on dealing with both Spam and scam text messages from Which: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-deal-with-spam-text-messages
Message to Communities in North Warwickshire The Atherstone and Coleshill Safer Neighbourhood Teams are working with North Warwickshire Borough Council to support everyone in our communities. If you know of anyone who is elderly, vulnerable or living in a remote rural location and does not have any support in place, please private message us with their contact details so that an officer can give them a call and check that they are ok on a regular basis during this difficult time. Alternatively you can email the details to: NorthWarwickshireRuralAlerts@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk.
Warwickshire Police Chief Constable calls on the public to stay at home to save lives and protect the NHSWarwickshire Police is working with Government officials and local partners to understand how the new social distancing measures, announced yesterday, can be effectively enforced to keep people in Warwickshire safe. Speaking today, Warwickshire Police Chief Constable Martin Jelley, said: “The force fully supports these latest measures the Government has announced to ensure social distancing, which are sensible and based on scientific evidence. The guidance is clear and it is important that we all take action to stop the rapid transmission of this virus. “Everyone must now take responsibility. Their actions can make a real difference to slowing the spread of this disease and protecting our vital NHS services. It is simple – staying at home will save lives. The lives saved may be those of your own friends and relatives. “I know that there is now much talk around how the police will enforce these new measures. We are working closely with the Government and other agencies to consider these issues. “But the first step is for everyone to follow the instructions. They have been introduced to protect you, your families and communities. Think about your actions, do not do anything that will make it more difficult for my officers to do their work to protect the public at this challenging time. “Where we do come across people believed to be in breach of the measures, our first actions will always be to explain the measures and the importance of following them during this national health emergency as we seek to persuade people to do the right thing.” The Chief Constable also called on people to think carefully when contacting the force. “While Warwickshire Police is coping well with current demands we do need the public to support our efforts and that of our partners. I would urge people only to call us if they absolutely have to and think carefully about what their need is. We encourage people to contact us via our online channels where it is not an emergency situation, and please do not attend a station unless absolutely necessary. “I can’t say it strongly enough – everyone has a part to play at this unprecedented time and I urge everyone in Warwickshire to follow the national guidance to stay at home to save lives.”
Advice When Walking in the Countryside During This Present Time From speaking with our NFU there are real concerns regarding people using public footpaths through farm yards and next to farm buildings. Some farmers, for a number of reasons, are in self isolation, so please try to avoid these areas when taking your daily exercise. There is also concern about numerous people touching the same gates, latches and stiles so take precautions where you can and be considerate, reducing any potential risks as much as possible. There has also been an increase in dogs being exercised across farm land. Please keep to the footpath and your dog under close control at all times, preferably on a lead if going through a field with livestock in. Sadly we have had a number of incidents in the past couple of months where lambs and ewes have been chased and killed after being worried by dogs. We would also like to remind you to pick up after your dog (and take it to a bin) as leaving dog excrement in a field can cause serious illnesses in livestock. By being considerate and reducing risks at this difficult time will make a difference and help support our farmers who are working to keep the food coming through to the shops. Thank you in anticipation for your support on this. Remember to wash your hands when you return home, abide by the government guidelines and stay safe. When taking your daily exercise or driving through the countryside please be vigilante and report anyone you see acting suspiciously near or in a field of livestock or farm buildings. RCO Carol Cotterill
Covid-19 Waste & Recycling Please read the following information about changes to waste and recycling services run by Warwickshire County Council. Recycling centre closures. Following the announcement by the Prime Minister on the evening of Monday 23 March that everyone should stay at home to save lives, we have closed all household waste recycling centres with immediate effect. Recycling centres will not open from Tuesday 24 March onwards, for an indefinite period. Visiting recycling centres is not included in the reasons for leaving home. All households should make full use of their kerbside waste collection service, which your local council is making every effort to keep operational for your recycling, green and food waste and general waste.
'Wall of Support' for the Emergency Services In the North Warwickshire Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Atherstone and Coleshill they have cleared a wall inside the Police station. They have asked if children between the ages of 2 – 10 yrs locally would like to write a letter, draw or paint a picture of any of the emergency services for them to display. This ‘wall of support’ will be featured weekly to all emergency services staff to keep them smiling through these busy and uncertain times. Hopefully it will keep the children busy and keep our emergency services smiling. The team will tweet and FB pictures as they get them. Please send them to: Sgt Neil Pearsall Coleshill Police Station, Parkfield Road, Coleshill B46 3LD”.