The Leader of Medway Council has used Urgency Powers to ensure immediate work is carried out to further support residents and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government has set out its latest financial packages to support residents and businesses most in need of help with council tax and business rates. Since the announcements, Medway Council has been working hard to identify those eligible of the financial support and implement the financial changes.
As part of the Urgency Powers, the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Leader and the Portfolio Holder for Business Management, has been granted delegated authority to implement the following measures. Decisions, such as this, would usually be taken to a Cabinet meeting for portfolio holders to discuss and decide on. However, to ensure that Medway is responding quickly to support those most in need of financial support during the pandemic, this change has been approved.
Cllr Alan Jarrett, Leader of Medway Council, said:
“I am pleased the government has put measures in place to enable us to provide additional financial support to the Medway residents and businesses who need extra help during the pandemic. We recognise the importance of quickly getting these national measures in place locally and I have used Urgency Powers to allow this work to be immediately carried out. We will continue to do all we can to support Medway’s economy during this difficult time.”
Council tax reduction scheme
Medway Council has been awarded £2,056,371 of the Government’s £500million hardship fund, which will provide council tax relief to vulnerable people and households to help those affected most by coronavirus. In Medway, this will provide a reduction on council tax bills to lower income households, taking account of income and savings.
Residents who are currently part of the council tax reduction scheme will automatically receive a reduction in their annual council tax bill of up to £150.
Business rate relief
Retail discount: Retail ratepayers who have recently received a new annual bill showing a 50 per cent discount will now receive a revised bill showing a 100 per cent discount.
The 100 per cent discount has been extended to include properties completely or mainly used for leisure, hotels and assembly, such as public halls. Additionally, the previous cap restricting discount to those properties with a rateable value less than or equal to £51,000 has been removed.
The service is working hard to identify eligible properties and will issue notices to them.
Public houses
Where pubs do not qualify for the 100 per cent extended retail relief, their bills will be discounted by up to £5,000.
Medway had already issued business rate bills based on the original level of relief, and will send amended bills to those affected once more details are issued from the Government.
Small business grants
The Government has allocated around £39.7million to Medway Council (due on 1st April) to fund grants to support small businesses through this period. Ratepayers are being invited to provide information to check their eligibility for business support grants and ensure that bank details are correct, so that the funds can be distributed quickly.
Letters are being sent out to businesses and an online form has been created on medway.gov.uk for businesses to complete.
Emergency grant funding
Medway Council has also received £6.628m COVID-19 emergency funding from the Government to help support the local authority respond to the pandemic and address the pressures local government is facing.
Urgency powers will also be used to add this funding to the council’s revenue budget. Government has suggested spending the funding in the following areas:
•Meeting the increased demand for adult social care and enabling councils to provide additional support to social care providers.
•Meeting the cost of extra demand and higher business-as-usual costs of providing children’s social care.
•Providing additional support for the homeless and rough sleepers.
•Supporting those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, who may be asked to self-isolate in their homes for the duration of the pandemic.
•Meeting pressures across other services, as a result of reduced income, rising costs or increased demand.
“We are extremely grateful for the kind words we’ve had about our waste collection crews. They really appreciate them, and the thank you cards and messages left on bins, as they work hard to maintain the service.
Unfortunately, due to reduced staff levels, we have taken the decision to suspend garden waste collections to prioritise collecting general waste, food waste and recycling.
This means that if your garden waste brown bin is out for collection, please take it in off the street until we are able to restart the collections - please check our website and social media for updates.
If you don’t already, and you have the space, you could start home composting your garden waste.
We will continue to collect your blue, green and food waste as planned, however if your bins are not collected on your usual allocated day, please leave them out and we will get to them as soon as we can.”
I’m writing to you further to my previous Email about our ongoing work to upgrade our gas network in A2/ High Street, Newington.
We know that during the coronavirus outbreak, our communities will rely on us now more than ever to keep them safe and warm. The safety of our communities and our employees will remain our number one priority in the weeks and months ahead.
We need to continue with our safety-critical project to upgrade the gas network in A2/ High Street. This needs to continue now, rather than wait until the pandemic passes, to ensure your local community continues to receive a safe and reliable gas supply.
We’re working closely with UK Government and public health bodies to make sure we work safely and in line with expert advice during the coronavirus outbreak. We have extra safety precautions in place to protect our colleagues and our customers from catching or spreading the virus as we carry out our safety-critical project.
There’s more information about our coronavirus preparations on our website: sgn.co.uk/coronavirus
Thank you for your understanding and support during these challenging times.
Highways England is upgrading the M2 junction 5 / A249 Stockbury Roundabout which they say will support improvements to safety and the potential for economic development and growth in the region.
The scheme includes a new flyover which will create an uninterrupted link for drivers staying on the A249 and will free up extra space on the Stockbury roundabout.
Objections
Stockbury Parish Council, MP Helen Whately, along with residents and business owners, have all raised concerns and objections over the current plans put forward. Because of these objections, the Secretary of State has now ordered a Public Inquiry to take place.
It's believed all would support the scheme providing a bridge or underpass is added to the proposed new road layout. They are concerned that as a result of the upgrade scheme, the village could be cut off and become dangerous and difficult to travel to.
They acknowledge and support the need to modernise the Stockbury roundabout but cannot support the current scheme which they believe will irreparably harm the cohesion of the community, which has small businesses and significant settlements on both sides of the A249.
Public Inquiry - Postponed
In line with latest Government advice regarding Coronavirusaa and to avoid unnecessary and non-essential travel and social contact with others, the Inspector has now postponed the 8 day Public Inquiry announced by the Secretary of State which was due to open on Tuesday 28th April 2020.
The inquiry was due to be held at Hempstead House, London Road, Bapchild, Sittingbourne ME9 9PP in the Heritage Suite.
Members of the public were invited to attend the proceedings and if they wished to make an objection, declare support or have specific questions, they needed to submit their intention of this to the Inspector by Monday 23rd March 2020.
An independent Programme Officer has been appointed. Information about how to appear at the inquiry, the programme and additional documents have been made available on their website at http://programmeofficers.co.uk/m2j5
If you have questions specifically about the inquiry you should contact Yvonne Parker directly via Email posltd@virginmedia.com
The Inspector notes that under the present circumstances, it is not possible to finalise and publish the inquiry arrangements in order to give notice to interested parties in a timely manner, in accordance with the requirements of the associated inquiries procedure rules. This reinforces his view regarding the need to postpone the event.
Once new dates have been arranged the website will be updated and participants notified. In the meantime, if you have an urgent enquiry, please contact the Programme Officer.
Guidance on using green spaces and protecting yourself and others. The government’s priority is to save lives and the best way to protect yourself and others from illness is to stay at home.
However, exercise is still important for people’s physical and mental wellbeing, so the government has said people can leave their homes for exercise once a day.
Please use the following guidance in order to stay safe:
• Stay local and use open spaces near to your home where possible - do not travel unnecessarily. • You should only go outside alone or with members of your own household. • Keep at least 2 metres apart from anyone outside your household at all times. • Gatherings of more than two in parks or other public spaces have been banned and the police will enforce this. • If you have a garden, make use of the space for exercise and fresh air. • Take hygiene precautions when you are outside, and wash your hands as soon as you are back indoors.
Please be aware that if you are experiencing symptoms of coronavirus illness (COVID-19) or at risk of severe illness if you catch coronavirus, then you must stay at home. See the latest guidance from Public Health England
I've created a special Mr Fizz Sock Mask for all the children to have fun making at home. Print out my simple A4 instructions above or follow them from your screen. And don't forget to send all your finished mask pictures to Upchurch Matters. They will add them to the comments on their Facebook post. Always ask a grownups permission first. See you all soon. And remember to always have fun and stay safe!
The Government has announced a number of schemes for Swale Borough Council to administer to help people and businesses in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. Following the receipt of more detailed guidance from the Government, officers have been working to prepare systems and processes to provide the support.
SBC has put together the attached summary of the support available so far. As and when other schemes are brought in, they will try to update this and circulate it so Councillors have as up-to-date information as possible.
Please bear in mind that there can be a delay between announcements being made by the Government and SBC receiving the details they need to put together the schemes. This is why they are encouraging people to keep an eye on the dedicated section of their website www.swale.gov.uk/coronavirus and their social media channels where they will be putting as much information as they can.
Those residents who receive Council Tax Support will shortly receive an additional amount of up to £150 towards their council tax for 2020/21. This is from the government’s council tax hardship grant
If you are in receipt of Council Tax Support you do not need to contact the council, this will be awarded automatically.
If your income is currently reduced, you may be able to claim help towards your Council Tax. Further information and our online claim form is available at www.swale.gov.uk/ctax-support-scheme
Business rate relief
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will pay no business for the financial year 2020-21. Following guidance published by the Government, we have identified businesses that qualify for the retail discount and are working to get your bills recalculated and sent out in the next few weeks.
Childcare providers
To support nurseries during this time, the Government has decided that providers of childcare who are Ofsted registered will pay no business rates for 2020-21. We will be provided with more information about this shortly and will send new business rates bills to those affected as soon as possible.
Business grants
The Government has made cash grants available to support small businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through the period of disruption caused by coronavirus.
Only one grant can be awarded per property.
Small business grant
The small business grant is a support payment of £10,000 for small businesses. To qualify for this grant, the business must:
• have been liable for businesses rates on the property on 11th March 2020
•have qualified for small business rate relief or rural rate relief on 11th March 2020
•have a rateable value of under £15,000.
Retail, hospitality and leisure grant
The retail, hospitality and leisure grant is a support payment for businesses with a rateable value of less than £51,000 who are eligible for the expanded retail discount.
•Businesses with a rateable value of up to £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000.
•Businesses with a rateable value between £15,001 and £50,999 will receive a grant of £25,000.
To qualify for this grant, the business must:
•have been liable for business rates on the property on 11th March 2020
•have qualified for the expanded retail discount on 11th March 2020, had the scheme been in place on this date
•have a rateable value of under £51,000.
We are currently working on system issues to enable us to make these payments.
Support local Kent businesses during this difficult time and beyond.
The local Kent community is pulling together, reaching out and helping each other to get through this period.
Produced in Kent is not just promoting their member businesses in this uncertain time - they're trying to help the entire food & drink business community of the county!
helpkentbuylocal.co.uk is their brand new website where you can find your nearest businesses offering everything from groceries, home delivery, support to the vulnerable, community services, takeaway food and deliveries and online shops.
Have a look and see who you can support, and how they can support you in turn back!
If you're a food, drink or craft business who is offering a service that you're keen to promote, you can enter it on their website by visiting the List your Business page
If you have a good news story to share with them, please send it to: info@producedinkent.co.uk along with an image.
They want to hear about all the amazing work that is happening out there!
Below is a summary of the latest developments. As ever, these are just a few of the headline issues that have been on the Local Government Association radar:
Stay at home, save lives
The nationwide ‘Stay at Home, Save Lives’ campaign has launched, giving the most up to date COVID-19 information and detailing the only reasons that someone can leave their home, with the key message of ‘Stay at Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’. The campaign has already been hugely popular on social media and I’ve seen the hashtag #StayHomeSaveLives on many councils’ social media pages and posts. Public Health England has now added supporting assets across print, social and digital to their campaign resource centre. PHE will continue to update this resource with further guidance on how to help others safely expected in the coming days.
On other Stay at Home related issues, the Government has updated its guidance on-premises closures to exempt off-licences and licenced shops selling alcohol, including those within breweries.
As you know, critical worker definitions relate to who can seek childcare assistance in order to enable them to work. We are also aware of confusion between 'critical workers' and those who may travel to work. In terms of what is sometimes described as 'essential work', the guidance is clear that travelling to and from work is permissible only where the work an individual does absolutely cannot be done from home. There may well be an overlap between the two categories but they are distinct. We are aware of concerns around differences in interpretation of concepts like 'critical worker' and 'essential work' and difficulties that are arising in some areas when workers are challenged to justify their travel. We are in discussion with central government about this issue.
Parking
Local government is leading the way in supporting residents, workers and businesses during these unprecedented times. You will have seen my earlier email on the suspension of parking charges for health workers, social care workers and NHS volunteers for on-street parking and open car parks (e.g. pay and display car parks) as they go about their critical work. I know that many councils are already supporting critical workers in this way, or even going a step further and relaxing/suspending all parking charges in your local areas. We trust that all councils will play their part in supporting this particular group during this crisis. We are also urging councils to waive all fines received by health and social care workers while carrying out their extended duties in recent days.
Coronavirus Bill
The Coronavirus Bill has now passed through the House of Lords unamended and has received Royal Assent. The LGA team has worked closely with Ministers, MPs and Peers as this Bill has passed through Parliament and has influenced it to ensure that councils have greater flexibilities to support their communities at this time. I know that issues around data protection and GDPR have been a concern to many and we have been raising these points on your behalf. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has provided guidance which gives some helpful clarifications, highlighting that the ICO will not penalise organisations who need to prioritise other areas of work above data protection in order to deal with Coronavirus.
Parliament rises for recess this evening and is not due to return until Tuesday 21st April. In this time, we will continue to work with the Government to raise your concerns and brief parliamentarians.
Hubs, shielding and Local Resilience Forums
Government guidance for Local Authorities and LRFs on the system to support those who are clinically extremely vulnerable has been published. It sets out the role of LRFs and councils in supporting the “shielded” group of patients who have now been contacted by the NHS, some of whom are already seeking help.
Thank you to the 132 “hub” areas who responding very quickly to the request to give a delivery address for emergency food supplies being provided by the Government. Councils will be able to use those supplies for any “shielded” people in immediate and urgent need of basic foodstuffs before food parcels start being delivered to their homes. We know that you need the lists of who needs support as soon as possible and have received reassurance from officials and Ministers that sharing this data is a top and immediate priority.
We know councils are already putting wider plans in place to support vulnerable groups and will share further information and resources to support you in that work in the coming days. Where your chief executive is not directly involved, I am sure they will be liaising with the local authority representative on the SCG.
Adult social care
Today we called on the Government to consider asking retired care workers to return to work to help support those most at risk of the outbreak. While the Government has introduced measures for doctors and nurses to come back to the NHS and social workers to social care, we believe the Government should extend its thinking to care workers to help the social care effort. We are already working to ensure people who have left the workforce for other reasons have an opportunity to return by adapting our existing Return to Work programme.
Children and education
The Department for Education continues to expand the suite of guidance that is available to councils, schools and other education settings, with the publication of guidance on how to implement social distancing in education and childcare settings. We will update on other issues facing children’s services, schools and early years providers in future bulletins.
Homelessness
We are aware that many councils are continuing to experience issues with placing homeless households into accommodation in hotels and B&Bs following closures. The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, Luke Hall, wrote to hotel chief executives yesterday to encourage them to reverse decisions to close. We are continuing to highlight issues to MHCLG, including directly to the Secretary of State. We have asked that the Government ensures that hotels accept local authority bookings and that it considers coordinating the procurement of accommodation at a regional or national level.
The Best Western Hotel chain has kindly offered to assist councils’ homelessness teams with making placements into its local branches. To take up this offer, please email here2help@bestwestern.co.uk They can help with any requirements if it is just one person in need, or you are wanting to house 30/40 people.
Last week, the Government asked Dame Louise Casey to lead its response to COVID-19 and rough sleeping, to help ensure safe accommodation for people currently sleeping rough, in assessment centres, shelters, and other dormitory-style accommodation, who can’t comply with social distancing advice. We have spoken with Dame Louise, to discuss councils’ contribution to this rehousing effort and what support they might need.
Today MHCLG wrote to councils in London to highlight that the Greater London Authority, funded by Government, is arranging the procurement of extra accommodation where there are significant challenges. MHCLG is encouraging councils to support the pooling of commissioned rough sleeping services and resources so that sub-regional efforts are coordinated better.
We are expecting further guidance on a multi-agency response to accommodate and provide support services to people sleeping on the streets and in dormitory-style accommodation. This guidance is expected to clarify the roles of local structures, including local resilience forums, NHS and public health services, homelessness teams, and accommodation providers. We have highlighted that this work should link into councils’ wider plans to support vulnerable groups, including through local shielding hubs. We have also asked the government to ensure that this important work is sufficiently resourced.
Housing and planning
We are continuing to engage with MHCLG on the issues that you have been raising in relation to planning. This includes the urgent need for flexibilities on statutory timescales, changes to the publicity requirements for planning applications and suspension of the 5-year Housing Land Supply, Housing Delivery Test and planning performance regime. We are also pushing for the timetable for the necessary secondary regulations to allow for virtual planning committee meetings once the Coronavirus Bill has received Royal Assent.
The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) has pulled together a series of resources, including Frequently Asked Questions, for planners thinking about how to change services in response to the outbreak and to share good practice.
On council housing management, we are working with the government to identify ways in which councils can be supported on a number of emerging issues. This includes the availability of parts, labour and equipment for urgent repairs and void works; transfers in and out of social tenancies and allocations; the need for a degree of flexibility on compliance with less urgent safety/regulatory standards; access to PPE supplies and the need for flexibility on timescales in relation to mutual exchanges, processing of Right to Buy requests and deadlines for responding to disrepair claims. We will update you as we progress our discussions with the government.
Economy and finances
Following a Treasury press release confirming that estate agents, lettings agencies and bingo halls that have closed as a result of measures to restrict the spread of the virus will be now also be exempted from business rates in 2020/21, the Government has updated its guidance (please see paragraph 4 in particular).
Following the publication of the guidance of the small business grant scheme, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) hosted a call with local authorities on its implementation. Issues of concern to councils were raised during the call, including the fact that state aid implications would be kept under review. Following the LGA and councils raising the concern about whether councils will have all the data currently being sought by the Government for assurance purposes as part of the grant guidance, officials confirmed this would be kept under review and that the priority was for grants to be paid to eligible businesses. We will keep you updated if this results in changes to the guidance.
Workforce
If this crisis has demonstrated anything it has shown us how incredible council staff have been in rising to meet the challenges facing our communities. At this time, we should all – as councillors, co-workers, colleagues and within our respective teams – support one another by ensuring help and advice is provided quickly and effectively so we can all feel supported as we go about our work. We know from talking to leaders and chief executives across the country that councils are taking the necessary steps to keep staff safe. Supported by your regional employer bodies and the national workforce team at the LGA, we are keen to share practice and advice to keep councils operational. It’s just as important to ensure you as leaders are supported and have systems and cover in place to allow you to have the necessary respite as well as ensuring your organisations are robust. Clearly, there will be more challenging times to come and it is with that in mind we are keen to ensure we plan ahead for the medium-term by working together on issues like staff redeployment, recruitment, volunteering and key issues like training, delegations, wellbeing and engagement.
With that in mind, our Workforce Team continue to unpick the detail within the various sets of government guidance to help support you as employers during this difficult time. A reminder that a series of Employment Law focused FAQs has been developed to help you navigate the key measures.
We have received a number of enquiries about critical workers. The government guidance on critical workers does not provide a definitive list but does refer to roles that are 'critical to the COVID-19 response'. It is up to employers to decide who satisfies that definition but we are aware that this is likely to include staff normally working in other areas who are refocused to deal with COVID-19. Of course, the phrase 'key workers' is often used interchangeably with 'critical workers'.
DfE has launched updated guidance for employers, apprentices, training providers and end-point assessment organisations in response to the impact of COVID-19. This guidance encourages providers to deliver training remotely, allows end-point assessments to be carried out remotely, allows rescheduling of end-point assessments, enables extended breaks in learning and provides some guidance on redundancy. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has also issued separate guidance on the delivery of apprenticeship assessment.
We are continuing to work with the government to highlight the impact that COVID-19 is having on apprenticeships and we are seeking clarity on other aspects of the system such as the planned switch-off of Apprenticeship Frameworks and the expiry of unspent levy funds.
The UK Public Health Register has confirmed its waiver of professional requirements. The statement also highlights emergency provision the registrar is making for re-registering recently retired public health professionals who are being contacted to see if they wish to return to help with the public health emergency.
Following receipt of a number of questions relating to the Cabinet Office’s Procurement Policy Notes, we are expecting publication of a FAQ document tomorrow.
Roads
Local authorities have a statutory duty to maintain the highways network in as safe a condition as is practically possible with the resources that they have available at all times. This is still vital work, keeping goods moving and deliveries flowing, for vital NHS and social care support workers, the emergency services, and all who are working to support communities in this unprecedented time. We have reports that in a number of areas, highway workers have been getting verbal abuse for carrying out essential maintenance. This is, of course, completely unacceptable and something no worker should experience while carrying out their duties. As a response, some councils have agreed a simple joint sign between the local authority and contractor making it clear to the public that essential works are being carried out.
To help give consistent and widespread messaging about the need for people to stay at home during the crisis, DfT is asking local authorities with variable message signs on their road network to display ‘stay at home’ messages as soon as possible. This is provided that it can be done so at appropriate locations and in a way that does not risk driver or road worker safety. There are two variants, for use on different equipment types. Option 1 (for signs with 3 lines of 18 characters each) is ‘STAY HOME. ESSENTIAL TRAVEL. ONLY’. Option 2 (for smaller signs) is ‘STAY HOME. ESSENTIAL. TRAVEL ONLY’. Both are covered by Schedule 13 Part 9(1)(a) of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, which allows for temporary signing to be used to provide information about civil emergencies. As such, they do not require DfT authorisation.
Broadband
With residents and businesses now relying on domestic broadband connections to continue their work, Ofcom has launched guidance on getting the most out of your broadband and mobile connection. We are in contact with telecommunications providers and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to raise issues relating to local connectivity including the capacity of networks to cope with higher demand. The Department has also created a dedicated critical issues email - telecoms.covid19@culture.gov.uk
VE Day commemorations
The national commemorations to mark VE Day 75 on 8th May are being scaled back due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19. The UK Government and the devolved administrations are working on new plans to ensure the nation can still thank the Second World War generation on VE Day in May and provide the fitting tribute they deserve. Councils are no longer expected to be approving applications for road closures or other gatherings for this. They are instead encouraged to support local digital solutions for celebrations. Once this immediate crisis abates, communities may also be encouraged to turn their attentions to planning for VJ day on 15th August.
