Swale Borough Council - Transport to Covid-19 Vaccinations for the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable

Swale Borough Council is working with local volunteers to provide free essential transport to covid-19 vaccination sites in the borough.

Working with Swale Community and Voluntary Services (Swale CVS), Swale council can help the clinically extremely vulnerable in the community to access their vital vaccinations.

Anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable simply needs to call the council’s helpline and they will then make a referral on their behalf to Swale CVS. They will then match them up with a volunteer driver who will take them to and from their vaccination appointment for free.

Cllr Angela Harrison, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at the council, said:

“We know that many people in Swale are greatly anticipating their coronavirus vaccinations, but something as essential as transport can potentially be a barrier for some in the borough.

“That is why we are working with Swale CVS to provide free essential transportation to and from the vaccination sites so that we can help ensure as many people as possible are getting their vaccine.

“The NHS is working hard on the fast roll out of the vaccine, and we want to ensure that those who are unable to travel still have a way to get their vaccine safely. This vaccine is the first step towards us moving back to some form of normality.”

Transportation will be covid secure to ensure the safety of both the passenger and the driver. It is being fully funded by Swale council and is being supplied by volunteer drivers from Swale CVS.

To arrange transportation, please call the Swale council community support line on: 01795 417525, for a referral to Swale CVS.

Swale Borough Council

Gill Gay Will Be Collecting For Swale Foodbank Again

Hi everyone,

I would like to thank you all for the tremendous support we have received on behalf of Swale Foodbank so far.

My husband Ron and I will be collecting again in the bus stop lay-by opposite the Church in Horsham Lane on Wednesday the 10th of February between 10:30am and 11:30am.

Please come along with your donations (in carrier bags would be helpful) and put them into our open car boot while we remain at a safe distance.

We will then deliver your donations to the Swale Foodbank Warehouse, part of the Trussell Trust.

The items they are most in need of are:

Squash

Tinned Fruit

Tinned Fish

Tinned Meats

Tinned Potatoes

Instant Mash

Dry Cat Food

Nappies - specifically size 3, 6 and 7

They are also in desperate need of some “Bags for Life” type bags for the warehouse. They have been double-bagging every food parcel in much thinner bags, which is proving very time consuming and frustrating.

Thanks so much for every single donation we receive - we are deeply grateful!

Thank you

Gill Gay - Foodbank Co-ordinator

Email: gilliangay99@yahoo.co.uk

Who Do You Recognise - Do You Know the Year?

Click the photograph to enlarge.

Thanks to Elaine Hare for sharing this family photograph, believed to have been taken at Holywell School during the early 1900s.

Eliane believes it is her grandmother Ethel Wraight (nee Croucher) sitting at the front holding the board with “Upchurch No II” written on it.

Holywell School in Holywell Lane opened in 1847.

Who do you recognise?

Do you know the year?

Upchurch Matters

Vehicle Vandalised and Attempted Break in - Newington

Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward

Crime Number: 46/13873/21

At 6:00pm on Wednesday the 27th of January, a suspect drove off in a white van after smashing the back window of a vehicle parked on Keycol Hill, Newington.

Crime Number: 46/15917/21

At 2:34am on Saturday the 30th of January, 2 suspects attempted to break into a truck in London Road, Newington. They ran off when they were disturbed by the householders.

If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.

For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk

Kent Community Messaging

Medway Council - Continued Support for Residents Affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic

Medway Council has topped up the funding available to support residents on lower incomes, who have been told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace service or the NHS COVID-19 app.

The £500 Test and Trace Support Payment will help residents during their self-isolation period if they have tested positive for coronavirus or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive.

Residents who were told to isolate by NHS Test and Trace after 28th September, or were identified as a close contact by the NHS COVID-19 app from 10th December 2020, and meet the qualifying criteria, are able to apply for the £500 payment on the council’s website. If successful, the funding will be paid as a lump sum however, the payment will be subject to income tax. The scheme will run until Wednesday, 31st March 2021.

To be eligible for the standard scheme, residents must:

• live in Medway
• have been asked to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace Service, or identified as a close contact by the NHS COVID-19 App from 10th December 2020
• be employed or self-employed
• be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
• be 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.

Although the council has received £174,500 government funding to provide discretionary Test and Trace Support Payments to residents on low incomes who do not receive a qualifying benefit, it has already distributed £223,000 to residents who needed the £500 payment the most.

Medway Council has topped up the funding with a further £250,000, from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF), to continue to support residents affected by the pandemic. This discretionary scheme runs alongside the standard Test and Trace Support Payment scheme which is also being managed by the council.

Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said:

“As we all know, if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace or notified through the app that you need to self-isolate you are legally obliged to do so. We understand that some residents on lower incomes may face further financial difficulties if they are told to self-isolate and this is why we have decided to top-up the Test and Trace Support Payments funding. I would encourage residents to visit our website to find out more about the support available. We must all continue to follow the latest government advice to reduce the spread of the virus and protect our loved ones.”

Residents who do not have access to the internet can call: 01634 306000 to speak to an officer who will help them with their application.

For more information, and to apply, visit: medway.gov.uk/testandtracepayment

Medway Council

Changes to Southeastern Timetable from 8th and 22nd February 2021

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some Southeastern train times will change from Monday 8th February, with some further amends from Monday 22nd February.

These changes reflect current levels of demand, the availability of Southeastern colleagues and will ensure that those passengers who need to travel have as comfortable a journey as possible.

Many services will remain unchanged.

For a summary of changes and to check your journey before you travel, visit >> www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/timetable

Upchurch Matters