Karen Daker

This week’s news from around the Council.

• COVID-19 update – Key Messages
  • We’re still in a national lockdown. It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble. It’s really tough, but if we all follow the rules, we can help reduce the spread and save lives.
  • We all need to continue to follow guidance on Hands. Face. Space. This will help to keep you and others safe – even if you’ve had the vaccine.
  • If you are making essential visits to places where there are other people, get rapid tested regularly.
  • If you’re worried about getting tested for Covid-19 and having to self-isolate, you may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the Test and Trace support payment scheme.
  • You cannot leave home for recreational or leisure purposes (such as for a picnic or a social meeting).
  • The police can take action against you if you meet in larger groups. This includes breaking up illegal gatherings and issuing fines.
  • Stay at home and if you do need to go out for essentials, remember, Hands. Face. Space. Test.
  • Did you know that you must still follow guidance around #HandsFaceSpace even if you’ve had your Covid-19 vaccine? Wear a face covering, keep your distance and wash your hands regularly.
  • Click here for more information on #doingourbit to stop the spread.

• Workplace transmissions has been highlighted as an area of concern. The Office of National Statistics will be publishing data on this.

• Vaccinations – there is, nationally, a very low uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccination amongst the BAME groups. Please encourage people from these groups to take the vaccination. 

• The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Elections, the County Council Elections and Local By-Elections.
  On Thursday 6 May 2021 residents in South Staffordshire will have their say on who represents them at the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Elections, the County Council Elections and Local By-Elections. Voters will have a choice between in person and absent voting. Postal and proxy voting will be supported, and proxy voting rules changed so that those affected by Covid-19 in the days before the poll can still vote. The Government is setting out how existing public health regulations and guidance apply to essential voting activities and will be publishing additional guidance on the specific application of social distancing and other regulations to their activities, including nominations and campaigning.

South Staffordshire’s Elections team are already working on plans to help residents stay safe while casting their vote. A series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the upcoming elections have been published on the Council Website. The website will be updated with further information as it becomes available. Information can also be found on the website of the Electoral Commission.

• Community Safety – Catalytic Converter theft is on the increase in the district. It only takes a few seconds for criminals to saw them off. They are targeted for the metals they contain which includes palladium and platinum which has a growing value and can be re-used in jewellery.

Please see the link for suggestions on how to protect your vehicle and link for information on a catalytic converter marking pack.

Please share the information to residents and through your contacts on social media.

• Action for Children Survey

This Action for Children survey is specifically for young people, so please share this with your family and friends, your children and grandchildren and encourage them to have their say by taking part in this survey.

Action for Children, Children’s Emotional Well-being Service for Staffordshire, have created a survey for young people in Staffordshire to have their say on how they would like to receive information regarding Emotional and Well-being issues they might face. Action for Children are looking at developing their website and social media to ensure that it’s easily accessible and has the information that young people need.

Please find the link below. The closing date is 22^nd February 2021

Please click on this link to take part in the Action for Children Survey

• Council Job Vacancies – Upcoming Vacancies
• Career Graded Senior Planning Officers x2
• Senior Arboricultural Officer
• Strategic Projects Assistant Team Manager

Details of these Vacancies can be found shortly on the Council website

Regular information

• Next week’s Council Committee/Panel meetings 

• Full Council – Tuesday 23 February 2021 – 7.00 pm – Public virtual meeting via Teams.
• Personal Development Review and Appointments Panel – Thursday, 25 February 2021 – 12.30 pm – Public virtual meeting via Teams
• Lottery Advisory Panel – Thursday, 25 February 2021 – 3.00 pm – Public virtual meeting via Teams

Members of the public can virtually attend these meetings via Microsoft Teams. In the news section at the bottom of the Council’s website, you will find the relevant news item that will include a link to enable you to join.

Everyone is encouraged to submit news items, please email: comms@sstaffs.gov.uk

This week’s news from around the Council.

• COVID-19 update – Key Messages
  • We’re still in a national lockdown. It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble. It’s really tough, but if we all follow the rules we can help reduce the spread and save lives.
  • We all need to continue to follow guidance on Hands. Face. Space. This will help to keep you and others safe – even if you’ve had the vaccine.
  • If you are making essential visits to places where there are other people, get rapid tested regularly.
  • If you’re worried about getting tested for Covid-19 and having to self-isolate, you may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the Test and Trace support payment scheme.
  • You cannot leave home for recreational or leisure purposes (such as for a picnic or a social meeting).
  • The police can take action against you if you meet in larger groups. This includes breaking up illegal gatherings and issuing fines.
  • Stay at home and if you do need to go out for essentials, remember, Hands. Face. Space. Test.
  • Did you know that you must still follow guidance around #HandsFaceSpace even if you’ve had your Covid-19 vaccine? Wear a face covering, keep your distance and wash your hands regularly.
  • Click here for more information on #doingourbit to stop the spread.

• The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Elections, the County Council Elections and Local By-Elections.
  On Thursday 6 May 2021 residents in South Staffordshire will have their say on who represents them at the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Elections, the County Council Elections and Local By-Elections. Voters will have a choice between in person and absent voting. Postal and proxy voting will be supported, and proxy voting rules changed so that those affected by Covid-19 in the days before the poll can still vote. The Government is setting out how existing public health regulations and guidance apply to essential voting activities and will be publishing additional guidance on the specific application of social distancing and other regulations to their activities, including nominations and campaigning.

South Staffordshire’s Elections team are already working on plans to help residents stay safe while casting their vote. A series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the upcoming elections have been published on the Council Website. The website will be updated with further information as it becomes available. Information can also be found on the website of the Electoral Commission.

• Good News Story – The Building Better Opportunities programme

The Building Better Opportunities programme, which is funded by The Big Lottery and European Social Fund, originally run from January 2017 to December 2019, but due to its success of supporting people to move closer to work, an extension was awarded until September 2022. More recently, the programme has reviewed the contracts that have performed well, despite Covid-19 restrictions and have selected the Stafford and South Staffordshire project as one to be extended to June 2023. If you would like more information on the BBO programme, please email BBOstaffs@gmail.com

• Youth Boxfit exercise class
  Children aged 10-16 years old can access a FREE 40-minute Boxfit class every Tuesday 4.30-5.10pm. Places are limited so advanced booking is essential. Book a Youth Boxfit exercise class here.

• New online exercise classes
  Live exercise classes are available to members and non-members. Members are entitled to free access and non-members can take part for £4 per class. By joining our online membership package, you can access unlimited classes for £12 per month.  Find out more about the online class membership here.
• On Demand classes now available
  Leisure centre members can now access online classes ‘on-demand’ which means workouts are recorded so that you can workout at a time that suits you. Find out more about the on-demand sessions here.

Regular information

• Next week’s Council Committee/Panel meetings

There are no meetings for the week commencing 15 February 2021.

Members of the public can virtually attend these meetings via Microsoft Teams. In the news section at the bottom of the Council’s website, you will find the relevant news item that will include a link to enable you to join.

Everyone is encouraged to submit news items, please email: comms@sstaffs.gov.uk

With the country in a third national lockdown and new more virulent strains of Covid-19 circulating, it is more important than ever to control the spread of the virus in our communities to protect or vulnerable residents and health and care services.  It is currently against the law for people to be outside of their home without good reason, but some people do need to leave home for:
• Work where they cannot work from home
• Essential shopping for food or medicine
• To provide care for someone vulnerable

Staffordshire County Council is offering these people regular rapid tests, otherwise known as Lateral Flow Tests, to help find and isolate cases of Covid-19 and minimise the spread of the virus.  Rapid testing allows people without symptoms to get tested and receive their results in under an hour. This is important as 1 in 3 people infected with coronavirus do not show symptoms but may be infectious and can pass it on to others.

The NHS has made a fantastic start rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine to eligible groups, but it will be months before the full benefit of the vaccine programme is truly felt with enough people vaccinated. That is why regular testing is vital in the meantime.  In the short term people are encourage to get tested regularly if they cannot work from home or need to make essential visits. In the longer term, as lockdown is eased, regular testing of everyone will be one way to minimise the spread of the virus.

There is at least one community testing centre in each district and borough and more are being set up in some of larger businesses and housing schemes. This makes testing quick and convenient. For people with positive results it allows contact tracing to begin immediately. For people who test negative they can get their result right away.

People without symptoms can book a test by visiting www.staffordshire.gov.uk/testing.

People with symptoms of Covid-19 such as a new cough, high temperature and loss of taste and smell, need to continue to book a test via www.gov.uk/coroanvirus or by calling 119.

Already, thousands of people across the county have had a rapid test to protect their families, friends, businesses and communities. Please return the favour.

This week’s news from around the Council.

• COVID-19 update – Key Messages
  • We’re still in a national lockdown. It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble. It’s really tough, but if we all follow the rules we can help reduce the spread and save lives.
  • We all need to continue to follow guidance on Hands. Face. Space. This will help to keep you and others safe – even if you’ve had the vaccine.
  • If you are making essential visits to places where there are other people, get rapid tested regularly.
  • If you’re worried about getting tested for Covid-19 and having to self-isolate, you may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the Test and Trace support payment scheme.
  • You cannot leave home for recreational or leisure purposes (such as for a picnic or a social meeting).
  • The police can take action against you if you meet in larger groups. This includes breaking up illegal gatherings and issuing fines.
  • Stay at home and if you do need to go out for essentials, remember, Hands. Face. Space. Test.
  • Did you know that you must still follow guidance around #HandsFaceSpace even if you’ve had your Covid-19 vaccine? Wear a face covering, keep your distance and wash your hands regularly.
  • Click here for more information on #doingourbit to stop the spread.

• Staffordshire Police is inviting residents and businesses to take part in a new survey
  The ‘Your police. Your voice.’ survey, which is open until Monday 8 February provides the public with an opportunity to share their views on crime and policing locally. This survey will assist the police force to achieve its vision of a safer Staffordshire and will result in a better understanding of the issues which matter most to local communities to ensure that services and resources are being delivered in the best way to address people’s concerns. As this is the first public confidence survey for a number of years we’d be grateful of your support in sharing this survey with your audiences.
• #CountyLines campaign
  A County Lines campaign is running between Monday 1 February and Sunday 14 February to support the aim of reducing criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults in Staffordshire. South Staffordshire Community Safety Partnership is supporting the Staffordshire Police campaign to highlight the signs of County Lines.

Are your children, or are you aware of children, spending more time online during the national lockdown? At the moment, there are far less opportunities for face-to-face grooming of children and young people so instead criminal are using online methods. Children can be recruited to distribute drugs in return for money, mobiles, credit, expensive clothing, jewellery, or other items. Please find more information on the #CountyLines campaign here

Please help by sharing their #CountyLines posts on their Facebook: @Staffordshire Police and Twitter: @StaffsPolice

• Star Count and the AONB Dark Skies Project
  This February the AONB, together with the countryside charity CPRE, are inviting everyone to take part in Star Count 2021, a fun and easy way to enjoy the wonders of the universe. If you live in or around Cannock Chase AONB, we need your help to count the stars. The project is due to Cannock Chase having the highest levels of light pollution of all England’s 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Find out more information on the Star Count here. 

• New online exercise classes
  Additional live online classes have started this week. Classes are currently free to leisure centre members.  The classes are, however, also available for non-members on a pay as you go basis or an online class membership is available. 
• On Demand classes now available
  In addition to providing 33 live exercise classes per week, we are delighted to be able to now offer users access to lots of ‘On Demand’ workouts which everyone can do at their own convenience. The on-demand classes are available for leisure centre members and online class members.  Access the on-demand sessions here. 
• Be kind to yourself

It’s more important than ever that during lockdown we interact with people, keep positive and look after our minds.  For more information about how you can help to stay positive and lift your mood, visit Every Mind Matters 

• The benefits of Meditation

Meditation has so many benefits:

• Reduces stress
• Helps to cure headaches
• Boosts energy levels
• Increases creativity
• Helps to boost self-esteem and positivity

South Staffordshire’s Leisure Centres provide some live and online classes which incorporate meditation:

• Stretch and Meditation with Yvonne – Wednesdays 6.45-7.25pm
• Yoga and meditation with Hansa – Fridays 5-5.40pm
• For more information on our online classes here
• CCU Recruitment Opportunity
  The Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit is currently recruiting for a Civil Contingencies Officer. It would be appreciated if you could help by circulating the opportunity. The closing date for applications is the 14 February 2021, advert and full details for the CCU Recruitment Opportunity are available online.

Regular information

• Next week’s Council Committee/Panel meetings
• Cabinet – Tuesday, 9 February 2021 – 2.00 pm – public virtual meeting via Teams.
• Audit & Risk Committee – Tuesday, 9 February 2021 – 4.00 pm – public virtual meeting via Teams.

Members of the public can virtually attend these meetings via Microsoft Teams – in the news section at the bottom of the Council’s website, you will find the relevant news item that will include a link to enable you to join. 

Everyone is encouraged to submit news items, please email: comms@sstaffs.gov.uk