Day 32 of Lockdown
Day 32 sees another slew of updates from Borough & County Councils, some anti-fraud stuff, the Tik-Tok videos of the Co-op dancers stitched together into one and a musical interlude.
- Support for Vulnerable Residents.
- Fraud Alerts.
- Local businesses missing out on financial support.
- A musical interlude from Princess Ariel.
But first, let’s enjoy the Co-op Dancers:
Dancing for West Bergholt
What better way to spend your evening after a hard day’s work than spending 45 minutes rehearsing some dance moves. Well, that’s what Katie Holmes thought the staff at the Co-op needed to lift the mood. As well as lifted spirits, the video below is the result of their labours. Four short Tik-Toks merged into one:
… just as well it was a warm day!
Support for Vulnerable Residents
Both Essex & Colchester Councils issued press notices today on this subject:
Essex Welfare Service
The Essex Welfare Service, Essex County Council’s new service, has been established to help vulnerable people in our community who are shielding at home and are in need of support. It is specifically for those people who are not able to get any support from either family or friends or neighbours.
Having now signed up thousands of amazing volunteers, nearly 2,800 of these willing helpers are supporting vulnerable residents with tasks like grocery shopping. EWS is directing volunteers to support residents each day via community hubs. So far almost 9,000 people across the county have been directly supported.
Partnership
ECC has been working in partnership with district councils, local NHS CCGs, the British Red Cross and other partners to ensure people who need support are able to access it. GPs across the county have started to send messages to patients directing them to the Essex Welfare Service.
If they need support the system is simple and effective – the resident contacts the Essex Welfare Service via phone or online. Support is then provided via the network of community hubs, that have been established in each district, or directly by an EWS volunteer. Support for vulnerable people ranges from help with shopping, medicine or day to day tasks that support them to stay healthy and well whilst shielding at home.
One grateful recipient of the service said:
I registered with you on 7th April and just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for all your help and support, and in particular to the person who helped me when I was distressed on the phone.
She was so patient and reassuring that by the end of the phone call I was able to make a joke! Because of your help I have received two food boxes and am now registered on supermarket websites, enabling me to book priority slots. Thank you again.
Another even presented volunteers with a thank-you card, writing:
I wanted to say a big thank you for being angels. Your kindness is really appreciated, and I feel so grateful to you all, giving up your time to help me in this challenging time.
The Essex Welfare Service can be contacted by sending an email to [email protected] or call 0300 303 9988.
One Colchester
One Colchester, the local strategic partnership supporting the community response to Covid-19, continues to help and support residents across the borough.
Over the last few weeks, One Colchester partners have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to support the community and each other. From delivering essential food and medicines to the most vulnerable residents in Colchester, to sharing of essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ensuring every partner has what they need to deliver their valuable services as safely as possible.
Partners are also supporting resident’s wellbeing through a wide range of activities, including delivering thousands of befriending phone calls, supporting those who live on their own, to producing engaging activities to support everyone’s wellbeing.
One Colchester partners are:
- Coordinating over 300 volunteers through Community360.
- Responding to a 300% increase in Food Bank demand.
- Collecting and delivering over 60 prescriptions every week.
- Making over 300 weekly befriending phone calls.
Several measures have also been put in place to support local businesses. This includes Colchester Borough Council awarding over £20 million to support local businesses, hosting a digital directory signposting business across the borough to vital information to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
In addition, over the next three months, the council will be offering financial support to the Colchester Business Enterprise Agency (COLBEA), which provides business advice to new and existing businesses. This funding will be used to broaden COLBEA’s ability to support local businesses through the COVID-19 crises and into recovery.
If you need volunteer help or would like to volunteer, please email [email protected] or call 01206 505250.
The One Colchester partnership comprises the council, voluntary sector, police, health, education and the business community along with many others. They are committed to close collaboration in support of our communities.
Fraud Alerts
Suspicious Calls from Councils?
We have heard that there are a variety of council-related telephone scams circulating. People have received calls stating that their Council Tax banding may have changed, but when challenged the callers hung up. In these difficult times, we need to empower you to be able to challenge callers on their identity.
Before handing over personal details, always remember ABC:
- Never Assume they are legitimate.
- Never Believe they are legitimate.
- Always Confirm using a trusted number or asking friends and family.
Be Cyber Aware
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has relaunched its Cyber Aware campaign to support people in the current situation. More people than ever are working from home or turning to the internet for entertainment, shopping or keeping in touch and it’s important to know how to keep yourself safe online. The NCSC has also created a new service for the public to be able to report suspicious emails. With your help, the public can fight back against phishing (where criminal use suspicious emails to obtain peoples personal details) and can help the NCSC to take down a significant number of malicious websites.
The email should be forwarded to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service at [email protected].
The NCSC are also reminding people of the things you can do to protect yourself online.
6 TOP TIPS
- Create a separate password for your email.
- Create a strong password using three random words.
- Save your passwords in your browser.
- Turn on two-factor authentication.
- Update your devices.
- Turn on backup.
Do You Run a Local Business?
Essex businesses are being encouraged to take action and apply for Government funding; figures show thousands are not yet accessing what they are entitled to.
As of 19th April, records show more than £175million of Government business grants have been issued to over 14,000 businesses Essex-wide. But there are still more than 9,000 businesses across Essex yet to receive funding which is available to them.
Borough, district and city councils across the county are doing everything they can to distribute funding as quickly as possible but in some cases the local authority does not have the business bank details to be able to transfer the funds. Local councils are struggling to contact businesses which are currently closed and are urging businesses to get in touch via their local authority websites to provide the details required.
There are also many businesses that have not applied to claim what they are entitled to. Businesses who do not usually pay business rates to their local council are also eligible to apply.
The grants are not loans and businesses will not be required to pay the money back later.
Around 40% Might be Missing Out on Grants
Records show that more than 23,000 Essex businesses are entitled to financial support from the Government. Around 40% are yet to receive any funds and ECC says claim now to make sure they don’t miss out.
Businesses can apply for funding via their local authority at: www.essex.gov.uk/applying-for-small-business-grants-in-essex
Other Support
The Government announced a package of financial support to help businesses survive the lockdown. The aim of the funding support is to prevent as many permanent business closures and job losses as possible. The support available includes:
- business rates relief,
- a Job Retention Scheme, and
- various other grants to help businesses stay afloat and pay their staff while not working.
Full details of the support options available are published at: www.essex.gov.uk/support-for-employers-and-businesses.
Essex County Council is keen to help as many businesses as possible to survive through the current pandemic and has established a dedicated Covid-19 ECC Business Support Service to help assist businesses to understand the options available to them, signpost them to appropriate points of contact or information, and help answer questions. Businesses can contact the team online, or via Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.