District Council News

Look at our Gallery for useful reminder signs that came with this news letter

 

Dear members, volunteer coordinators and parish councillors

 

With many more shops and hospitality venues reopening for business there is a sense that things are returning to normal, but you may be aware that there is a Countywide campaign to encourage everyone to #KeepCaring for each other, as the virus hasn’t gone away. You can read a little more about the campaign or share our Facebook or Twitter posts to help remind your communities that there is still a need to stay alert and to look out for others by doing things such as wearing face coverings, keeping a safe distance, and regularly washing hands.

 

The work of community groups will continue to be vitally important and we continue to be grateful for the support you have provided to people in your communities. Patch leads are contacting your groups to check in and see whether any additional support is needed as some of you may have less time as people begin to return to work and life returns a little more to normal.

Shielding relaxed from 6 July

From 6 July, anyone shielding has been able to spend more time outdoors, meeting up to six other people. Social distancing will not be needed with other members of their own household and people shielding who live alone can join a support bubble with another household and these can be in each other’s homes.

 

From 1 August, people will be advised that they no longer need to shield. This group will then be able to visit shops or other public places and return to work if they can’t work from home. However, they still need to follow social distancing. Government food parcels will also end, on 31 July, but supermarkets will continue priority online slots beyond that date. It might be helpful to be aware of Age UK’s shopping service for people aged 65+ or vulnerable people who need help to get their weekly groceries.

 

Priority food slots for Tesco and Iceland deliveries

The Council now has access to a system set up by DEFRA (The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) to allow us to add residents to receive priority online food delivery slots from Tesco and Iceland.

 

Who is the service for?

This service is different to the shielding priority food slot scheme run nationally. As outlined above, the shielding scheme is being paused at the end of July and everyone on the scheme is being urged to ensure they have updated their profiles to secure online priority with a range of supermarkets.

 

This new scheme allows residents who cannot go food shopping due to Covid-related reasons access to priority slots with Tesco and Iceland for a defined amount of time depending on their need. This can be between 2 and 40 weeks (up until 31 March 2021).

 

The systems for the two supermarkets work slightly differently, but are both applied for by completing the online form on our website. A member of the Sustainable Communities team will get back to the resident with details once their application has been assessed and processed. The resident will need an online account for either supermarket to place their order.

We are not setting tight criteria on who can access the scheme but will ask people why they need the online priority when applying. The online priority we can provide will help people who may need to isolate due to the national track and trace system, help people manage any future local lockdown, or support a vulnerable resident who has needed to be protected from Coronavirus and has ongoing issues with securing a supermarket delivery slot.

 

If you have any queries about this scheme or need any support to help residents sign up, please contact your patch lead or the team.

 

Best wishes

 

Bridget Smith

Leader South Cambridgeshire District Council