York Council publishes background papers for COVID 19 decisions

York Council propaganda wearing thin?

Residents will be getting a bit tired now of the bogus assertions being made by some York Council officials about home food deliveries. Its quite likely that the government box scheme, arranged with supermarkets, to address the needs of extremely vulnerable groups is going well. We have heard nothing recently which suggests otherwise

The Council also says that they are satisfying the demand for information about paid for doorstep food delivery.

We don’t think that they are.

They say, “The council’s support line is also helping people who can afford to buy their shopping but can’t get a delivery slot, or who people who can’t order online. With a local news provider (YorkMix), we have compiled a list of businesses which are able to deliver food and other services, and this is shared with all residents”.

In reality the list is selective and far from complete. Lists on other commercial websites have similar limitations. Fair enough if they give priority to their regular advertisers (news channels also have to survive in difficult times) but the Council needs to adopt a more even handed approach.

The Council endorsed list excludes conventional takeaways, about 50% of whom are maintaining at least some sort of delivery service in the City. That’s quite important if you are hungry!

It doesn’t mention the situation at supermarkets which normally account for a large proportion of shopping volumes in the City. Pipelines are long (3 weeks +)

Nor is there any mention of pharmacy delivery arrangements.

Some emerging offers – like the elusive extension of “Deliveroo” and other courier services to the suburbs – also merits Council comment.

Perhaps the most concerning issue, for residents wishing to support neighbourhood “indie” outlets, some of whom are struggling to stay afloat, is that many don’t even get a mention.

In the Westfield area there are at least 10 food outlets offering some sort of delivery service. Only one is listed; the Acomb Greengrocer- and good luck to them.

The list looks like an advertising promotion with the information behind the adverts failing to provide – in some cases – even details of contactless ordering and payment options.

There are some examples of good customer service amongst the list. Several traders have grasped the need for an easy to use, prompt and efficient service. They, in particular, will deserve to prosper when things return to “normal”

But until delivery information takes the form of a comprehensive database which can be interrogated, and which is kept up to date in real time, then there will be those who feel it is unfair to those businesses that are not listed.

Currently it is not as useful as it should be and doesn’t warrant a Council endorsement.

Coronavirus York updates: 17th April 2020

Coronavirus cases up in York

EIGHT more patients with coronavirus have died at York NHS trust hospitals. NHS England said a total of 65 patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 had now died at York Hospital and Scarborough Hospital, which are both run by York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Latest figures from Public Health England show there were 160 confirmed coronavirus cases in the City of York Council area today, compared with 153 yesterday.

Over £100m paid out to businesses in response to Coronavirus

A York Council media release claims that “5,500 York businesses have now benefited from over £100m of grants and relief as part of City of York Council’s efforts to support businesses and protect jobs during the Coronavrirus outbreak”.

The media release pointedly doesn’t reveal how many claims are outstanding, how many have been rejected or how long processing is taking.

The Council says that “a specialist team have worked round the clock to ensure businesses get the government grants and business rates relief as quickly as possible, whilst carrying out rigorous checks to make sure that fraudsters cannot take advantage of the situation.

The £100m is made up of two main funding sources, business rates relief which accounts for £66m and a further £34m in business grants, paid out to over 2500 accounts”.

Since opening applications for the grants the council says it has received over 3500 applications and has been working to speed up a process which includes government-defined requirements to:

  • collect company information including VAT registration details
  • clear every application through the government’s anti-fraud systems
  • verify bank details and company identity

The council is working through the remaining payments as fast as possible. This includes carrying out anti-fraud checks for companies which have never had a financial relationship with the council before, and those where clarity is required over who is liable for business rates – and therefore the grant – at the property.

The council is reminding businesses that it may contact them by phone, and to follow this advice to speed up the process and guard against fraud.

  • We may contact you by phone. Make sure you have your unique application form reference number – which you received after you applied for the grant – and your business rates account number to hand. We may also use part of your bank details to verify your identity. Only the council and the correct applicant will know these details. 
  • The council will never ask you for a payment. If you are at all suspicious, hang up the phone and contact the public protection team straight away, by email protection@york.gov.ukor 01904 551525.
  • Please don’t contact the council just to check on the timing of your payment as this will only slow payments down, and please do not reply to this email as we will not be able to respond.

Any business which believes it is eligible for the government grants but is yet to apply should do so immediately at www.york.gov.uk/COVIDBusinessGrant

  • We’re contacting all businesses in these cases to try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
  • Urge any business that hasn’t applied to get in touch. We will chase all those we believe are eligible soon.

Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Keith Aspden, said:

“We have listened to businesses and recognised that processing these payments as quickly as possible was vital to ensuring the long-term resilience of businesses and York’s economy. That is why council officers have been working round the clock to progress these payments, whilst ensuring all the required checks are met.”

“I hope that the support provided by the Council will help local businesses during this difficult period and continue to support York’s vibrant local economy. I would also like to thank officers for their hard work and dedication to get these payments to businesses as quick as they have.”

“For businesses who do not meet the requirements for the Government’s businesses grants, we have created a local emergency fund totaling £1 million to support the city’s small and micro businesses, and I would urge any businesses who hasn’t already done so, to get in touch with the Council and see what support is on offer to them.”

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the Economy and Strategic Planning, said:

“It was clear to us just how important it was to get the grant payments to all these businesses as quick as possible. They form an integral part of York’s economy, bringing in £2bn annually and supporting thousands of jobs.

We’re also providing a range of support, advice and guidance for businesses, including free advertising across our local media for any businesses still operating.”

Shopping

It’s still peak food shopping day for some people so supermarkets may be busy. Generally supermarkets are returning to their “normal” hours to ease queue lengths. Relatively few shortages with maximum purchase limits also being eased.

ASDA are now saying that their hours will be 8:00am – 10:00pm Mon – Sat (Sun 10:00am – 4:00pm)

ALDI now have the same opening hours (8:00am – 10:00pm). Queue priority given to emergency and NHS workers.

Lidl (Hours same).

Waitrose About as much chance of getting a delivery slot as winning the Euro Millions lottery. (Good luck with tonight’s draw)

All stores have now confirmed what the @FoxwoodRA queue monitoring web site had already concluded. They are least busy (normally) after 2:00pm with very few queues in the late evening

A new app has been launched which aims to tell potential shoppers how busy local stores are in “real time”. It seems to depend on users reporting what they find on their shopping trip -so a bit limited in York at the moment. Still it might take off. https://crowdlessapp.co/. Download from the App store (Crowdless)

Community hubs

Sources within the Council say that the support Hubs that they set up are “very quiet”. They have adequate numbers of volunteers to deal with current demand levels.

Officially the Council briefs that, “Almost 3,300 volunteers are signed up to the council’s scheme help the most vulnerable and all are offered safeguarding training and information governance training to protect people’s personal information. Among the volunteers deployed, 50 are working alongside the city’s Local Area Co-ordinators and nearly 140 are working out of the community hubs

 Thousands of welfare calls have been made to vulnerable or medically shielded residents by the council’s volunteering network, in addition to the contacts being made by York CVS, Age UK and other partners. As well as checking on their immediate wellbeing, these calls mean vulnerable people have someone to speak to and also can get the latest information about the support available to thm and how they can access it should they need it.

 Some volunteers are registered with or assigned to work with partners like Move the Masses, GoodGym or York Neighbours. The volunteers are asked to carry out a wide range of tasks, the majority are for shopping or collecting prescriptions”.

 Adult social care

A Council briefing says, “In response to these unprecedented times, and in line with Government guidance, our priorities in adult social care during COVID-19 are to:

  • work with the NHS to ensure people are discharged from hospital and supported in the community with appropriate health and social care
  • safeguard and protect those adults considered most at risk in our city
  • respond to urgent and immediate care and support requirements
  • work with our local care homes and care providers to support clinically vulnerable communities
  • support our local carers who are looking after clinically vulnerable people

Advice for parents

Today’s e-newsletter for families includes an important message:

Coping with a crying baby can be difficult at any time, but particularly challenging at the moment, when stress levels at home may be increased. ICON is a programme which can help you or your partner to cope with infant crying:

I – Infant crying is normal
C – comforting methods can help
O – It’s ok to walk away
N – never, ever shake a baby

Download the ICON leaflet for parents and carers here: http://iconcope.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CS49907-NYY-ICON-LEAFLET-NEW.pdf

Speak to someone if you need support, such as your friends, Midwife, GP or health visitor. For more information visit http://www.iconcope.org/

To get in touch with our Health Visitor Teams please call
01904 555475 (Monday to Friday 08:30-17:00) or email HCS-Secure@york.gov.uk