Council News

• Public consultation for new ward boundaries closes on 02 August 2021.
  The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has announced that it is minded to recommend that the council should have 41 councillors in the future. They are now drawing up a new pattern of wards to accommodate 41 councillors and asking local people and organisations for their help to draw up the new ward boundaries across South Staffordshire District Council. 

Please share this information on the Boundary Review and the Commissions dedicated consultation section on its website https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/27826, to local people and organisations. The Commission also has a dedicated section on its website to keep you up to date as the review progresses.

This stage of the consultation closes on 02 August 2021.

The Council is also responsible for producing a Warding Pattern Submission to the LGBCE, which is being led by Members through the Your Council Challenge Panel.

• Council Job Vacancies

Why not join our fantastic team; apply today!

• Street Scene Operative – Level 2, closing 5pm on 28 July 2021. Application Information
• Street Scene Operative – Level 4 (Arboriculturalist), closing 5pm on 19 July 2021.  Application Information
• Systems Support Officer Apprenticeship, closing midnight on 30 July 2021. Application Information
• Benefit Assessment Officer Apprenticeship, closing midnight on 30 July 2021. Application Information
• Customer Services Welfare Advisor Apprenticeship, closing midnight on 30 July 2021. Application Information
• COVID-19 Support Officers, open closing date, Application Information 

• Next week’s Council Committee meetings
  • Planning Committee – Tuesday, 20 July 2021 – 6.30 pm – Council Chamber
  • Standards & Resources Committee – Thursday 22 July 2021 – Council Chamber

Members of the public can virtually attend meetings via Microsoft Teams – a link can be found in    the news section at the bottom of the Council’s website. 

Leisure News

• Holiday Activities and Food Scheme

South Staffordshire Council has been allocated funding through Staffordshire County Council to provide children in receipt of free school meals with free access to the school holiday activity camps with a free food parcel. Eligible families should contact their child’s school to request details. 

• The Space Scheme

As part of The Space Scheme, funded by the office of Police and Crime Commissioner, South Staffs leisure centres are providing local children with subsidised access to a range of Active Youth gym sessions, and 3G pitch.  Additional funding recently awarded will go towards subsidising swimming for children throughout the summer.

• Click here for more details about the SPACE scheme.

• CHANGES TO LEISURE CENTRE PROTOCOLS COMMENCING 19 JULY 2021

After the latest announcement form the Government confirming that restrictions are easing, we wanted to clarify safety protocols going forward for the leisure centres.

Although many rules will be removed from Monday 19 July, based on best practice there remains basic safety measures in place.

Although we are delighted to be able to increase provisions and access, and finally return to some normality; we equally want to take a sensible approach to resuming services and ensure that our staff and customers continue to feel safe when visiting us and have an enjoyable experience.

The following safety measures will remain in place:

• Sanitise hands on arrival
• We advise you to keep your distance from other users
• Face masks are not essential however customers and staff are welcome to wear face coverings
• One-way systems through the centre will remain in place to help reduce congestion

Please click here to visit our website to familiarise yourself with additional measures in place within each of our facility areas.

 Information and Resources
Please note: A Helpful Resources webpage on the Councils Website is coming soon. The Council News Round Up will then briefly update you on new resources that have been added to the webpage each week.

• Think 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk – A Message from the NHS 

Earlier this year, NHS England announced that they are expecting an increase in childhood respiratory illnesses in children, especially babies, who have not had chance to build a strong immunity due to social distancing.   We are encouraging parents to stock up their medicine cabinets and be prepared to treat minor symptoms and illnesses at home. A&E departments are increasingly busy; patients are being urged not to turn up at A&E unless their child’s symptoms are life threatening.  Please click her for further NHS information on how to care for child through colds, coughs and ear infections.

When to seek help

• If your child has a sore throat for more than 4 days, a high temperature and is generally unwell, contact your GP or call 111.
• If they’re unable to swallow fluids or saliva or have any difficulty breathing, go to A&E or call 999 immediately as they may need urgent treatment in hospital.
• If your child’s symptoms worsen, contact your health visitor, GP or call 111.

Please click the links below to watch short videos on how to care for your child:

• How to care for a child with a fever animation
• How to care for your baby if they have a cold
• How to care for your baby if they have Bronchiolitis
• How to access urgent care in Stafford, Leek, Stoke-on-Trent or Newcastle areas  

• Voluntary Magistrate Positions

Are you interested in becoming a Magistrate in Staffordshire? Do you want to find out more?

• Click here to find out further information on the positions and how to apply.
• You may also contact the Chairman of the Staffordshire Bench, Adrian Robinson via email at [email protected]

• Memory Walk

Compton Care are organising this event and the aim is that individuals, families and friends can spend time reflecting and remembering loved ones in a breath-taking setting.

Whether you have a connection to Compton or whether you just want to take part in the event as you missed the opportunity to pay your last respects to someone special through lockdown, Compton Care hope that this event gives you the opportunity to take part in something really special.

Date:                    Sunday 19^th September 2021

Location:              Chillington Hall, WV8 1RE

Start time:            11:00am

• Click here for further information on the Compton Care Memory Walk
• Click here to register for the Memory Walk

• IRONMAN 70.3 – Sunday 18^th July

Delivering an event which is safe and enjoyable for everyone has remained a priority throughout the planning stages. All the planning for the event has been led by the IRONMAN organisation alongside local councils, police, fire and emergency services and all within the latest public health guidelines.

You can learn more about IRONMAN 70.3 STAFFORDSHIRE, including how to check out those all-important route and road access guides – at the official IRONMAN website. www.ironman.com/im703-staffordshire

• Safe and Sound

Safe+Sound is aimed at Year 5 and Year 6 pupils, but also very good bitesize information for parents and carers. The themes this week were:

• Water Safety – Staffordshire Police
• Enjoying the Countryside Safely – Peak District National Park
• Stay Safe in the Station – Network Rail
• Water Safety – Stoke-on-Trent City Council
• Electrical Safety – Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service
• The Countryside Code – Natural England
• T-shirt Challenge – Time4Sport

Please follow the link to watch all programmes. 

COVID-19 Update

• Covid 19 Update

On 19 July, most legal restrictions will end, removing social distancing and social contact restrictions and enabling remaining businesses to reopen. From 19^th July:

• No restrictions on numbers attending life events such as weddings, parties etc., and the ban on singing and dancing will be lifted.
• All remaining premises, including night clubs, can reopen.
• All legal limits on social distancing will be lifted. 

• BUT Covid-19 is not over!

The success of the vaccination rollout has paved the way for the safe and gradual lifting of restrictions. But no vaccine is 100% effective and, like all viruses, Covid-19 can mutate.

As further restrictions are lifted, there will sadly be more cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

Step 4 does not mark the end of the need for caution and restraint.

At Step 4, while many of the legal restrictions that the Government has imposed through the pandemic will be lifted, cautious guidance will remain making it clear this is not yet a return to normal.

While cases are high and rising, everybody needs to continue to act carefully and remain cautious.

• Ongoing key protections to be kept in place
• Symptomatic testing and targeted asymptomatic testing in education, high risk workplaces and to help people manage their personal risk
• Isolating when positive or when contacted by NHS Test and Trace
• Border quarantine: for all arriving from red list countries, and for those people arriving from amber list countries, other than those UK residents fully vaccinated in the UK vaccine programme.

• Guidance to protect yourself
• Whilst Government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, Government expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer.
• Government expects and recommends people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as busy public transport.
• Fresh air is key! Meet outside when you can; plenty of ventilation when meeting indoors.
• Minimising the number, proximity and duration of social contacts.

Remember! Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air!

• Vaccination

Please continue to encourage people to have their vaccination, particularly the 18-25 year olds and the over 40s.

This link contains details of the walk-in vaccinations for this week and the upcoming weekend in Staffordshire and details of how you can book your vaccination if you can’t get to a walk-in clinic.  

• Covid-19 Asymptomatic testing options

Asymptomatic residents are encouraged to test at least twice a week. If you test positive, please isolate for 10 days. There are three options available, of which are all free:

• Collect test kits from a pharmacy; click here to find the nearest one to you.
• Order test kits online by clicking here. These will be sent to your home address.
• Visit a test site to either collect test kits or to have a test done.
• South Staffordshire’s semi-permanent Covid-19 Community Testing site is Wombourne Library.
• Further updates on daily pop-up testing sites all around South Staffordshire can be found on South Staffordshire Councils Facebook page.

Please note: Anyone with symptoms should not attend and instead book a PCR test online here.

• Lateral flow testing Guidance

The Government has published step-by-step guides on how to do a rapid, lateral flow test at home. The guides include video demonstrations of how to carry out the test for yourself or a child as well as information on how to read and report the result.

Click here for guidance on Lateral Flow Tests and a video demonstrating how to do one.

Click here to follow step by step instructions on using a lateral flow test kit – nose only test.

Click here to follow step by step instructions on how to do a nose and throat lateral flow test.