Armed forces to help with mass testing within the Liverpool City area

WE are hearing claims that the army will be:- "patrolling the streets" to enforce Coronavirus regulations, but this is not correct and is "scaremongering." The issue came as 'Fake News' makers heard that Merseyside Police was going to have 'additional patrols' within the Liverpool area for October and mixing it up with today's announcement, that the British Army had been formal request for assistance from the Armed Forces with testing in Liverpool. It is hoped that the availability of the Forces personnel will allow more texting to take place and that should pick up more cases. If correct, this will then help to cut the transmission of the virus quicker and help to save the City from more strict Coronavirus restrictions later down the line. If the scheme, that was the brain child of the Council Leaders, within Liverpool City Region Authority, is a success, then it will then be used across the UK. So please don't worry. The Armed Forces are helping with Testing only and not "patrolling the streets." They have been tasked with identifying clusters of local infections, helping control outbreaks by lending logistic and testing support. They will also be asked from Friday, 6 November 2020, to help identify businesses failing to comply with the Covid19 rules.

MP challenges Prime Minister over lockdown support for the "excluded"

MP Bill Esterson directly challenged the Prime Minister to explain how he expected millions of workers who have been excluded from Government support to survive the new lockdown. Sefton Central MP Mr Esterson asked the Prime Minister Boris Johnson following his statement in the House of Commons, on Monday, how the 1 in 20 workers who'd had no access to help would put food on the table. Mr Esterson said the Prime Minister's response failed to offer any hope to those who had missed out on support throughout the crisis and ignored the question asked, He said it was:- "an insult" to those who through no fault of their own had been the most severely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. He also accused the PM of causing more financial hardship and risking more lives through delaying the new harsher restrictions.

In the House Of Commons, Mr Esterson asked the PM:- "It's been 33 weeks since the start of the 1st lockdown. In that time 1 in 20 people who are part of the working population have had no work, but also have been ineligible for furlough, ineligible for the self employed financial support and ineligible for the business grants and loans. So what is the Prime Minister's message to the millions of people who have had no financial support about how they should put food on the table for their families?"

The Prime Minister responded:- "I'm grateful to him because he raises a very important point. We've put another ₤9bn into the welfare system principally by updating Universal Credit and that will go through to the next year as he knows."

Mr Esterson said the response ignored the plight of the millions of people whose homes and businesses were at risk due to a lack of support, and that the announcement of a new lockdown had come too late. The question was about why so many people in work had been excluded from support not about the welfare system.

Mr Esterson said:- "What an insult to those people who have had no support at all. While the Prime Minister accepts that furlough should be 80%r of a worker's normal wages, he has abandoned those who are freelancers, who switched jobs in early March or who own businesses that pay them through dividends. He also ignored many self employed people who have not qualified for support. The response referring to Universal Credit was completely irrelevant and totally inadequate. Everything in the Prime Minister's statement to Parliament begged the question why didn't he do this sooner? He said he made no apology for trying to do his level best. But he was advised to have a circuit break on 21 September by his scientific advisers. The delay has caused financial problems for thousands of families and sadly thousands more have seen loved ones die while the Government failed to follow the evidence given to him."

Mr Esterson said he supported the new lockdown measures but the circuit break should have occurred over the recent half term holidays. He said:- "Labour support the new lockdown because urgent action is now needed to stop the infection growing even further out of control. Labour called for a circuit break on 14 October 2020, but the Government's inexcusable delay has meant the opportunity to lock down during a School Holiday was wasted. This means the new lockdown has potentially come too late for many people and will have to last longer to have the same effect on the infection rate. The Government must use this time to fix the test and trace system, end the failure and scandalous use of public funds which has seen Serco profit whilst failing to deliver an effective test and trace system. The Government must hand test and trace to local teams who are best placed to make contact with positive cases and trace their contacts and it must give the cash to those local public health teams and stop giving it the friends and family of Government Ministers and Officials. We also need to see regular, weekly testing of all key workers including all NHS staff, carers and teachers. School staff and children must be given the same priority for testing as NHS workers. The Government must expand mass testing using the saliva based testing innovations that have been so successful in containing outbreaks in our Universities in order to identify asymptomatic cases and stop this virus from spreading. The national lockdown is weeks later than it should have been. Now that it is finally happening, the Government must use it to take the decisive action that they should have taken long ago."

Leading care home provider recruiting more than 120 roles in the North West as part of a nation wide refresh of services

LEADING care home provider, 4 Seasons Health Care, is seeking more than 120 recruits to fill roles in every home in the North West as part of a refresh of resident services following Covid19. The positions are among 1000 being offered at 4 Seasons' 140 homes throughout England and Scotland, including those in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria. The vacancies and are in non-clinical roles that will further enhance the safety and wellbeing of residents. These include activities personnel who play a vital role in providing companionship and entertainment to residents, as well as kitchen and housekeeping roles which are essential to the delivery of high quality care. The recruitment drive comes as ongoing restrictions on visitation, excursions and entertainment have prompted the provider to find new ways of ensuring residents remain happy and healthy during trying times. No care home experience is needed and those with a background in hospitality are particularly encouraged to apply to make use of transferable skills including communication, teamwork, high quality service and multitasking.

Cheryl Jones, Head of Recruitment at 4 Seasons Health Care said:- "Every role in a care home is vital to delivering an excellent experience for our residents. Our teams are made up of people from a wide variety of career backgrounds, but what they share is an energy and enthusiasm for their role. By adding new members to our team, we can continue to maintain our high standards of safety and just as importantly to make sure our residents are happy. This is a fantastic opportunity for any individuals looking to make a real difference in the lives of others, no matter if they're on the activities team, preparing meals or helping with maintenance."

For further information on the roles or to apply, visit:- Careers.FSHC.Co.UK.

"Support for businesses facing new lockdown not enough for many small firms in Liverpool City Region" says FSB

RESPONDING to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement of new business support measures for firms facing a second lockdown Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Area Leader for Liverpool City Region, Michael Sandys, said:- "It's a relief to see the Prime Minister listening to some of our calls for extra support for small businesses and the self employed. The up-rating of the Self Employment Income Scheme to 80% for November is generous and will likely help around 2 million self employed people; bringing forward the application date is helpful. However, many of our self employed are still not included in the initiative. This is a 5 million strong community that drives our economy forward, but the Government has insisted that large swathes of it do not warrant any help where income is concerned. We have sadly already seen 250,000 self employed people stop working and become economically inactive, a figure which is set to continue rising. Our recommendation for an emergency loan application deadline extension has been embraced which is encouraging. We are now speaking with the Treasury about the installation of the option to top up these facilities given that many sought them months back, when the full extent of disruption was unknown. They should be allowed to apply for a 2nd time. We also need to see lenders opening their doors to new customers again. Without this, the impact of the extension will be minimal. The Government has committed to looking again at the reinstatement of the unfair Minimum Income Floor for self employed people accessing Universal Credit. We now need to see words turned into action. It is cruel to impose a false assumption of earnings just as people need support the most. The cash grants on offer are important but are not as generous or comprehensive as the Small Business Cash Grants provided in the Spring; most won't even be enough to cover rents. The restrictions imposed on firms are stifling settings which SAGE advisers state have a minimal impact on the R rate. At the same time, far too many small firms are still being caught by an outdated, bruising business rates system and are looking to 2021 with a sense of real foreboding, wondering how they will be able to afford Government imposed upfront costs without any revenues. To address the looming unemployment crisis we now need to make it cheaper to employ people by reducing employer national insurance contributions, creating new support measures for those looking to set up firms and become self employed, and introducing UK Transition Vouchers to help small businesses as they attempt to manage both a new trading relationship with Europe and fresh restrictions linked to Covid. Fundamentally, the business support landscape still remains too much of a mixed picture; a fact made all the more concerning given that this fresh lockdown in England is taking effect during the critical festive season. There are those; including company directors, the newly self employed, start ups, those without physical premises and those further down supply chains in especially hard hit sectors; who are struggling to access any meaningful support at all. Until these cracks are addressed, our economic recovery is destined to keep faltering."