Vandalism connected to Covid19 conspiracies is rising in Sefton

OVER the last few weeks we have seen a rise in vandalism connected to Coronavirus restrictions rising along with the number of cases of the virus being seen. The latest issues have seen walls and property spray painted with graffiti, with anti Lockdown messages, leaving businesses and other property owners having to pay to get it cleaned. Some of the property sprayed we are told has been badly damaged in some areas as well.

Today we had more of reports of 'Anti Lockdown' graffiti being sprayed on buildings in Sefton. If you spot anyone doing this graffiti, please contact the Police. Don't put yourself in a vulnerable position. Do not try to tackle them yourselves. Call:- 101 and give a full description of the offenders. If people are conned into believing this misinformation it will undoubtedly cost the NHS dearly and more lives needlessly lost. This has to stop!

1 of the locations was the entrance to Crosby Hall Educational Trust, who said, that the paint was extremely hard to remove and took a lot of unnecessary time and effort to deal with. At a time they are struggling with funding, to deal with damage to a listed building is something they can ill afford. "If anyone has any information that could help us to identify the culprit please get in touch by telephone:- 01519249099 or email:- Office@CHETCentre.Org.UK."

We are told Merseyside Police are aware of the rising concerns regarding this issue and are actively seeking to deal with it. They urge that you contact them directly, should you spot the offenders. If you have any DashCam footage that can help, please let them know. A spokesperson said:- "This is certainly not a joke, this is a serious matter. It is upsetting for those affected by the Pandemic and those who have to remove this defacement. We will prosecute those who conduct any act of vandalism like this."

We have also been informed that Sefton Council has also been contacted about the issue of road signs being tagged in the Southport area.
 

Bill Esterson MP reacts to Lockdown and School closures

THE MP for Sefton Central, Bill Esterson MP reacted to the new National Lockdown saying the tightening of restrictions was necessary to combat rising Covid19 infections, but that a swift rollout of the vaccine was now:- "essentia." Schools and Colleges in England have been forced to close except for vulnerable children and the children of key workers. The 3rd National Lockdown across England will last until at least the middle of February, as the NHS risked being overwhelmed by rising admissions thought to be caused by a fast spreading new variant of the virus.  Bill Esterson said:- "The Prime Minister was reluctant to announce further restrictions to combat the increase in infections across the country. It is right that he has changed his mind, albeit there are serious questions about the sudden U-turn from Sunday and even Monday morning when he said that Schools should reopen. There really was no choice, including with the closure of all Schools and Colleges in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus and I'm glad to see that the prime Minister has made the right decision and listened to the advice from health professionals, School staff, trade unions and the Labour Party."

In December 2020 the UK Government announced that the Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine had received authorisation to be used as part of the vaccination programme. Following that, the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid19 Vaccine also received approval. But there are concerns that the vaccine has been slow to be rolled out in Sefton, with just two boxes of 975 vaccines being received to give out to vulnerable residents before the turn of the year. More vaccines were expected to be delivered on 8 January 2021, when they will be offered to the most vulnerable within:- Formby, Ainsdale and Birkdale, and to some residents of Care Homes.

Mr Esterson said:- "Unlike March last year we can start to see the emergence of a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as we now have the approval of both the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the Oxford University/Astra Zeneca vaccine, but going forward all efforts and focus must be on ensuring that the Covid19 Vaccine is rolled out to as many people as possible and as quickly as possible. I have received huge amounts of correspondence from constituents who want to know why they or their elderly relatives have not received the vaccine yet. A swift rollout of the vaccine is essential and I have urged the Government to be clear with our local health teams and the public about just how many vaccines will be delivered and when. Let's hope the Government's promise of two million vaccines a week can actually be delivered. Getting vulnerable people, healthcare workers and teachers vaccinated quickly is key to getting our Schools reopened as soon as possible. The prime Minister has often spoken about the need to 'level up' and ensure that no one is left behind, but the reality is that every day a child or young person misses out on learning has a serious impact on their education and development and ultimately their future life chances. This is especially the situation for children and young people from poorer backgrounds and it's vital that the Government ensures that every child and young person has the necessary provisions in place to be able to fully engage in learning. The Government needs to make sure that all children have access to a device on which to do School work at home."

In March 2020, Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government would do:- "whatever it takes" to support households and businesses in the UK to cushion the impact of Covid19 but around three million workers in the UK have been excluded from financial support.

Mr Esterson said:- "By the time the current restrictions end it will be close to a year that three million people will have had no financial support. The latest financial package that has been announced by the Chancellor for hospitality is welcome but there are still too many gaps. We need to make sure workers and businesses are supported while workplaces are unable to open, and that people are supported financially to isolate when they need to, to stop the spread of this virus."

Financial support for workers in new lockdown essential, says Bill Esterson MP

SEFTON Central MP, Bill Esterson MP demanded the Chancellor come to the House of Commons and lay out what support will be given to the "excluded" and to those asked to self isolate. Mr Esterson said the ₤2bn that had been paid back to the Treasury from large retailers who said they did not need the business rates relief they had been offer, should be used to help some of the 3 million workers and business owners who had had no support so far. Mr Esterson told the House of Commons:- "I want us to learn from what's happened since March because if this lockdown is to be effective we have to look at the gaps that weren't plugged so far and I want to talk particularly about the up to three million self employed people, freelancers, people who run their own businesses, people who changed jobs at the wrong time who've had little or no financial support. It's been a burning injustice since March that they've gone without and it continues to be and it's something that the Chancellor should be coming to the House of Commons to describe how he is going to support these people who have been left behind. It's not fair for them and it's an injustice but it's damaging economically too because they all have a contribution to make as the economy eventually recovers and the stronger and healthier their finances are now the better placed they and many other businesses will be to play their part when the time comes. But there are also health consequences because one of the characteristics of this crisis has been that people haven't been able to afford to self isolate. That's individual low paid workers and it's the 3m excluded people as well, because they haven't had support, whether it's sick pay for people who are employed or a lack of access to furlough or to the self-employed scheme or often even to universal credit, people haven't been able to afford to self isolate when they've been contacted and that's one of the reasons, that's a big part of the reason why less than 20 per cent of people who are supposed to self isolate have done so so far, it's something that must be fixed because to get the the health aspects and the benefits of the lockdown right, the financial side must be fixed at the same time. And that's why it's right that the expectations of the large retailers in returning ₤2bn in unneeded business rate relief are that that money is used to support those who have gone without so far. The Chancellor should come and tell the House and those excluded people that that money will be used to support them through the coming weeks and if necessary months. He should be providing greater business support for those areas where business has had to go without for longer because lockdown came earlier and deeper. And he must put these things right soon because if we don't the ongoing crisis will be worse in the long run, the costs will be greater, and those people who have gone without will continue to suffer."

Mr Esterson said many people in his own constituency had been denied support, including a Taxi Driver who had taken a lump sum from his pension pot, which meant during just 1 of the qualifying years he had received more money from non self employed income than from self employed, meaning he was turned down for the self employed income support scheme, at a time when his work completely dried up. Some constituents found themselves just a few pounds on the wrong side of thresholds such as the ₤50,000 average profits limit for the self employed scheme. Others who were paid their income through dividends, many because they were unable to issue invoices for their work unless they were limited companies, have received nothing, or have only been able to claim a limited amount of furlough. Many constituents have contacted Mr Esterson to say they have been unable to access the ₤500 grant that the Government promised to those asked to self isolate. The grant is only available to those who are on certain benefits, such as universal credit. If the worker is not on benefits, they can only make a claim to the discretionary fund held by Sefton Council. The council is forced to turn down the majority of claims due to lack of funds.  Mr Esterson said:- "Many people who are told to self isolate get no financial support, even those who only get statutory sick pay are not entitled to the ₤500 payment unless they also receive benefits. If people are not given the financial support they need to stay off work, they may choose not to isolate, putting others at risk and potentially spreading the virus."

Mr Esterson said the Chancellor needed to end his silence and come to the Commons to explain how these individuals and businesses would be supported during the latest lockdown. Mr Esterson said:- "The Chancellor needs to explain how he will end the injustice of the excluded groups and provide the right support for people to isolate when asked to."