MP Damian Moore responds to ₤1 billion additional support package

LOCAL Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick, on 22 October 2020, confirmed allocations for individual Councils from the ₤1 billion of additional support announced by the Prime Minister earlier this month.

Over ₤900 million of this funding will be provided to Councils for their ongoing work to support communities during the pandemic. The total funding given to Councils since the start of the pandemic, to help with spending pressures, has now reached ₤5.7 billion, including a ₤1.1 billion Infection Control Fund.

It brings the amount of additional Covid19 funding support for Sefton Council from the Government to ₤23,667,572.
This included:- ₤9,975,328 (Tranche 1), ₤7,578,929 (Tranche 2), ₤2,569,782 (Tranche 3) and ₤3,543,533 (Tranche 4).

To address the ongoing challenges Local Authority Leisure Centres are facing, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has also confirmed today ₤100 million will be used to introduce a new fund which will support Council leisure centres most in need. Further details on the scheme will be set out shortly.

These funds are part of an unprecedented package of support for Councils, which also includes up to ₤465 million through the new Local Alert Level system, ₤300 million to support Test and Trace and ₤30 million for enforcement and compliance. Councils can also claim funding through a compensation scheme for lost income from sales, fees and charges.

Southport MP Damien Moore said:- "At every stage of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government has stepped in to support Sefton Council and other Local Authorities in the UK with the financial backing they need. This additional support will ensure that Sefton Council can continue running vital local services throughout these winter months thereby continuing to protect and serve our local communities."

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:- "Since the start of the pandemic, we have backed local Councils with the funding they need to support their communities, protect vital services and recover lost income. This extra ₤1 billion funding will ensure that Councils have the resources that they need over the winter and continue to play an essential role on the front line of our response to the virus while protecting the most vulnerable and supporting local businesses."

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:- "It's vital that we keep ourselves fighting fit through the winter months and Local Authority leisure centres are crucial to this. This ₤100 million fund will help keep leisure centres across the country open. I urge leisure centres to bid for the money and people to make the most of these precious local facilities. Spending pressure funding has been allocated based on levels of population and deprivation, whilst also considering the amount of funding each Council has received from the Government so far. All Councils will receive a minimum of ₤100,000. Recognising that Councils are best placed to decide how to meet pressures in their local area, this funding has not been ring fenced. The Government has asked Councils use this funding to prioritise the running of vital services and protecting the most vulnerable and public health."

LGA on new Council powers to close premises failing to implement COVID secure measures

RESPONDING to the announcement that Councils will be given powers to issue improvement notices directing businesses to introduce more effective Covid19 controls, as well as closure notices to shut down premises where issues are not addressed, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Chair of the Local Government Association's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said:- "Ensuring Councils have a range of tools at their disposal will allow them to work quickly to help suppress the virus in their communities and take action before it is too late. The vast majority of businesses are implementing the necessary measures to keep people safe and Councils are supporting these efforts. However, it is important that Councils can take rapid action against businesses which fail to do this, as it both helps prevent the spread and supports those businesses which have worked hard to keep their premises safe. We look forward to hearing more details on these proposals over the coming days and are pleased with the Government's commitment to work with Councils to develop the details of the legislation."

FSB welcomes Chancellor's additional Covid19 funding for businesses in Liverpool City Region, but calls for support for those missing out

FSB welcomes Chancellor's additional Covid19 funding for businesses in Liverpool City Region; but calls for support for those missing out Comment from Michael Sandys, Area Leader, FSB Merseyside and Cheshire (Liverpool City Region)

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced today that businesses impacted by restrictions under the new three-tier Covid alert system, mainly in the hospitality sector, will be given extra support to retain staff. FSB is welcoming the developments, but is calling for help for suppliers, company directors, newly self employed people and others who have missed out.

Liverpool City Region has been placed in the 'Tier 3' classification of 'very high' Covid 19 risk areas. Following tense negotiations between the Government and local politicians Liverpool City Region Combined Authority initially secured a ₤30 million package for business support, in addition to a ₤40m 'emergency' hospitality fund for pubs and other businesses has been put together, with local Councils, from existing reserves.

Today's extension to the Job Support Scheme for businesses in 'Tier 3' areas such as Liverpool City Region, which replaces the original Furlough on 1 November 2020, includes a drop in employer contributions to 5%. In addition, grants for eligible self employed people have been doubled from 20% to 40% of previous earnings.

Business grants worth up to ₤2,100 will be made available to help those that have been particularly affected in 'tier 2' high alert level areas, including Cheshire.

Responding to these announcements, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Area Leader for Liverpool City Region, Michael Sandys, said:- "At a time of immense struggle for many small businesses, these interventions will help to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods. The Chancellor has shown a willingness to be flexible and adapt interventions as the second wave of the virus escalates. With the furlough scheme coming to an end in just a few days, the expansion of the Job Support Scheme will help to reduce the burden on small businesses and give them a shot at surviving this crisis while offering a critical lifeline to millions of jobs. This will be helpful for small firms in all tiers of restrictions and businesses in all sectors. However, it isn't just businesses forced to close that need support. These funds must be made available to those in the supply chains of affected firms as well as those without premises, especially those in the hospitality sector. "Business grants, including those being applied retrospectively to those in Tier 3 areas will be a welcome relief to thousands of businesses who have been left wondering how they'll survive in the weeks and months ahead. With delays that previous grants faced over the spring and summer in mind, it is absolutely critical that Local Authorities distribute these funds as swiftly as possible. We will be working with the Combined Authority and local Councils so that the funding is accessible for those businesses most in need. The upgraded support for the self employed is vital to helping those individuals, but as with all previous support packages, there are still many who have been left behind. Those excluded from income support throughout this crisis, especially company directors and those newly self employed, are now facing a significant depression in trade caused by these new restrictions and in many cases have no business at all. They deserve to be part of this package of new support but have once again been ignored, the Chancellor should do all he can to address these shortcomings. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and the backbone of our economy, which is why it is critical now more than ever that we offer every possible means of support available for the months ahead. The Chancellor must be prepared to act again if this crisis continues to worsen."

LGA responds to latest test and trace figures

RESPONDING to the publication of the latest NHS Test and Trace and Coronavirus testing figures, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said:- "It is hugely concerning that the national test and trace system is going backwards in the number of close contacts reached of those who have tested positive for Coronavirus. If we are to prevent this second wave from escalating further, we need the system to meet the recommended 80% benchmark if it is to have any chance of success. Local health protection teams have reached 94.8% of complex cases assigned to them, asking people to self isolate and stop the spread. Councils across the country have now launched their own locally supported contact tracing arrangements, to complement the national system, but continue to need clearer, more precise information on who they should be trying to contact as soon as possible. This should include details such as occupation and workplace, working with police and others to share local intelligence, alongside the right resources including funding and recruiting extra personnel to work on the ground and respond quickly to outbreaks."

Conservatives bid to become "nastiest in the nasty party," says MP

LABOURS MPs have rounded on their Conservative counterparts after a heated debate on child food poverty in the House of Commons. Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson said Conservative MPs were bidding to become the:- "nastiest in the nasty party" after opposing extending Free School Meals to children through the upcoming ½f Term and Christmas Holidays.

Labour called for the Government to continue funding the provision of Free School Meals over the School Holidays until Easter 2021.

Mr Esterson said that the proposal would ensure that more than a million children would not go hungry during this crisis, including the 8,166 children in Sefton who are on Free School Meals.

Mr Esterson, said:- "Labour scheduled a debate and a vote to stop children going hungry by keeping School Meals going in the holidays during the coronavirus crisis. Conservative MPs lined up in the Commons, repeatedly saying that opposing child hunger is political point scoring. Well here's what I think. We have a nasty, vindictive Conservative Government which is choosing to let over a million children go hungry. Is that political enough for them? There were so many bids from Conservative MPs for the title of nastiest in the nasty party. One of the worst was from Conservative MP Brendan Clarke Smith who said feeding poor children in the holidays was 'nationalising' them. Nasty doesn't really do this justice. Then there was the Conservative MP and Government minister, Paul Scully, on national television defending the Government's position by saying children have been going hungry for years. What a slap in the face for children who through no fault of their own find themselves in families that are struggling to put food on the table. It's not the fault of the children that a deadly virus has meant their families can't afford to put food on the table."

The Labour motion to extend free meals to School Holidays up to Easter next year was defeated by 61 votes, with all but a handful of Conservative MPs voting against. The Government provided meal vouchers throughout the summer holidays to children on Free School Meals after a vigorous campaign was given massive publicity by Marcus Rashford, who had benefitted from Free School Meals as a child.

Mr Esterson said:- "Providing meal vouchers through the School Holidays is not a silver bullet to address poverty or the Pandemic, but it is very much needed in these exceptional times, when so many are going to find their income levels reduced due to the economic downturn. By our calculations, 1.4 million children could go hungry without food vouchers, more than 8,000 of them in Sefton. While this Government is paying ₤7,000 a day for consultants working on a test and trace system that doesn't work, it refuses to ensure that no child goes hungry. Free School Meals are not a luxury. Many of my colleagues stood up in Parliament to describe how they had had to rely on free meals at School themselves. Providing food vouchers would be the right and humane thing to do. Marcus Rashford has said the same very publicly in campaigning for Free School Meals to continue."

The Welsh Labour Government last week announced that it had put together a funding package of ₤11m to make sure that Free School Meals are provided during every School Holiday, up to and including the Easter break in 2021.

The UK Government has been under pressure to provide support for families in England. A petition started by footballer Marcus Rashford for the Government to provide free School during term breaks has over 300,000 signatures.

Rashford led the successful campaign for Free School Meals over the summer, which forced the Government into a U-turn earlier this year. Labour had also launched a 'Holidays Without Hunger' campaign.

Mr Esterson added:- "While children across the border in Wales get this support, children in England will not. How can that be right? If Labour in Wales can do this, why can't the Conservatives in England. They must think again."

Ofcom

Liverpool's business leaders Campaign of support for City Region

LIVERPOOL'S business leaders have today called on everyone across the Region to unite and "support local." The call comes after Liverpool City Region was moved to Tier 3 to help fight the Pandemic. Led by:- Liverpool ONE, Liverpool BID, Visit Liverpool and Marketing Liverpool, the "Help Campaign" is calling on businesses and local people to help each another by supporting local retailers, restaurants and cafés. While there may be restrictions in place, Liverpool and its businesses remain open.

The 'Help Campaign" has 5 key messages:-

1. Safely - and observing all guidelines, such as regular handwashing, social distancing and the 'Rule of 6' - keep visiting the City, be it places of work, local neighbourhoods, or favourite haunts. Visitors are welcome, but it is imperative they behave responsibly and follow all guidelines. Do not visit If you are notified to isolate.

2. Support Liverpool's hospitality and retail sectors by eating and shopping locally.

3. If circumstances mean residents cannot eat out or shop in person, make use of delivery services where available to help support the thousands of businesses in the City, many of whom are independent, owner run and employ local people.

4. keep in contact with friends and neighbours; they may need support, but can also provide it.

5. Do not be afraid to ask for help; it is okay not to be okay and help is available if needed.

Chris Brown, Director of Marketing Liverpool, said:- "This is not about asking for financial support from the local, Regional or national Governments. This is about bringing the Liverpool City Region together to ensure everyone stands side by side to face and beat the impact of the Pandemic. It is a campaign drawing on the power of people to make a place; for the spirit of the City to see it through. We are calling on everyone in Liverpool to help one another. To paraphrase The Beatles, Liverpool will get by with a little help from its friends. And there are friends aplenty in the City!"

Donna Howitt, Marketing and Communications Director at Liverpool ONE, added:- "Liverpool has a rich history of coming together to triumph in the face of adversity. Its strength of character has carried it through difficult times before and is the key to ensuring the City once again thrives. At the heart of its character are the people of the Liverpool City Region. Now more than ever they need to unite to see 1 another through to better times."

Bill Addy, Chief Executive of Liverpool BID, is encouraging everyone to unite and support the campaign. He added:- "Liverpool has that real community feel and now is the time, more than ever, to really let this community love and spirit shine through! We all need to help each other to help the Liverpool City Region."

Social media hashtags have been launched to support the campaign:- #Liverpoolisopen #withalittlehelpfrommyfriends aiming at helping to unify the City's collective response and sense of standing together.

Total UK cases COVID19 cases in and around Liverpool City Region