February 2021

Welcome to my February’s edition - The latest on, what’s happening in the public sector in Lincolnshire.

 Extra funding for Business support, Flooding and our Single lane roads:

At the Executive yesterday we've agreed revised budget proposals to include millions of pounds of additional funding to support businesses, respond to flooding and repair roads for 2021/22 - https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/article/545/extra-funding-for-businesses-flooding-and-roads  And today we're unveiling a £12m package of support for our local economy that has been ravaged by the pandemic. Local businesses could benefit from up to £10,000 of funding through a new grant scheme being planned by the County Council.  I'm sure you will have been as concerned as I have about the impact on smaller businesses who might not have been able to benefit from the Government's Covid support schemes. We've decided the time is right to draw on some of our reserves to provide this support to smaller businesses. You can see further details here https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/article/546/council-unveils-12m-package-of-support-for-local-economy

Our Green Masterplan: This is part of our global effort to help tackle climate change and the county council's commitment to be 'net carbon zero' by 2050. My fellow executive colleagues will be talking about the initiatives in their areas to help us reduce carbon emissions so look out for them on our social media channels. Lincolnshire's Green Masterplan

How are we doing? - Latest performance against LCC's Corporate Plan has been published on our website.  We have followed the 'One Council' approach, providing transparency on how the Council is performing against the ambitions set out in the Corporate Plan.

Covid update: - Lincolnshire’s overall infection rate is now significantly below the national average and has not reflected the rapid transmission seen in other parts of the country. Schools in England will not be reopening to all pupils until the 8 March 2021.  The final decision will depend on meeting vaccination targets and schools would be given two weeks’ notice.

Care homes update: Working with Lincolnshire’s NHS and partners, all care home residents over the age of 65 and care home staff have now been given the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. It means Lincolnshire meets the first of the national target dates in the vaccination programme and has protected the highest percentage of its care home residents across the Midlands Region. There are those staff and residents who couldn’t have the vaccine due to illness or outbreak but they are being re-visited when it is safe to do so.

Vaccination Roll-out: More good news on the vaccination front with a second large vaccination site in the county going live today at the Lincolnshire Showground in addition to the main site in Boston. With 13 other general practice hubs and the two hospital hubs in the County the vaccination programme continues to gather pace.

For the latest information about the vaccination programme visit lincolnshireccg.nhs.uk

Transport issues: There has been a lot of queries regarding transport to vaccination sites, as well as some general misunderstandings. Just to reiterate the Transport Helpline is NOT a booking service for transport. The Lincolnshire Transport Helpline provides information and advice on a wide range of transport options including community car schemes and CallConnect. The helpline can be contacted on: 0345 456 4474 or by https://lincsbus.info/accessing-lincolnshire-transport/transport-helpline/ .  The helpline operates from 9am-6pm Mon-Fri and 9.30am-4pm on Saturday.  

 Our CallConnect on-demand bus service is paid for by the customer.  If someone has a concessionary bus pass due to age or disability then they can access CallConnect free of charge. For the purposes of the COVID – 19 vaccination programme only, Transport Services have agreed to extend this free to anyone aged 67 and over, regardless of whether they have a bus pass or not.  

Looking after your mental health - A comprehensive range of support is available. A good place to start for self-help information and mental wellbeing guidance is Public Health England's Better Health – Every Mind Matters NHS website  which has just launched its “When things aren’t so good out there, make inside feel better” campaign. This encourages people experiencing difficulties to create a free NHS-approved ’Mind Plan’.

Locally Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (LPFT), the county's mental health and learning disability NHS trust, is offering a variety of wellbeing support, this includes a confidential emotional and mental health support line 0800 001 4331 available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This enables callers to speak to an experienced support worker who will provide you with emotional support, advice and guidance.

LPFT also provides a talking therapies service steps2change . This service provides National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended, evidence based interventions for people experiencing depression and a range of anxiety disorders. You can self-refer through the steps2change website or by phoning 0303 123 4000. To get a good idea of all of the support available please see our Coronavirus Health and Wellbeing section