440,000 Tax Credits customers still to renew claims

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are currently reminding 440,000 Tax Credits, customers, they have 1 month left to renew their Tax Credits claims ahead of the 31 July deadline. More than 2.5 million annual Tax Credits review packs were posted to customers between late April and early June. Customers will have either received an:- 'auto renewal' reminder or a 'reply required' notice. All �reply required� customers must renew their claims or contact HMRC to notify them of any change in circumstances ahead of the deadline to continue receiving Tax Credits payments. Renewing online is quick and easy. Customers can log into GOV.UK to check on the progress of their renewal, be reassured it is being processed, and know when they will hear back from HMRC. Customers can also use the HMRC app on their smartphone to:-

► Renew their Tax Credits.

► Check their Tax Credits payments schedule.

► Find out how much they have earned for the year.

Customers do not need to report any temporary falls in their working hours as a result of Coronavirus. They will be treated as if they are working their normal hours for up to 8 weeks after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes. Any self employed individuals, who have claimed a Self Employment Income Support Scheme grant, will need to declare the grant payments. Search:- 'working out your income for Tax Credit / Self Employment' on GOV.UK.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC�s Director General for Customer Services, said:- "We know how important Tax Credits are to our customers, so we�ve made it quicker and easier to renew claims online. There�s no need to wait for the 31 July deadline � do it now by going to:- Gov.UK/Changes-Affect-Tax-Credits ."

If there is a change in a customer�s circumstances that could affect their Tax Credits claims, they must report the changes to HMRC. These include changes to:-

► Living arrangements.

► Childcare.

► Working hours.

► Income (increase or decrease).

Post Office card accounts will close on 30 November 2021. HMRC is reminding any Tax Credits and Child Benefit customers who use this account to receive their payments that they will need to notify HMRC of their new bank account details. HMRC is encouraging customers to act now so they do not miss any payments once their Post Office account closes. To find out how to open a bank account, visit Citizens Advice.

HMRC is urging customers to be careful if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or personal information. There are a lot of scams around where fraudsters are calling, texting, or emailing customers claiming to be from HMRC. If in doubt, customers are advised not to reply directly to anything suspicious, but to contact HMRC straight away; search GOV.UK for:- 'HMRC Scams' for more information.

Sefton Council CONFIRMS free School Vouchers Scheme for Summer Holidays

SEFTON Council�s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, Cllr Trish Hardy, has written to the Borough's Head Teachers to confirm funding for free School Meals over the 6 week School Summer Holidays. In her letter, Cllr Hardy explains that the scheme to support children and families who receive free School Meals will, once again, work through the provision of supermarket vouchers. As with previous holiday vouchers, they will be valid to buy food in store and online, at local supermarkets. Cllr Hardy said:- "We know that many families across the Borough will be facing difficulties in the long summer holidays, particularly with the additional challenges that the ongoing Covid19 Pandemic has thrown up for people over the last year or more. I am pleased that Sefton Council is able to help ease at least some of these difficulties by providing this support to families over the 6 week."

The scheme is available to children and families across Sefton who currently receive free school meals. Any that do not receive free School Meals now but think they might be eligible can visit:- Sefton.Gov.UK/FreeSchoolMeals to find out whether they qualify and how to apply. In her letter, Cllr Hardy thanks Head Teachers and their staff you all their hard work in the past 12 months doing their best to keep our children safe and to continue to delivering education and emotional support. But she also explains that this is likely the last time that the Council can use fund free School Meals in this way. Cllr Hardy said:- "This time we are, once again, using the Covid Local Support Grant, formerly known as Covid Winter Grant Funding to fund free School Meal Vouchers over the summer. However, we have received some funding from the Department for Education to put in place a Holiday Activity and Food Programme through future Christmas and summer for children who receive benefits related free School Meals. The programme will be optional for eligible children to attend."

Sefton kids and Council staff help coastal scientists make a splash with YouTube channel

COASTAL scientists at Edge Hill University are making waves on the internet after launching their own YouTube channel in a bid to inspire the next generation of learners to protect the world�s coastlines. Professor Irene Delgado Fernandez, from the Department of Geography and Geology, has co-ordinated and produced Coasts for Kids, a series of short, educational videos to teach Primary School children aged 6 to 8 about the vital role that coasts play in our ecosystem. Developed in partnership with Sefton Council and Southport Eco Visitor Centre, the Coasts for Kids videos have attracted global attention from across the international coastal community. Coastal scientists from other universities in the:- UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, France, and Mexico were involved in the project, as well as teachers and community artists. The series of five videos have been narrated by School children in Sefton and are designed to empower children to understand the often complex language used in coastal science, in the hope that they will develop a greater awareness and interest in the challenges facing the world�s coastlines from an early age. Prof Irene Delgado Fernandez is a coastal geomorphologist and marine geoscientist and lead researcher on the Coasts to Kids project.

Prof Delgado Fernandez said:- "Our coastlines are under serious threat from rising sea levels, coastal erosion and flooding. These are significant challenges for our global community, and it�s critical that we educate children about this issue from an early age. 1 day this will be their world and their responsibility, so it�s vital that they are empowered with the knowledge to understand and enjoy learning about the precious and irreplaceable landscapes that make up our coasts. These children hold the potential within them to one day be the scientists and leaders with the power to influence the policies and decision making that can protect our coastlines. It has been a wonderful experience to work with the children and to help them learn the language we use so often in our research. Not only has it bettered their understanding of our coasts, but it has reinforced our own knowledge and process on how we communicate our work to young people."

Coasts for Kids is a collaborative experience between children and their parents, coastal scientists, community artists, teachers, animators and coastal managers.

Michelle Barnes, Lead Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Officer for Sefton Council�s Green Sefton Service, said:- "In Sefton we have 22 miles of stunning dynamic coastline, constantly changing with:- tides, winds, waves, storms and people. It is important that we understand how these have shaped our coast over the years and will continue to do so into the future and with the threat of climate change. The Council's Green Sefton team are incredibly proud to have supported this project, with my own son Henry taking part to record a voiceover for episode two of the series. I know that these lasting resources will help to inform children and adults alike across the globe about how our coasts work, how precious they are, and I hope they will encourage and inspire more people into roles like my own where we are doing all we can to better understand and manage our changing coastline now and in the future."

Darren Lloyd, Resident Teacher and Education Projects Co-ordinator at Southport's Eco Centre, said:- "Throughout much of our work the main ethos has always been about creating platforms to equip our young people with the skills and confidence to become educators in their own right. The Coast for Kids series is a fantastic tool to allow both teachers and parents to nurture this. As ambassadors for the future it is paramount that they understand the impact, both negative and positive, we can have on our environment."

The series is also available via the Eco Centre�s website for download in high resolution with supporting teacher/parent notes and the education team will be working on curriculum focussed resources to support the series in the near future. This latest project builds on from a series of important coastal research projects undertaken by Edge Hill�s Geography and Geology department. In 2020 the University was awarded ₤25,000 from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) to explore how coastal communities in Thailand can use data to manage risks around climate change.

440,000 Tax Credits customers still to renew claims

Sefton Council CONFIRMS free School Vouchers Scheme for Summer Holidays

Sefton kids and Council staff help coastal scientists make a splash with YouTube channel

Total UK cases Covid19 cases in and around Liverpool City Region