Emergancy Notices - Liverpool City Region - Merseyside - 21 March 2020
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DAILY EMERGENCY COVID-19
NEWS
... Important Daily Notices ...
AS This
page is to place quick update important notices that are being
sent to us from Government and other organisations over the
Coronavirus Emergency affecting our country (UK)...
Please remember that the information changes quickly, so always
check to see what time and when the last post was made. We
will update as and when we can.... Users of our Formby
Reporter's Free
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Service will get most updates 1st and then they will
be added on here as soon as we can...
This page is updated on 21 March 2020
UK Government to support Coronavirus
affected businesses
To help businesses and employers understand what the
measures announced by the Chancellor mean for you, please
use this page to navigate the latest guidance for people in
Northern Ireland.
Guidance
for employees
Read all
the latest guidance and frequently
asked questions for
employees including details about statutory sick pay and
Universal Credit.
Sickness and
disability benefits
Face to face assessments
for all sickness and disability benefits will be temporarily
suspended for the next 3
months from Tuesday 17 March. No further action is required
by any claimant as a result of this change. They will be
contacted with advice on next steps.
Travel
Find out all the latest travel advice and sign up for travel
alerts via the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) website.
Businesses
General guidance for
employers
The UK Government has published extensive
guidance for employers, including details on how to
prevent the spread of COVID-19 and what to do if someone is
suspected or confirmed to have the virus.
UK Government
support for businesses
The UK Government has set out a package of measures to
protect public services, people and businesses through this
period of disruption caused by COVID-19. Businesses in
Northern Ireland can access the following schemes and
announcements:
-
Businesses will receive government grants worth up
to 80% of wages to keep workers in jobs.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will pay up to
₤2,500 per worker each month, helping those who are
self isolating or caring for loved ones. This scheme
will be open from Monday, 23 March 2020.
-
Support for businesses through the
Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which will provide loans of up to
₤5m, with no interest due for 12 months. This scheme will be open from Monday, 23 March
2020 and will be delivered through the
British Business Bank.
-
Support for businesses who are
paying sick pay to
employees.
-
Support for businesses paying tax.
-
VAT
payments for the
next quarter will be deferred so no business will pay any VAT for the next
3
months.
Northern Ireland Executive support for businesses
Invest NI have provided practical advice for business
online
click on
here.
Businesses in Northern Ireland can access the following
schemes:-
-
COVID Small Business Grant - Small business grant of
₤10,000 to be issued immediately with a cost of ₤267m
providing support to 27,000 businesses in NI. This is
for all businesses with a NAV up to ₤15,000.
-
Hospitality, Tourism and Retail Sectors Grant Scheme
- An immediate grant of ₤25,000 will be provided to
companies in these sectors with a rateable value up to
₤51,000.
Information on these schemes will be made available at
NI
Business Info.
Further to this, the Department of Finance has announced
a ₤100m
emergency rates package for
businesses. All NI
businesses will pay zero rates for the next three months
(April, May, June). This automatically reduces rates by 25%,
in addition to any existing rate reliefs. This applies to
all businesses and does not need to be repaid.
Business support
helplines
HMRC tax helpline
HMRC has set up a
helpline for businesses and
self employed people who are concerned about paying their
tax due to COVID-19. Call:-
0800 0159 559 for help and advice.
Invest NI helpline
Get help with your business online, or by calling the
Invest NI Helpline. Telephone:-: 0800 181 4422
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21 March 2020
National Trust closes parks and gardens, asking
people to avoid travel and comply with government social
distancing guidance
FROM midnight on 21 March 2020, the National Trust
will close all of its gated gardens and parks to help restrict
the spread of the Coronavirus.
The move follows the closure of:- pubs, restaurants,
cafes, gyms and leisure centres announced by the Government, on
Friday, and tightening travel restrictions and public health
advice.
At the start of this week the conservation charity announced
that despite closing its houses, shops and cafes, it would work
to keep gardens and parks open so people could access open
space. However, the Trust warned that a fair weather forecast
and Mothering Sunday could tempt people onto the roads over the
weekend and National Trust sites would close if high demand
meant social distancing could not be enforced.
Director-General Hilary McGrady said:- "Despite our desire to
keep our outdoor spaces open, the health and wellbeing of our
staff, volunteers and visitors has to be our top priority.
Having observed the numbers visiting our properties today and I
am no longer convinced we can maintain social distancing over
Mother's Day when numbers are likely to grow, and beyond. We
have now sadly taken the decision to close all of our parks and
gardens, in addition to our houses, shops and cafes, to avoid
crowding that puts social distancing at risk. We know that
people are likely to need space and fresh air in the coming
weeks and months and we will do all we can to provide access
wherever possible. Our countryside and coastal locations remain
open with parking charges waived, but we encourage people to
stay local and observe social distancing measures. Over the
coming weeks our digital platforms:- our website, social media
feeds, podcasts and video; will become even more important,
ensuring the places of nature, beauty and history that we care
for on behalf of the nation can remain open for business
virtually while we are temporarily closed. We will also be
ramping up our efforts to help people connect with nature
wherever they are and to find moments of joy in the world around
them. We will be providing rich content and staying in touch
with our members and followers throughout this time."
Information on which National Trust outdoor places are open can
be found at:-
NationalTrust.Org.UK.
9.30pm, Saturday, 21 March 2020.
STAY AT HOME AND DON'T DROP LITTER!
IF you are not a key worker, please stay at
home. The Government is warning that the spread of the virus is
getting worse and today, in Formby, we witnessed bank holiday
levels of traffic, with people coming from all over the North
West to go to the beach. Many walking in large groups! This is
putting a huge strain on the local people who live within that
area, who are trying to avoid a lock down situation. If you do
not travel, you decrease the ability for the virus to spread and
decrease the impact of the virus. This could save the your
lives and the economy. Please do not go out, if you do not
have to or it is not part of your job. Also, if you do go
out, please remember to "Catch it, bag it and bin it!"
as again, we have seen lots of old hankies being dropped and
gloves, a major risk to public health and those who have to
clean it up!
We're all in
this together - helping our communities
"IN my last message, I made a promise to share more about
what we're doing to help our customers and our wider community.
Today I'm sharing the initial steps that we're taking to help
the communities we serve; particularly its most vulnerable
members. Many of the ideas we are putting into action come from
the 80,000 colleagues who are working around the clock and I
have never been prouder to lead this team; this family; and wear
my M&S name badge.
We are reserving the 1st hour of trade every Monday and
Thursday, as a special shopping hour for our more vulnerable and
elderly customers to help them get the food and products they
need. For our NHS and emergency service workers, who we will all
be relying on in the coming weeks and months, we will reserve
the 1st hour of trade on a Tuesday and Friday for them to shop.
To help make sure all of our customers can get what they need,
we have introduced temporary purchasing restrictions on some
lines. This isn't a decision we have taken lightly, but there is
unprecedented demand on some products and all of us need to play
our part in feeding the nation. There is plenty of food for all
of us, if we just buy what we need.
1 of the things that makes me most proud to work at M&S is the
role we play in our local communities. Not just through the
brilliant service our colleagues give, but through the time and
energy they give to helping those most in need. We can't do this
on our own and so we partner with organisations like
Neighbourly, a community platform which links our stores to
local organisations so we can donate surplus food and non-food
products to the people who really need them.
Earlier this year we launched an app to make it easier for our
colleagues to connect surplus product with the right local
charity. Where we've launched it donations have gone up by more
than 100% so we're rolling it out as fast as we can to make it
as easy as possible for everyone in all of our stores to get
involved. We're also playing our part in the work the government
is convening with the whole food supply chain; from farm to
fork; and when we can tell you more about that, we will.
But we know that isn't enough. So M&S is kick starting the 'Neighbourly Community Fund' specifically to support those most
impacted by COVID-19. The whole M&S family; including:- M&S Bank
and M&S Energy; is supporting the fund, which will help mobilise
more than 1000 local charities to support the most vulnerable
members of our communities immediately. Alongside this local on
the ground funding M&S is supporting the National Emergencies
Trust Campaign with a donation to help galvanize the national
efforts now under way.
I don't want to over claim, we're just doing our bit, and
hopefully making it easier for you to do yours.
Our colleagues have a critical role to play in the coming weeks
to deliver for you, our customers, and that means a huge effort
across our supply chain, stores and support centres.
Whilst they are working hard we want to make it as easy as
possible for them in these challenging times. We are supporting
all of our colleagues, should they need to self isolate, on full
pay. For those colleagues who may find their families facing
temporary hardship, we have set up a colleague fund to give them
extra help.
At M&S 1 of our values is to be 'all in for the customer.' By
this we mean 3 things: All of us working as one M&S team; giving
all of our effort all of the time; and being guided in
everything we do by giving every customer the unique magic and
sparkle of M&S.
We're still doing that. But at the moment it isn't quite enough.
Because this is a challenge for everyone, everywhere.
So at the moment our guiding value is that we're all in this
together. Our M&S family doing our very best to help every
family that we can.
Take care and a big thank you from us all."
Steve Rowe
20/03/2020
Jo Anderson says UK
Government must support self employed
THE
Mayor of
Liverpool, has said that the UK Government must act now to
avert disaster later down the line for many within the Gig
community and self employed. See his Twitter post
below:-
Total UK cases
COVID-19 Cases Update for Liverpool City Region and
surroundings
THE
current
confirmed cases within the following local authorities are
as follows:-
► Sefton - 7 confirmed cases.
► Liverpool - 18 confirmed cases.
► Wirral - 10 confirmed cases.
► Knowsley - 4 confirmed cases.
► St. Helens - 3 confirmed cases.
► Lancashire - 30 confirmed cases.
► Blackpool - 5 confirmed cases.
► Wigan - 9 confirmed cases.
► Warrington - 4 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire West and Chester - 10 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire East - 11 confirmed cases.
► Trafford - 19 confirmed cases.
► Salford - 12 confirmed cases.
► Bury - 11 confirmed cases.
► Bolton - 15 confirmed cases.
► Manchester - 28 confirmed cases.
► Stockport - 24 confirmed cases.
► Tameside - 21 confirmed cases.
► Oldham - 15 confirmed cases.
► Rochdale - 13 confirmed cases.
► Blackburn with Darwen - 1 confirmed cases.
These stats are according to Public Health England as of
21/03/2020.
See archived update pages
from:-
21 March 2020
20 March 2020
19 March 2020
18 March 2020
17 March 2020
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