Liverpool
City Region's leaders challenge Government's "very
disappointing" funding allocations
THE Metro Mayor, City
Mayor and Leaders of the Liverpool City Region's Councils have
expressed their grave concerns that the Government's 2nd
allocation of Covid19 funding could leave the City Region
hundreds of millions of pounds out of pocket. The announcement,
made by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG),
shows that in this 2nd round of funding the government has
allocated ₤16.6 million LESS to the City Region than was
promised. This equates to a 28% reduction, with some areas like
Knowsley being hardest hit with a 39% shortfall from its 1st
allocation. This is the 5th highest cut in the whole of the UK,
for the borough that is the 2nd most deprived in the country. In
a joint response to the Government, local leaders challenged the
methodology, which is based purely on population count as
opposed to whether areas actually need extra support. This is a
different approach to the 1st round of funding that recognised
the pressures individual areas were facing. As a result,
those areas which need more have lost out, and the impact has
been significant across the City Region, specifically when it
comes to social care. From both allocations, the 6 Councils have
received ₤102million, which is less than ½ of the ₤239million
which they estimate they will need to cope with the impact of
COVID-19 over just the next 6 months. In addition to this, the
Combined Authority is also losing around ₤1.2million a week;
₤62million over a year; and has received no additional funding
at all as yet, with transport also requiring sustainable funding
support.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- "Local Councils and the
Combined Authority are on the front line in supporting our
communities through this crisis and the government is already
relying heavily on them to deliver essential support and
services such as; providing PPE, transport, social care and
keeping other essential public services running. But let's not
forget this pressure comes on top of a decade of austerity,
during which local authorities' budgets have been cut to the
bone. Councils have no reserves and little or no flexibility
remaining to deal with the impact and pick up the potentially
extreme financial burden. This proposed settlement falls way
short of what is required and we are now making robust
representations to urge the Government to urgently reconsider
the funding allocation and provide the support we really need to
tackle the crisis now; and to recover from it; together."
Public asked to help record a
week in lockdown
HISTORIC England is
calling on people across the North West to share images that
document their experience of 7 days in
"Lockdown." 10
contemporary artists from across the nation, including:- Tristan
Poyser in the North West, have also been chosen to produce
special images over the week. From rainbows in windows and star
jumps on balconies, Historic England is asking people in the
North West to share images via their website that show how we
are all facing the challenges of lockdown, self isolation and
social distancing. Running from Wednesday, 29 April 2020 to
Tuesday, 5 May 2020, the aim of the #PicturingLockdown project
is to create a unique and reflective record of a week across the
nation during this extraordinary moment in history. Historic
England wants to spark a conversation about identity and its
connection to history and place.
Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions at Historic England said:-
"We are facing 1 of the most extraordinary moments in living
memory. During this time of necessary lockdown restrictions, we
are asking the public and some of our most talented contemporary
artists to help us record history, whilst being careful to abide
by the Government's social distancing measures. We want people
to show us their experiences of lockdown, how communities have
come together and life has changed for us all. These challenging
times are encouraging us all to pause and reflect upon our
relationship with our surroundings. We hope this project
inspires creativity and reflection, allowing the public to
create a unique time capsule for the future."
100 of the images submitted by the public and artists will be
chosen to enter the Historic England Archive to provide a record
for the future. Of the submissions from the public, the 50 most
evocative, informative and inspiring images will combine with 50
works from ten contemporary artists into a Collection. These
will be catalogued by the Historic England Archive and will be
made freely accessible online. This is the 1st time the public
have been asked to capture a moment in time and save it in the
Historic England Archive of over 12 million photographs since
the 2nd World War. The 10 contemporary artists Historic England
has also asked to take part in the project are based across the
country.
The artists are:-
►
North West based Tristan Poyser is a photographer and lecturer
with a background in Ecology and Biological Photography. His
practice based research explores the physicality of landscapes,
the legacy left, both as physical and cultural scars, that shape
our behaviours, national identity and politics. His projects aim
to challenge the viewer's perceptions through the medium of
photography and often participation.
► The award winning Scottee, is an artist, writer and
broadcaster from North London who proudly boasts no formal
education. Self taught, he now lives and makes work in Southend
on Sea, Essex. Across theatre, live art, public commissions,
community activism and fine art Scottee's work is often about
forcing difficult conversations for the greater good. His work
is often centred around class, queerness, fatness and survival
► Malaika Kegode is a multi disciplinary artist based in
Bristol. Malaika's work tells of how we can find beauty and hope
through the darkness. Her overall themes of family, mental
health, addiction and love always have an undercurrent of
optimism and strength. She has performed around the UK at a
number of celebrated venues, festivals and poetry events. Her
work is currently displayed on the exterior of the Arnolfini,
one of Europe's leading centres for the contemporary arts. In
2018, Malaika was included in the The BME Power List,
celebrating Bristol's 100 most influential black & minority
ethnic people
► Anand Chhabra is a documentary photographer based in the
West Midlands with over 20 years' experience working in the
arts. He is co-founder, director and the incumbent Chair of
Black Country Visual Arts. His work focusses on engaging
communities with little or no involvement in the arts with
co-creative work and passing on new skills
► Coralie Datta is a social documentary photographer based
in Yorkshire. She is interested in the way communities function
and her photographic work reflects this. She creates series of
photographs representing the way communities connect with the
environments in which they live, interact with and work. The act
of taking photographs enables her to engage with and understand
these groups of people and the social pressures that influence
their lives
► Based in London, Polly Braden features an ongoing
conversation between the people she photographs and the
environment in which they find themselves. Highlighting the
small, often unconscious gestures of her subjects, Polly
particularly enjoys long term, in depth collaborations that in
turn lends her photographs a unique, quiet intimacy
► Another Londoner, Roy Mehta is a well-established London
based photographic artist with thirty years of professional
experience working on personal and commercial projects. His work
encapsulates the complexity of identity and belonging and is
regularly exhibited in the UK and abroad. Before Covid-19, a
retrospective exhibition of his work was commissioned for Brent
Borough of Culture 2020.
► Bella Milroy is an award winning photographer who lives
in her hometown of Chesterfield, Derbyshire. She works
responsively with found and archived material through mediums of
sculpture, drawings, photography and text. She is also a
portrait artist. Her work explores how we touch and make contact
with the world around us, with the hand held being of particular
significance. Using her personal perspective as a framework for
a wider reflection of contemporary living, she makes work about
making work (and being disabled) and not being able to make work
(and being disabled). She is interested in the duality of every
day existence, and how things can be both beautiful/painful,
both interesting/dull.
► Based in the North East, Adrian Moesby is an artist
curator working at the intersection of art, health and
technology. His current work investigates the dual crises of
Climate Change and Mental Health exploring the relationships
between the outer physical weather and internal psycho emotional
weather. He has worked, exhibited and curated nationally and
internationally.
► Chloe Dewe Mathews is a photographic artist based in St
Leonards on Sea. After studying fine art at Camberwell College
of Arts and the University of Oxford, she worked in the feature
film industry before dedicating herself to photography. Her work
is internationally recognised, exhibiting at Tate Modern, Irish
Museum of Modern Art, Museum Folkwang and Fotomuseum Antwerp, as
well as being published widely in newspapers and magazines such
as the Guardian, New Yorker, Financial Times, Harpers and Le
Monde.
Historic England is asking the public to keep to social
distancing measures when taking part in this project and only go
outside for food, health reasons or for work if you cannot work
from home.
Careers
support for Schools expands online
AN outreach programme,
funded by the Office for Students, which has supported 16,000
young people in Lancashire to think about higher education, is
expanding its offer to all West Lancashire Secondary Schools,
6th Forms and Colleges with their new online signposting
service.
Future U, which aims to increase the numbers of young people
considering university, further education or degree
apprenticeships, has increased its offer to deliver their range
of activities to more young people to help them think about
their future careers.
The expanded offer includes a database of activities which
Schools can access from the Future U website. Activities in the
expanded service signpost to activities that are offered by
higher and further education providers in Lancashire including
introductions to student life, guides to student finance,
interview skills and personal statement support, through to
revision skills and mentoring
In addition to running activities in School and hosting online
education challenges during the lockdown, Future U has
previously organised and funded School events including visits
to potential future workplaces such as:- technology warehouses,
tourist attractions, commercial kitchens and sports colleges. In
total, the programme has delivered over 800 activities totalling
2,500 hours of support to students so far.
Theo Blackburn, Programme Manager at Future U, said:- "We
play a crucial role in supporting young people across Lancashire
by raising their aspirations and removing barriers to them
progressing on to university, as well as higher and degree
apprenticeships. Working with 4 Universities as well as 10
colleges and other stakeholders means we can deliver meaningful
support across the Region."
Juliet Duncan, Assistant Headteacher, Our Lady's Catholic
College, Lancaster, added:- "The students really enjoy the
sessions from Future U. The delivery from all staff is relevant,
clear and constructive and students are engaged, participating
fully and wanting to know more information. The students really
do get a huge amount out of it."
The full list of activities can be downloaded from Future U's
website.
Future U is part of the national University Connect Programme,
funded by the Office for Students, and involves institutions and
organisations across the county including:- University of
Central Lancashire, Lancaster University, Edge Hill University
and the University of Cumbria. Our list of partners include:-
Edge Hill University, Inspira, STEMFirst, Runshaw College, The
Lancashire Colleges and West Lancashire College.
Lancashire's Future U works with a network of Schools, in
addition to Colleges, higher education providers and local
agencies to create tailored activities to meet the needs of
students for now and the future.
Total UK cases
COVID-19 cases - update for Liverpool City Region and
surroundings
IN the UK the number of Hospital COVID-19
fatalities has increased by 765 taking the total of COVID-19
deaths to 26,097. The number of COVID-19 infections has been
reported by the Department of Health to
have risen by 4,078, taking the total of reported laboratory
confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections to have been logged
within the UK to 165,221. In England, there are a total of
115,859 confirmed cases. Within the North West of En gland we
have seen a total of 18,106 laboratory confirmed cases. Current
Hospital Laboratory confirmed cases to have been reported within
the following Local Authorities, in and around the Liverpool
City Region are:-
► Liverpool, 1,363 confirmed cases.
► Sefton, 770 confirmed cases.
► Wirral, 971 confirmed cases.
► St. Helens, 614 confirmed cases.
► Halton, 309 confirmed cases.
► Lancashire, 2,695 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire West and Chester, 746 confirmed cases.
► Cheshire East, 813 confirmed cases.
► Manchester, 1,047 confirmed cases.
► Stockport, 796 confirmed cases.
► Trafford, 574 confirmed cases.
► Wigan, 615 confirmed cases.
► Bolton, 732 confirmed cases.
► Rochdale, 417 confirmed cases.
► Bury, 434 confirmed cases.
► Tameside, 444 confirmed cases.
► Oldham, 582 confirmed cases.
► Blackburn with Darwen, 301 confirmed cases.
These stats are according to Public Health England as of
29/04/2020. Last updated 5:30 pm GMT.
UK total includes cases detected through:- "Pillar 2" testing
(tests carried out by commercial partners) and therefore does
not equate to the sum of the 4 countries' counts, which only
include:- "Pillar 1" (tests carried out by NHS / PHE / Devolved
Administration Labs).
UK Government Coronavirus Press
Conference on 29 April 2020