Bassingbourn Parish Council March 2022 – County Councillor report
Bassingbourn Rd Litlington – surface dressing due in late May
There have been a number of complaints about the state of this road which I’m glad to report is on the list for surface dressing in late May.
Bus User Group to reconvene
We are looking to meet in mid-April at the Old School, for the first time since before the pandemic. Royston and District Community Transport will be attending as before, and the idea will be to understand transport needs of those without access to private vehicles and supporting our bus service which like all public transport needs to see ridership increase, in order to remain viable.
Road works and poor traffic management: making Highways aware
There are lots of works affecting roads and pavements in the villages at present, and I’ve had a number of contacts from a number of people about poor traffic management when roads are partially closed and pavements blocked off. Please note that you can report problems and make Highways aware, in just the same way that you can report a pot hole, broken street light or other ‘fault’ on the public highway. Please use this public reporting website: you will be asked to plot the location on a map, and will be able to see what has already been reported by others.
Practical Solutions Group
We meet this Wednesday and will be exploring some enthusiastic ideas shared by the Environment and Climate Groups, and the Over Sixties club, including reconvening the tea hosted by Bassingbourn Village College students for elderly residents, at the college. We’ll report back after Wednesday’s meeting and might be looking for a small grant to help cover some essential costs.
Household heating: Oil Club rebate to Citizens Advice
This year’s household bulk-buy Melbourn and Bassingbourn Oil Club rebate will be going to North Herts Citizens Advice, supporting their work for our area and in particular their weekly drop-in service at the Melbourn Hub – every Wednesday, 10-12. To book an appointment at the Hub please ring 01763 263303 or contact hubadmin@melbournhub.co.uk. Or the North Herts Citizens Advice phone helpline is 0800 144 88 48, open 10am to 4pm, Monday-Friday.
The Melbourn and Bassingbourn Oil Club is open to all residents in our area; there is no joining fee and no obligation to make repeat orders. The idea is simply to get the cheapest available local price on the day. If you’d like more information, please contact our local bulk-buyer Jeremy Cole of Agricole, at 01954 719 452 / 07860 904 045 or jeremy@agricole.co.uk.
Health and Social Care reforms
Thanks very much to those who joined us for an on-line evening chat about the national health and care reforms and what they might mean for us locally, and what people are most concerned about for their future. We had the input of people’s direct experience, and this is what made the conversation so compelling.
We discussed the imminent National Insurance rise, the common sense support that local groups like Royston and District Community Transport and Mobile Warden Schemes can offer (and the potential for more); the profound isolation that many people have experienced during Covid, often compounded for single parent families and people already coping with poor health; the immense value of community activities and groups that provide social life and connections with others; and the ability of places like the Melbourn Hub and perhaps in future the Old School Community Centre to provide things like dementia support, flu vaccines and parent-and-baby groups, that in turn help alleviate pressures on GP surgeries. It was agreed that we would do this again in a few months’ time.
Investigation finds former deputy leader of County Council breached code conduct
You may be aware of ‘Farmgate’ whereby an independent investigation concluded that the former Cambridgeshire County Council deputy leader breached the Council’s Code of Conduct in six different areas. Ex-Councillor Hickford failed to treat Officers and others acting on behalf of the Council with respect; used a bullying manner in order for the Council to pay for works that would otherwise be the responsibility of the tenant. He also used a bullying manner in order to set the terms of the lease for Manor Farm. He compromised Officers and others’ impartiality in his dealings with regard to Manor Farm and his conduct towards Officers and others and his conflict of interest would have reduced the public’s confidence in him being able to fulfil his role or the Council being able to discharge its functions.
He also used his position as Deputy Leader to receive concessions that the Council would not otherwise have agreed to and failed to register a disclosable pecuniary interest (the tenancy of Manor Farm) within 28 days and he failed to declare a non-statutory disclosable interest in meetings with regard to County Farms matters.
The Council is taking a wide range of steps to ensure that appalling behaviour such as this will never be tolerated again by officers or Councillors.
COVID-19
With the removal of Covid precautions in England on 24 February, people with Covid are no longer legally required to self-isolate, and the £500 payment for some people on lower incomes has also ended. Statutory sick pay and employment support allowance will start to be paid after four and seven days of absence, rather than immediately. Routine testing for pupils and staff in schools
has ended, with the exception of special schools, so the weekly report provided by the County Education team has come to an end. Free lateral flow and PCR tests will end from 1 April, with very few exceptions.
The roll out of vaccinations for 5 to 11 year-olds will begin from 31 March. Advice at this point is that children will be vaccinated in pharmacies and mass vaccination centres rather than in primary schools. Mobile vaccination centres are still in operation—see the schedule at https://www.thevaccinators.co.uk/
Holiday vouchers and household support for eligible families
The County Council’s Children & Young People Committee has approved the continuation of the supermarket voucher scheme for 2022/23 for eligible families, on the same basis as in the current financial year. This will cost around £3.6M and will operate alongside the Holiday Activity and Food Scheme which will also continue to run in the coming year. Meanwhile the Household Support Fund will run until the end of March. Demand is very high so is now restricted to one application per person.
Special needs provision
During Covid-19 Cambridgeshire has seen an unprecedented increase in the numbers of children with special educational needs and disabilities who require a specialist placement. As of 8 February, 211 children in Cambridgeshire had an Education Health and Care Plan requiring placement in a special school or specialist provision attached to a mainstream school in the near future. This
includes pupils who have moved into Cambridgeshire. These pupils are either currently on roll in a mainstream school or receiving tuition packages of alternative provision.
The council is proposing to commission new and additional places to meet this need through appropriate specialist educational provision across Cambridgeshire. On a wider, strategic scale, officers are also mapping future demand in order to develop sustainable specialist provision for the future.
Proposals include expansion of existing Area Special schools, creation of dedicated provision attached to mainstream schools, and more efficient use of independent providers through negotiation of block contracts.
Household Recycling Centre changes
COVID-19 measures at the Household Recycling Centres changed on March 1st, so booking requirements for all vehicles at all sites have been removed, and the number of vehicles allowed on all sites has been increased to pre-COVID levels.
There is still a ‘meet and greet’ staff to limit the number of vehicles on site to the sites’ maximum parking bay capacity, site signage related to COVID, hand sanitiser for public use, and social distancing between site staff and visitors.
Anyone who is self-isolating is asked not to attend any site. Where staff assistance is needed, materials must be removed from the vehicle by the site visitor for removal by site staff after the visitor’s departure. Staff will maintain social distancing, wear gloves and sanitise after handling waste. Where practical, only one person should be on a gantry at any time except where two are
required to lift bulky items.
Visits using vehicles or trailers which require e-permits will be registered by site staff on arrival at a recycling centre, as they were prior to the introduction of the booking system, with no requirement to book visits in advance.