For all the latest information see our website or follow us via our facebook and twitter channels if you can.

You can find details of any confirmed changes to Council services, or opening hours, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, on the regularly updated, service disruption pages.

We will also deliver a printed information booklet to all homes in the borough over the coming weeks to ensure everyone in the borough is kept informed of changes to Council services and who to contact for help, if required.

Havering Council has plans in place to keep vital frontline services running.

Other services will be subject to change.

Birth registration

Birth registration appointments are cancelled until 14 April 2020. This may be extended if Government advice changes.

We recognise that new parents keen to formally register their child’s name may be concerned. However we can reassure them that this will not affect their child’s status, and you will not be penalised for late registration. Registration of births will resume as soon as possible.

Council and housing association lettings 

Given the government’s rules on social distancing during this outbreak, and advice to avoid moving home unless absolutely necessary, we will no longer be advertising or letting any council or housing association properties, with the exception of priority properties to people displaced by the COVID-19 outbreak.

We will look to restore lettings as soon as it is practical and safe to do so. In the meantime, if you need help please contact the Housing Choice and Applications Team.

Recycling (orange sacks)

Deliveries of orange sacks to households for recycling will continue, subject to staff availability.

Our contractor will begin another round of deliveries of a roll of sacks to all homes from next week. This process will take up to 10 weeks to reach every home in the borough. As is the case with usual delivery rounds, those homes that have waited the longest since the last delivery of these sacks will be delivered first.

If you are running short of orange sacks then please use another clear or semi-clear bag in place of your usual orange sack. Don't forget that large pieces of cardboard can be left alongside your orange and black sacks on collection day and don't need to be included in your orange sack.

Queen's Hospital in Romford & King George Hospital in Ilford are currently receiving 400 pairs of scrubs a day but actually need 1,000 to protect their hardworking NHS staff.

Under normal circumstances, these would be supplied by the NHS but the increase in demand for scrubs due to the coronavirus has exceeded supply.

You can help and be a Havering Hero by making a donation that will help purchase the material, thread and tape needed to make them.

The King George and Queen's Hospitals Charity are organising the collection.

Over 2,000 volunteers are on standby to help co-ordinate, sew them together, package and deliver them.

Donate

Havering Volunteer Centre is co-ordinating all of the volunteers and requests for support in the borough, working tirelessly to match volunteers with suitable roles to help the most vulnerable residents in our community.

Havering Council is supporting these efforts with a £300,000 financial package to help adult social care providers, personal assistants and voluntary sector care providers to ‘keep caring’ as they provide a front line response to coronavirus.

Huge thanks to the 500+ #HaveringHeroes who have already signed up to help our most vulnerable residents at this time of need. Havering Volunteer Centre are doing their best to get these all active in the community and have paused registrations at this time.

But you can still help! They still need donations of food, toiletries, new magazines, puzzles or quiz books to help our loneliest and most vulnerable residents.

Please deliver them to Community Reach House, 32-34 The High Street, Romford RM1 1HR but remember to observe the safety guidelines regarding social distancing.

If you need to chat to someone please also call 01708 922214.

More

This week, the Prime Minister will write to every UK household to urge them to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

The letter and accompanying leaflet will outline the guidance everyone should follow, along with measures the government has put in place to fight coronavirus and to support businesses and workers.

These will be sent to 30 million households across the UK by the Royal Mail, arriving between today and Wednesday 8 April.

The leaflet signposts to alternative formats that are available at gov.uk/coronavirus.

The accessible formats are available now, and versions in the following languages will also be available shortly:  Polish, Russian, Welsh, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujerati, Romanian and Roma (the Roma travelling community).

These are difficult times for businesses.

The situation with COVID-19 is changing by the day, so we have put together a new business advice site to share all updates, advice and assistance to help businesses through this crisis.

We will also be hosting a live Facebook Q&A session in the coming weeks to address some of the common questions and concerns from local businesses.

The exact date and time will be confirmed soon, so keep an eye on the advice page, and sign up for our Business Briefing email bulletins.

More

People living with domestic abuse may be at a higher risk than usual during the coronavirus lockdown.

If someone at home is hurting you, or you are concerned for someone’s safety, help is still at hand.
In an emergency always call 999.

If you are not immediately concerned for your safety you can report abuse to the police by calling 101 or emailing the police.   

The freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline is open 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. 

The freephone National Stalking helpline is 0808 802 0330.

If you know of firms or shops that you think are remaining open in breach of guidelines, or are exploiting the current situation through unjustifiably high prices or misleading claims, you can report this via our website. 

Please do not use the emergency coronavirus hotline number for these reports.

Report

During this difficult time the overwhelming majority of Havering residents have been helpful and understanding of the need to make changes to a number of Council services in order to keep essential services running.

Our streetcare teams are stlll out cleaning roads, emptying waste bins, and collecting rubbish, all services regarded by Havering Council as essential work.

If you are taking your dog for a walk as part of your allowed daily exercise break, please remember to clean up after them. We know the majority of you do this already, but it will help us even more to keep our borough clean and healthy.

Failure to clean up after your dog could incur an £80 fine.