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Friday 26 February 2021 (Update #186)
 Alongside the vaccine roll-out, another key piece in winning the battle against COVID-19 has been the role of our local contact tracing team in finding the contacts of people in Havering identified as having the coronavirus infection.
Since October the details of 3,654 people have been passed to our team by the national NHS Test and Trace scheme and our team has been very successful in following those leads up.
In the most recent week for which we have figures (week ending 13 February) the efforts of the national scheme and our local team have together achieved a 93 per cent success rate. My thanks to all involved in the tracing and to all residents who have followed the advice to self-isolate after being identified as coming into contact with someone who has the awful virus.
At a time when mental health awareness and support is so important, I am pleased that Havering Council is working with local charities and pursuing innovative ways of ensuring we are speaking effectively to our young people.
Positivity Breeds Possibility is an event designed to encourage young people in Havering to start important conversations surrounding mental health and to raise awareness of the wealth of in-borough support available to them.
Taken out of the classroom, and torn away from their friends, this last year has been an immensely difficult time for our young people. I’m proud the Council can put on this event to thank them for their amazing resilience and to reassure them that we are on their side. You can read more about the event below.
If you want to contact me directly, you can email me. However, please be patient as there may be a delay of a day or two in getting back to you due to the volume of messages I am receiving.
Cllr Damian White
Leader, Havering Council
Our mental health awareness campaign, BeNiceToYourNoggin, and local youth charity Lifeline Projects are putting on a free online concert to help raise awareness of mental health support.
The event – headlined by MOBO winner Guvna B - will be exclusively for young people in Havering and hopes to provide a place for them to discuss mental health issues and learn more about the local help available.
If you are aged 11 - 25, or know someone who is, click on the button below to join the event.
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Here's a summary of the steps we will be taking out of lockdown over the next two months:
Around 70,000 people in Havering have now had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with 86 per cent of 65-year-olds receiving their first dose of the vaccine.
Take-up of the vaccine has been very high in all groups offered a jab but if you have any doubts about taking a COVID-19 vaccine when it is offered to you, or you know that a friend or relative has concerns, see this video.
If you or someone in your family is 70 or over, or defined as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, and you have not yet had, or been booked, for your first COVID-19 vaccination, you should contact your GP for an appointment, or book your first vaccination online or by calling 119.
If you are 64 or over, an eligible frontline health or care worker, or eligible for carer’s allowance, you can also book online.
Testing
One in three people with COVID-19 have no symptoms, and can pass it on to others without realising. If you cannot work from home please test twice weekly at one of Havering's five lateral flow testing centres.
These centres are open from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 10am to 7pm on weekends. Find your nearest rapid testing site.
See our short video that explains the simple process.
Of course, it also remains vitally important to book a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms. There is information on booking procedures, and opening hours for all our local testing locations on our website.
Help
If you, or someone you know, has concerns around care, urgent issues with their health and wellbeing or lack of access to supplies, including food, please call our free to use helpline: 0800 368 5201.
It is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and between 11am and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays for emergencies only.
You can also email us if you, or someone you know, needs help.
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Havering Council is continuing to help the borough’s most vulnerable as more residents are added to the Government’s shielding list.
Last week the NHS extended the list of people considered vulnerable enough to need to shield, with the Council ensuring that support is available to these new Clinically Extremely Vulnerable residents.
The announcement follows a COVID-19 population risk assessment that the NHS conducted with Oxford University. The list now includes many people who may not have been asked to stay at home previously.
The main purpose of extending the list is to ensure that people with conditions now considered to make people more vulnerable to COVID-19 are prioritised for vaccination.
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Havering Council needs residents help to track down fly-tippers who dumped a caravan full of commercial, household and construction waste in Rainham, earlier this week.
The caravan (pictured) was found in a lay-by on the A1306 New Road, having been left there sometime between 5pm on Saturday 20 February and 7am on Monday 22 February.
In January alone, the Council's enforcement team has responded to nearly 60 reports of fly-tipping from residents in Rainham. This has included removing two lorry trailers and other waste.
Recently, the Council served a Fixed Penalty Notice totalling £400 to a resident after dumped rubbish in Jutsums Lane, Romford, was traced back to a nearby address.
If you have any information on the caravan fly-tip, please call 01708 432563 or email our Street Scene Enforcement team.
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Havering Council believes that any loving person or couple can make wonderful foster parents.
Relatively new to fostering, Marc and Theo (pictured) became foster carers last summer during the pandemic.
They love what they’re doing, but can’t deny that it has been tough.
“It has been the hardest way to become a foster carer, but I have to say Havering have been exceptional with the support they have given,” said Marc.
The same-sex couple who had never fostered or parented before, are currently caring for an eight–year-old girl and have been able to care for her, while both working full-time.
"It is important to have a support system in place if considering fostering long-term. If someone is going to foster, they should consider how they are going to make it work for them and the child, while still bearing in mind that every child is an individual", they said.
Marc and Theo are supporting LGBT Adoption & Fostering Week that begins on Monday (1 March).
To find out more about fostering, join them and the Havering Council team on Wednesday, 3 March at 11 am for a special information session.
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The Government's Kickstart Scheme is designed to provide funding to create new job placements for 16-to-24-year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment.
Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.
Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021 and further funding is available for training and support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.
You no longer need a minimum of 30 job placements to apply directly for a grant.
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Next Thursday (4 March) is World Book Day.
Havering Libraries are holding a number of special online events to celebrate the day, including author Andy Cope doing a live Zoom between 7 and 8pm aimed at anyone aged 11 or over.
Amongst other things, he will be discussing his book ‘The Art of Being a Brilliant Teenager’ and encouraging teens to quit the moaning and start loving life, to become their very best self, with tips on how to stay cool under pressure and be determined and most importantly ‘happy’.
Register in advance by sending an email.
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Very soon you will receive a letter that will tell you everything you need to know about how to complete Census 2021 online.
Paper copies of the census will be available if required.
Census 2021 takes place on Sunday 21 March.
By filling in your census, you will help shape Havering for the next 10 years.
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Up until the end of January more than five million people have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme.
So far there have been 22,850 applications to the scheme from Havering residents.
The largest number of applications were from Romanian citizens, followed by Lithuanian, Poles, Bulgarians, Italians and Portuguese.
If you are a European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss citizen, or a family member, you should apply now to secure your rights in UK law.
The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021.
A new leaflet has also been produced by the Government designed to enable employers to clarify requirements around Right to Work for EU, EEA and Swiss employees.
The leaflet provides clear information on rights and obligations depending on when an individual arrived in the UK.
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New City College, which incorporates Havering Sixth Form College and Havering Further Education College, is offering a range of free 10 week online courses.
These career and life-enhancing courses are for anyone aged 19 and over.
Courses cover a range of business and social care work topics including creating a business start-up, administration, dementia care, counselling, and more.
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Resurfacing work on the stretch of Abbs Cross Lane in Hornchurch between Bruce Avenue and Suttons Avenue will continue until Wednesday 3 March.
During this work Abbs Cross Lane will be closed to through traffic. Later, on 16 and 17 March, high friction surfacing will be applied to the Zebra crossing approaches in Abbs Cross Lane by The Avenue.
Resurfacing work in Avelon Road, Romford will continue on Monday, 1 March, between 9.30am and 3pm. During these times, Avelon Road will be closed to traffic with diversions in place.
On Friday 5 March the red surfacing at the entrance to Beulah Road in Hornchurch, where it meets Suttons Avenue, will be replaced.
Carriageway resurfacing work is scheduled to take place in South End Road in South Hornchurch (between Coronation Drive and Airfield Way) early in March, and is also planned for Orange Tree Hill in Havering-atte-Bower running in two phases between 8 and 12 March and also on 25 and 26 March.
Lastly, carriageway resurfacing work is planned for Tees Drive in Romford to take place on weekdays from 16 to 23 March beween 9.30am and 3pm.
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This Sunday, 28 February, TfL Rail will be running a reduced service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, with trains operating every 15 minutes from 10am.
On the same day there will be no London Overground train service between Romford and Upminster. Please use local London Buses services.
On Sunday there will be an amended timetable operating for c2c trains services on the Rainham line.
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