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Wednesday 7 April 2021 (Update #201)
 I hope you had an enjoyable Easter. We were blessed with some lovely weather, even if it was a little chilly at times. Along with many retailers and the hospitality industry, this last year has been an incredibly difficult one for leisure centres, so I am very pleased that we have been able to secure financial support for our centres.
The new funding from Sport England will help us get leisure centres open again so residents can get back to living healthy, and more enjoyable lives. You can read more on this below.
This money comes just before the official opening of the new Harrow Lodge Leisure centre in Hornchurch. This is the next step in the Council’s ongoing investment in leisure facilities, which will also include the start of the construction of a brand new leisure centre in the south of the borough later this year.
I am so relieved that you are getting behind the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Over the last week Havering has smashed past the 100,000 milestone for residents who have received the first dose of the vaccine, and that includes more than 93 percent of adult care home residents in our borough.
In total more than 55 per cent of all adults in Havering aged 16 or over have now received at least one dose of the vaccine. The new vaccine centre in the Liberty Shopping Centre has been a huge success with more than 20,000 doses given before Easter.
As our latest weekly report on COVID-19 in Havering released today shows, infection rates continue to fall and so, thankfully, do deaths. Read more on this below. Let's keep to that downward trend. Continue to follow the Government's guidance: maintain social distancing, wash your hands regulalrly, and wear a face covering when you are near people who don't live in your household, even if you have been vaccinated.
If you want to contact me directly, you can email me. However, please be patient as there may be a delay in getting back to you due to the volume of messages I am receiving.
Cllr Damian White
Leader, Havering Council
Havering Council and Everyone Active, have secured over £580,000 from Sport England’s National Leisure Recovery Fund to support the reopening and recovery of the borough’s leisure centres.
The money offsets some of the losses made since leisure centres were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding will also support the reopening of leisure centres later this month when restrictions are eased under Step 2 of the Government's roadmap.
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 Every week Havering Council publishes a report on coronavirus in the borough on its website. It includes data on infection rates and testing, as well as the vaccine roll-out, and compares the success of that programme in Havering with other parts of London and the rest of the country.
The graph above is taken from the report and shows the number of Havering residents testing positive for coronavirus each week since 6 March last year. Until 2 July the figures did not include widespread testing in the community.
There were 64 cases reported in the last week,17 less than the previous week.
This equates to an incidence rate of 25 new cases per 100,000 population which is lower than the London (26/100,000) and whole of England (38/100,000) figures.
In total 915 people in Havering have now died with COVID-19.
As of 3 April there were 26 inpatients admitted due to COVID-19 occupying beds at our local hospitals. This is 10 less than last week. The trust that runs those hospitals, BHRUT, also publishes weekly data on the number of patients it is treating.
The Government has said that face coverings should continue to be worn in secondary schools and colleges until at least Step 3 of the Government’s roadmap for easing lockdown is reached.
Step 3 is set to begin no earlier than Monday 17 May.
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New temporary CCTV cameras have been installed in Ardleigh Green following a trial to combat anti-social behaviour in the area.
Havering Council set up a CCTV tower at the junction of Ardleigh Green Road and Squirrels Heath Lane in early December, in response to concerns from residents and businesses. That tower has now been removed and replaced with more traditional, but temporary cameras.
The installation of the cameras was one of a number of actions taken by the Council including enforcement officers and COVID-19 marshals patrolling the area and working closely with the college, police and neighbourhood watch co-ordinators.
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 Rapid testing is now available to everyone across Havering.
One in three people with COVID-19 do not show any symptoms. As more and more people return to work, regular, twice-weekly rapid testing is now open to everyone to help make sure you're not passing on COVID-19 without knowing.
You can access asymptomatic twice-weekly testing by attending a test site to get tested, see how to take the test, or pick up tests to do at home.
You can collect home test kits without an appointment from any of Havering's Local Testing Sites, but do check opening times on our website before travelling.
Alternatively, you can order a test kit online.
Have symptoms?
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.
Following a review by the Government of COVID-19 testing for people providing personal care services, Personal Assistants (PAs) should now test twice weekly using rapid Lateral Flow Testing (LFT).
PAs should order a box of seven LFTs every 21 days. If they test positive with an LFT, they will need to isolate immediately, order one confirmatory PCR test kit and isolate until they get their PCR result.
The Department of Health and Social Care is encouraging all PAs to join a webinar which will cover the changes in detail.
Register for this webinar that will be held tomorrow (Thursday 8 April) at 10am.
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You can now apply for home to school travel assistance.
Travel assistance is reviewed annually and applications should be made online by both new and existing applicants by Friday, 28 May.
If no form is received by this date Havering Council will assume your child no longer requires travel assistance for the next academic year.
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Havering's libraries will begin to reopen from Monday 12 April as the Government's restrictions are eased.
The service will re-open as a full ‘browse and borrow’ service starting with Harold Hill, Upminster, Hornchurch (located on upper floor), Rainham, and Romford's Central Library on 12 April. Gidea Park and South Hornchurch libraries will open from Wednesday 14 April.
Elm Park, Harold Wood, and Collier Row libraries will remain as COVID-19 rapid testing sites for those without COVID-19 symptoms. They will not be open as libraries for the time being.
COVID-19 home testing kits will be available for collection in all libraries that are open.
Online activities
In the meantime, Havering Libraries are are continuing to hold online events designed to keep residents connected or mentally active.
These events include Chat in the Hat, held every Thursday from 11.30am to 12.30pm. It's a social event with an array of interesting subjects and questions to pull out of the hat to get the conversation going.
Baby Bounce sessions are held every Thursday from 2 to 3pm. Sing along to your favourite nursery rhymes and songs with your babies and toddlers. There will be time to chat at the end of the session.
To book a place for either of these events send an email to Library Events.
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Advertorial
Pinney Talfourd is delighted to announce its merger with Sackvilles Solicitors.
Sackvilles has an excellent local reputation and a good and loyal client base.
As an expanding firm, Pinney Talfourd felt that the addition of Sackvilles to its practice provided an excellent opportunity for their clients to benefit from the greater collective expertise, experience and service offered whilst maintaining a personal approach.
Managing Partner of Pinney Talfourd, Philip Cockram, commented: “It was immediately clear from our discussions that we shared the same outlook and focus on expertise and client service.”
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If you haven't yet completed Census 2021, please do so as soon as possible.Everyone is required by law to respond to the census and if you do it now, if you haven't already done so, you won’t be fined.
Census field officers are following up households that have not returned their questionnaire.
All genuine Census officers will carry an ID card with their photograph and name.
They will not make calls before 9am or after 8pm, and will never ask for money or bank details.
These officers will not enter homes and they will have paper questionnaires with them in case residents have lost their orginal letter with its unique access code, or don't have the ability to complete the form online.
If you have any questions, or concerns as to whether a person claiming to be from Census 2021 is genuine, please call 0800 141 2021.
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 This last year has been difficult for many people and Havering Council wants to help by extending the deadline for the Council Tax early payment discount.
This means if you pay your Council Tax in full before Friday 9 April 2021 you will get 1.5 per cent off your bill.
Look at the table above to see how much you can save on your Council Tax bill and make your payment online or by telephone on 01708 433993, available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch in partnership with Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group, have launched a new project ‘Spring Into Creativity’ for residents of Orchard Village and Passive Close in Rainham.
The project provides creative activities residents can engage with from their home while social distancing restrictions continue.
Designed for all ages, the free resource packs contain everything needed to join in. Activities include crafts to make, recipes to bake, adult colouring, games, quizzes and puzzles, creative writing challenges and competitions with prizes including tickets to Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch productions later this year.
The project also supports Havering Council's #BeNiceToYourNoggin mental health campaign.
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If you are looking for a new career social care could be for you.
Havering Council is supporting London’s Proud to Care – which is recruiting for professional care roles to support our most vulnerable residents across the borough.
We’re looking for people to work in such areas as home care, care homes, day centres and supported living.
The attractive offer includes starting and developing your career, a good living wage, flexible hours and joining a rewards scheme with discounts at a range of major retailers.
The recruitment campaign is run by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services London.
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If you are a registered voter on Thursday 6 May, you can vote in London's elections for the Mayor of London and Members of the London Assembly.
The deadline for receiving applications to register to vote is midnight on Monday 19 April.
The deadline for receiving new postal vote and postal proxy applications, and for changes to existing postal or proxy votes, is 5pm on Tuesday 20 April.
In this election you have three ballot papers:
If you haven't registered for a postal vote, you can vote in person. Polling stations will be open between 7am and 10pm on 6 May.
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The NHS wants your views on plans to create a new Health and Wellbeing Hub on the former St George’s Hospital site in Hornchurch.
The consultation is part of the formal planning application process.
It is proposed that the new centre will provide GP services to residents living within a two-mile radius, along with community, diagnostics and some hospital services.
Face-to-face engagement on the design is not possible due to COVID-19 restrictions in place, so instead a dedicated website has been launched to give you an opportunity to find out more about the building and its design.
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A student from Romford has won a competition run by the painting and decorating department at Barking and Dagenham College.
Students created their own designs incorporating the NHS and rainbow colours.
Callum Atkins (pictured) won the competiton showcasing what the students had learnt during the Spring term.
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Congratulations also to Chantelle Lee, from Hornchurch (pictured) who is studying for a Diploma in Business Administration at the same college.
She has won a Jack Petchey award.
The Jack Petchey Achievement Award scheme is a programme which recognises outstanding young people across London and Essex.
Prizes are awarded to those who have gone above and beyond to achieve, put effort in and done their best.
Her tutors put her forward for the award having watched as she consistently demonstrated leadership qualities in class.
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