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30 March 2022
West Northants Council will be providing those most in need with immediate financial help in the form of vouchers that can be redeemed against shopping costs in a range of supermarkets.
With the recent and ongoing rises in the cost of living, it is often the most vulnerable and disadvantaged that have the hardest choices to make, sometimes as stark as “heating” or “eating,"
Using a grant provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), West Northants Council will be providing a one-off payment in the form of vouchers.
All previous recipients of the Household Support Fund fuel voucher scheme which has operated from December 2021 will receive a payment of up to £80. All house owner/renter recipients of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTR), both working and non- working and including pensioners will receive a voucher payment of £50.
The vouchers can be redeemed against shopping costs at a range of supermarkets but must be redeemed by 30th April 2022. All eligible recipients will start to receive a notification together with the voucher(s) from 30th March 2022.
Councillor Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council said “We are all seeing our cost-of-living rise, but for some this can mean having to decide if they are going to eat or heat their home and have hot water or have electricity or gas to cook with.
“In total, we will be providing support to 20, 060 individuals. We are issuing these vouchers to those people who are most in need, hopefully helping to alleviate the financial pressures they are experiencing in meeting their increased fuel, heating and food bills.”
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Note to editors
The Government’s Household Support Fund was set up to support those most in need during the winter period. West Northamptonshire’s allocation of this grant funding was £2,599,628 and the DWP gave local authorities a wide discretion on how these funds should be used, primarily to support households in the most need with food, energy and water bills, as well as essential costs related to those items and with wider essential costs.
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30 March 2022
We are encouraging residents and businesses to make personal pledges on how they will do their bit to make West Northants a more sustainable place to live and work.
This week saw the launch of Sustainable West Northants – an ambitious new approach towards protecting and improving the local environment, economy and society for future generations.
Working together
The initiative, which is being spearheaded by West Northamptonshire Council and partners across the area, aims to ensure everyone is working towards the same objectives and targets for developing sustainability, which are being mapped against global goals set by the United Nations.
With local people playing a key role in future plans, we are asking residents and businesses across West Northants to share your own steps and ideas to help make a difference, by making a Sustainability Pledge and inspiring others to get involved.
How to make your pledge
You can make your sustainability pledges online at sustainable.westnorthants.gov.uk - which will help the Council to measure efforts taking place across the area to protect and enhance West Northants.
Our sustainability pledges
We have also this week unveiled three key Sustainability Pledges – our primary commitments alongside the beginnings of a bold new strategy for steering forward resources and actions – with more pledges expected to be developed in the future.
They are to:
- Net Zero the Council’s own emissions by 2030 and those of residents and businesses by 2045
- Take a community leadership role for Sustainability in West Northants
- Ensure all Council strategies and policies are aligned to and contribute to the delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Being sustainable is all about living in a way that protects our natural resources, improves our environment, society and economy and provides opportunities for future generations.Councillor Jonathan Nunn, Leader of West Northamptonshire CouncilWe are embarking on a bold new approach to make West Northamptonshire a more sustainable place to live and work, but this will only happen if all individuals, businesses and organisations team up for change. Becoming more sustainable does not happen in isolation. If we work together, we will achieve together.
We all act sustainably from time to time, whether walking to the shops, donating clothes or repairing instead of replacing something, and if we commit to making these actions and sharing our ideas, then we can really make a difference. I would encourage residents, businesses and other organisations to visit our website and pledge what they will be doing towards a more sustainable lifestyle, and inspire others to come on this journey too.”
We recently signed up to the UK100 Net Zero pledge, focusing on tackling the climate emergency and reducing carbon emissions.
To make your sustainability pledge and find out more about how to get involved, visit sustainable.westnorthants.gov.uk
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Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service are warning people that deliberately lighting fires could result in police taking action, following a spate of arsons this month.
During the first three weeks of March, Northamptonshire firefighters responded to 18 deliberately lit fires in Corby and Wellingborough alone. This anti-social behaviour impacts communities, costs money, pollutes the environment and could lead to a criminal record for anyone involved – as well as being potentially life threatening.
Intentional fire setting is dangerous and as the warmer and dryer weather approaches, the risks of fire increase. Even a small outdoor fire can spread quickly and become a serious risk to life.
Andy Evans, Arson Reduction Officer for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Our firefighters spend hours trying to stop deliberate fires throughout the year.
“Last year we saw a steep rise in deliberate fire setting as we moved into warmer months and approached the school holidays. We’ve been working hard in schools and communities to educate people and raise awareness not only of the dangers of fire setting, but the potential impact on an individual’s future and job prospects if they have a criminal record for arson.
“Attending deliberately lit fires also affects our ability to respond to more serious and possibly life-threatening incidents such as house fires or road traffic accidents. Arson is a crime, and the consequences can be severe for those involved.”
FireStoppers provides an anonymous way to report anything you know about deliberate firesetting. It’s managed by the independent charity CrimeStoppers. Reports of arson passed to FireStoppers will be investigated.
Call 0800 169 5558 or complete the online form at www.firestoppersreport.co.uk if you have any information about deliberate fire setting.
If an incident requires an emergency response, please call 999.
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25 March 2022
'Celebrate Mother’s Day Covid-safely and make sure you don’t give more than flowers and chocolate' is the message from Northamptonshire’s interim Directors of Public Health as numbers rise for the fourth consecutive week and a further 6,020 residents test positive
As cases continue on an upward trajectory and rise by a further 14% this week, Public Health officials are keen to remind local residents to continue to practice Covid-safe behaviours, particularly on Mother’s Day as people will be mixing closely.
They are issuing a reminder to residents to Lateral Flow Test before meeting up, meet outdoors in the sunshine if possible and to remember to wash their hands to protect against the virus.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic many residents will be sadly missing their mothers this Sunday, a day which will be very difficult.Sally Burns and John Ashton - Interim Directors of Public Health for West and North Northamptonshire CouncilsThe virus is unfortunately still rapidly circulating in our community, and we must now do all we can to protect our dear ones. Whilst vaccination continues to offer protection, people are still getting sick, being hospitalised and dying.
If you are meeting up this weekend, make sure you take a lateral flow test beforehand and practise good hand hygiene to help reduce the chance of passing Covid-19 on to others.
This week marks two years on from the first lockdown. Since that time 1,811 residents in Northamptonshire have died due to the coronavirus. We would love to say that Covid-19 is no longer a problem, but we are still seeing hospitalisations and this week 12 residents died within 28 days of a positive COVID -19 test. It has not gone away.
With the virus still in circulation it’s vitally important that we do what we can to protect ourselves and those we around us. Let's all stay Covid-cautious on Mother’s Day and every other day and keep looking out for one another.
Covid-19 in the county this week
Analysis of the county’s recent coronavirus cases and rates over the period 14 - 20 March 2022, shows:
- 6,020 residents tested positive for Covid-19 this week. Of this number, 636 were reinfection cases. Last week’s number was 5,300 with 586 reinfection cases. ‘Reinfections’ are a new measurement now appearing in the county’s weekly data surveillance report and are defined as, ‘an infection of COVID- 19 from any of the variants after 90 days from the date of the last positive test.’
- Northamptonshire’s infection rate per 100,000 population is 801.2 – up from last week’s number of 607.1 and similar to the national average of 807.7, which is also up on last week, when it was 544.6
- West Northamptonshire’s rate per 100,000 population is 777.4. The highest rates locally are South Northamptonshire (919.7) and East Northamptonshire (915.1)
- 12 people died in Northamptonshire within 28 days of a positive test, a slight decrease from last week.
- More females than males tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 28 days
- The 30–39-year-old age group had the most positive cases and experienced the most reinfections
- Over the last 4-week period the number of cases amongst people aged 60+ increased by 8.7%, from 3307 to 3596
- The latest data shows a total of 128 COVID-19 patients occupied hospital beds in Northamptonshire on 22 March 2022, which is a 35% increase in the number of Covid-19 patients in the previous week (95 on 15 March 2022).
View the weekly Covid-19 Surveillance Report.
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Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service have released a short series of films to coincide with Neurodiversity Celebration Week which runs from 21-27 March.
The next video in our series of films for Neurodiversity Celebration Week focuses on Autism and features neurodivergent firefighters, police officers and staff talking about their personal journeys, reflecting on their strengths – problem solving, profound empathy and how valuable this is to the emergency services and to the communities they serve.
For Police recruitment opportunities, visit www.northants.police.uk/careers
For information on careers in the Fire Service, visit the Careers section on Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service – Making Northamptonshire Safer for all (northantsfire.gov.uk)
You can learn more about Neurodiversity Celebration Week and get you and/or your organisation involved here www.neurodiversityweek.com