About the (second) extended lockdown in Oadby and Wigston

By Ian Ridley and David Carter.

Health Secretary Mike Hancock announced on Thursday a further 2 week extension to the lockdown in Oadby and Wigston (and Leicester City).

In answer to queries from some residents, neither the Borough Council, nor we as your local councillors were consulted on this decision by either the Health Secretary or Nick Rushton, the Leader of the Conservative County Council.

The decision is as frustrating for us as it is for local residents and businesses. As a community we have to trust that the decision is made on public health grounds. Make no mistake, Covid-19 is a killer and it looks like even some of those who recover may be left with long-term health issues.

Until a vaccine is widely available, which will hopefully be sometime next year at the latest, the government needs to keep cases of the virus as low as possible, whilst ensuring that we have a viable economy to carry on when it is safe to do so.

Concerns about the decision

So we must continue to get tested when told to do so and follow the lockdown rules if we are to see things eased in our area.

That said, we are concerned about the apparent decision-making process. The Health Secretary said that he decided which areas to bring out of lockdown based on the advice of Nick Rushton. This seems very odd: surely a decision about the lockdown should be based on data and information from local public health officials, not advice from a local politician.

Data

That brings us onto data. Lots of numbers have been used to justify the lockdown. On reflection, this may have been a mistake. Different measures can be used to back any argument and they are often not the “right” numbers to answer the question in hand. It would have been better to have independent health officials say they’ve looked at the data and come to a view. But we’re past that point now.

With expanded testing in the lockdown areas, we need the percentage of positive cases out of the total number of tests being done. This is useful for seeing if the situation is getting better here but needs to be treated carefully when compared to the rest of the country where testing is not so intensive.

So far, Leicester data for this has been published but not for Oadby and Wigston. We think these numbers should be released as businesses and residents need to understand why we are being kept in lockdown. If the data doesn’t back the decision, the Health Secretary needs to look seriously at lifting lockdown here.

Keep Safe, Follow the Guidance

We encourage residents to continue to follow the lockdown rules. This is the best way to ensure we manage this dangerous virus in our area. As your local councillors, we will continue to try to ensure the concerns of residents and businesses are heard by the government and the MP here.

Oadby Councillors Support Call for more Lockdown Information

Oadby Councillors have supported a call by the Leader of Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, John Boyce for more information about the reasons for the extended lockdown in our area.

Councillor Boyce, along with leaders of other District Councils affected by the extension, have written to the Conservative County Council Leader, Nick Rushton, asking for the same level of information that has been made available to Leicester City Council, either from the County Council or Public Health England.

This is partly in response to residents contacting the council and councillors, asking for more information as to why their particular area has been included in the zone. Also some outside of the zone are now making decisions to remain at home or not reopen their businesses this weekend.

Your Oadby Liberal Democrat Councillors support this call for extra information. We agree that if residents and businesses have access to the data and reasoning behind the decision to include all of the areas within the lockdown zone, it will be easier for all of us to understand why the decision has been reached. This is turn will make it more likely that the extended lockdown rules will be followed.

Up to now, the information available to both the Council and Councillors has been spasmodic and unclear. As soon as we have confirmed information, we will inform our residents online.

Oadby St. Peter’s Ward Focus Extra

Liberal Democrats

Welcome to what we hope will be a regular local email newsletter from Ian Ridley and David Carter – your Liberal Democrat Borough Councillors for Oadby St. Peter’s Ward.

If you know anyone who would like to receive these, they can sign up to get them (please choose the second option – Oadby St. Peter’s Ward Focus Extra).

In this issue:

County Council Oadby Waste Site re-opens on Monday (but you must book) – Waste Collections – Council Tax help – Royal Mail – Volunteering and help – Helping Hands – Oadby Food Bank – Useful Contacts and Information

Some County Waste Sites re-open TOMORROW (18th May), including Oadby

You MUST book an appointment on the County Council web site to visit the waste site. Full details and a link to FAQs are on the appointments page.

The County Council advise that residents should only book an appointment if your waste cannot be stored at home without causing a risk of injury, health or harm to you or other members of your household.

The site will be open from 9.15am to 4.15pm 7 days a week but vans (including pick-up trucks and any vehicles constructed, intended or adapted for the carriage of goods) are restricted to Wednesday mornings. Trailers are not allowed.

For now, the waste site will accept the usual types of waste except WEEE (small and large domestic appliances, fluorescent tubes, batteries including car, fridges / freezers), Asbestos, Cooking oil and Engine oil).

The County are putting temporary traffic restrictions around the waste site entrance on Wigston Road which are likely to include parking restrictions on the access road and no right turns at the junction with Wigston Road.

Residents should be aware that there could be traffic delays in the area. There is likely to be a lot of demand for bookings but the County Council says more bookings will be made available over the coming week.

Borough Council Update: Waste Collections / Council Tax help / Customer Service Centre

Residents have been sending messages of support on social media to our waste collection teams, who have kept our waste, recycling and garden waste collections going throughout the difficult past few months. They have done an amazing job.

Bulky waste collections have resumed with details here.

Cllr. Ian Ridley asked council officers about residents having difficulty paying Council Tax due to changes in personal circumstances. If you think you may have a problem meeting your bill, please contact the Borough Council.

The Council’s’ Customer Services Centre remains closed but is open for phone calls and you can also get in touch online. The latest opening hours are here. Ways to contact the Council are:

Changes to Royal Mail Deliveries

Royal Mail have stopped Saturday deliveries of letters until 13th June but Saturday deliveries of parcels and other services will continue as normal.

Letters will be delivered as normal from Monday to Friday.

Volunteering / help

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council have set up a Community Support Hub to support vulnerable residents living in the Borough and for individuals or organisations wanting to volunteer their time or services to help those in need across Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston.

Full details and how to request help or sign up are here.

You can also sign up to join the Red Cross’s network of community reserve volunteers.

Oadby Food Bank

The Oadby Food Bank is helping many more people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Food Bank accepts donations at the Uplands Road Co-op or on Wednesday afternoons (2 to 4pm) at the Methodist Church. The Food Bank is open for those in need on Fridays from 11.30am to 12.30pm

Advice from Helping Hands

The Helping Hands Community Trust has over 20 years’ experience in providing a free advice service to local residents about Welfare Benefits, Debts, Housing, Employment, Family Law and much more.

You can contact them via email office@helpinghandsadvice.co.uk, Facebook @helpinghandsadv or by calling 0116 278 2001 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 10am – 5pm.

Useful Contacts & Information

You can contact your local councillors by phone or email. Details are at the end of this article.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council Covid-19 Service Updates & Advice.

Leicestershire County Council Covid-19 updates page.

Helping Hands Community Trust.

Oadby Food Bank.

Get in Touch:

If there are any issues that we may be able to help you with, please email us or call 0116 212 0602 (Ian) or 0116 271 7787 (David).

Ian Ridley

Ian Ridley (Borough Councillor, Oadby St. Peter’s Ward).

David Carter

David Carter (Borough Councillor, Oadby St. Peter’s Ward).

Jeffrey Kaufman

Jeffrey Kaufman (County Councillor, Oadby Division).

Dean Gamble

Dean Gamble (County Councillor, Oadby Division).