June 2020

5 Buckden Roundabout June 2020 District & County Councillors From your County Councillor At the time of writing, we are several weeks into the lockdown. The latest challenge is to understand in practical terms the directions on Boris Johnson ’ s road map out of lockdown. The growth of community goodwill and desire to help neigh- bours, especially the most vulnerable, has been one of the most heartening aspects of this terrible period of our lives. The County Council officers have been doing their best to maintain services in adult social care and in looking after the most vulnerable children. Even before the current Covid crisis, the service had become very stretched. We have not yet reached the point when there will be a seri- ous scrutiny of what has happened, how the county has re- sponded and what will need to be done differently in the fu- ture but when that happens, it will be important for us all to get involved, honestly and realistically. A major element will be: what do we expect of local govern- ment services? In the first stages of the Covid crisis, it looked as though central government would support local services. The Communities and Local Government Minister, Robert Jen- rick, pledged in March that his department would do ‘ whatever is necessary ’ to help council leaders cope with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis. At the beginning of May the same Mr. Jenrick warned that councils should not ‘ labour under a false impression that what they are doing will be guaranteed fund- ing by central government ’. In the months to come, councils will bear the responsibility of maintaining levels of social care, ensuring safe provision of public transport, helping local business and providing the es- sential services that we have perhaps taken for granted. For the last ten years local government has been treated with ruth- less disdain by ministers in London. Mr Jenrick will have the opportunity to make amends. But all that debate lies ahead. For now, my good wishes to you all - to stay well and support each other as much as we possi- bly can. Peter Downes From your District Councillor I hope that all continues well with you and this is a quick up- date on how Huntingdon District Council is responding to Covid19 with new or recent measures. HDC is now one of only six Councils that is still maintaining full waste disposal and in addition HDC is now extending grass cutting to areas where the County Council no longer provides a full summer service. This is for the safety and amenity of residents, so if you have a grass problem, it may be CCC ’ s responsibility, but HDC will try and help in due course. A new HDC Covid - 19 fund has been set up, the Community Chest Grant Scheme. This uses the existing £30k community chest funding and HDC have added further funds to bring it up to £50k. Groups can apply for up to £1000 to help with Covid - 19 projects and support. Details can be found here: https:// huntingdonshire.gov.uk/council - democracy/grants/#chest HDC and County Council Funding Government has increased funding by £1.6 Billion but the ma- jority of this is being routed to County Councils and not District Councils. HDC is a well - managed and financially prudent Dis- trict Council, and is currently managing the Covid - 19 situation, but will not be able to continue in the medium term unless there is a change in Government policy. HDC Local Support for Covid19 HDC have also set up a help website and access to support online for Residents at the site above. If you do not have online access, or are unable then please call 01480 388388 www.wearehuntingdonshire.org Local News Local news updates from HDC are available by signing up for direct emails at www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/emailsignup HDC Financial Support and Grants for Residents and Business The recent letter from Cllr Ryan Fuller, Conservative Executive Leader, sent to 70,000 Households, gives an excellent summary of actions taken so far. Support is being given to the vulnera- ble, including food parcel and prescription delivery. For busi- ness, a two - month council tax deferment scheme for those who need it, has been introduced, car park charges and market pitch fees are suspended. HDC is in the process of delivering more than £30 million of Government Grants to eligible busi- nesses. But there is a problem . Sadly, many hundreds of eligible busi- nesses, appear not to have applied. There is also a second problem . Businesses eligible for Grants are facing delays because many applications are not filled in correctly. Mostly this appears to be that Bank details are not being completed properly and this delays payments. So please be careful in filling in these forms. HDC understands how pres- sured business is but cannot respond if this vital information is not given. Bounce Back Loans, a New Loan for Small Business from May 4th https://www.gov.uk/government/news/small - businesses - boosted - by - bounce - back - loans • businesses will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and access the cash within days • loans will be interest free for the first 12 months, and businesses can apply online through a short and simple form Small businesses will benefit from a new fast - track finance scheme providing loans with a 100% government - backed guar- antee for lenders. Bounce Back Loans scheme, which will pro- vide loans of up to £50,000, will help bolster the existing pack- age of support available to the smallest businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. (Continued on page 6)