Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement of a roadmap out of the national lockdown, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“Councils will do all they can to turn this roadmap into a reality by building on successful work with the NHS on the vaccination roll-out. Widespread community testing in schools, businesses, care homes and other places – coordinated by councils – will also be absolutely fundamental in bringing down infection rates and releasing restrictions on our lives and economy.
“Councils want all children to return to school to continue with their education and will be working closely with the Government, education leaders and schools to make sure the return on March 8 is a success. Further clarity is needed on how all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can recover the education that they have missed out on, as well as on funding and resources for any educational “catch-up” programme.
“We all need to continue to play our part to ensure our lives can return back to normal by following social distancing rules, wearing a face covering and washing our hands regularly. It is also vital that we all do the right thing and self-isolate when required. To help, the Government needs to ensure its £500 self-isolation payment support scheme continues and is available to all those in need of financial support as a result of the requirement to self-isolate.”
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