Looking out for Children and Vulnerable Adults during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Communities across County Durham are being asked to look out for vulnerable adults and children during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Many women, men and children face a higher risk of abuse whilst isolating at home and our safeguarding teams are concerned that the stay-at-home message could be causing increased anxiety for those at risk.

Victims should not worry about leaving their home if it is to escape abuse.

Residents are also being reassured that police and local support services are still available to help keep everyone safe across the county.

More information on domestic abuse and what help and support is available in County Durham can be found on our Domestic abuse page. 

Concerns are also being raised for children who may be witnessing domestic abuse in the home and the impact that has on young people.

With the majority of children currently not in school, safeguarding teams are stressing that it is more important than ever to protect vulnerable children exposed to any form of abuse.

Residents are therefore being encouraged to report any worries they have around potentially vulnerable children.

Know the signs

 Key signs of those include concerns around children shouting and crying from a home, concerns that a child hasn't been seen in the garden or any outside space when it would be expected, and concerns that a child has been out on their own when it isn't appropriate to their age.

Although those signs don't necessarily mean a child is being abused, professionals can help to assess the situation and take appropriate action.

"If you see something, please say something"

Cllr Angela Surtees, Cabinet member for social inclusion, said: "No matter how stressful these times are, domestic abuse is never acceptable. It is so important that anyone who is either experiencing domestic abuse or feels at risk of it, knows that help and support is still available 24 hours per day."

"I would also encourage anyone who is worried about their friend, family member or neighbour being at risk of abuse to report their concerns. Specialist support can be offered to victims - young and old - and to perpetrators of abuse to help us break the cycle for everyone. If you see something, please say something."

"We will come to your aid"

Superintendent Dave Ashton, of Durham Constabulary's safeguarding unit, said: "Whilst following the government's advice to stay at home will save lives, for some home is not a safe place and we recognise that restrictions will be causing worry for many victims of domestic abuse.

"For those already living with domestic abuse these restrictions will have left them fearful of being even further isolated. Victims may feel like there is nowhere to go for help and are unable to meet the family and friends who act as a support network.

"That's why it is so important to get the message out that we continue to be here for all vulnerable people and if you feel you are in immediate risk of danger, please call 999 and we will come to your aid.

"Abuse of any kind is never acceptable and we will continue to do all we can to help victims. We have also been working closely with our partner agencies to combat the problem and reach out to victims to encourage them to come forward."

Take action 

To report concerns about the safety of a child or vulnerable adult, contact First Contact on 03000 267 979.

If there is an immediate threat, call 999. Anyone unable to speak will be able to use the Silent Solutions service and directed by an automated system to press "5 5" for help.

More information can also be found online: Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership: What to do if you are concerned about a child or Concerned about someone - report neglect or abuse.

Related information

• Coronavirus - latest news and advice
• Look after your mental health and wellbeing
• Support for residents
• Domestic

Speed Survey, Blackhall Rocks

The Traffic Management Officer from Durham Police has sent us the outcome of a speed survey carried out along the A1086 at Blackhall Rocks earlier this year following reports from residents of speeding vehicles on Broad Road. The data is published in full below:

Apologies for the delayed response.

There were two new 7 day 24 hour speed surveys we needed:

1)      Blackhall Rocks (south east of Hart Crescent)

2)      Blackhall Colliery (near Blackhall Primary School)

It appears that speed survey 1) has been done by DCC but speed survey 2) is still awaited.

In relation to 1) Blackhall Rocks I have reviewed the data and compared it with a previous speed survey in the same vicinity and the following results are noted (the shaded area is the percentage of vehicles within Police enforcement threshold)

Date of Survey	Average Daily Traffic Flow	≤30 MPH	31-35 MPH	36-40 MPH	41-45 MPH	≥46 MPH	Mean Speed
02/08 – 09/08/07	10620	26%	48%	20%	4%	2%	32 mph
30/01 – 06/02/20	10123	47%	38%	11%	3%	1%	30 mph

From the data it is evident that the level of offending has significantly reduced with the average mean speed now being around the 30 mph speed limit.

The previous survey (in 2007) showed 26% of vehicles travelled at speeds where Police speed enforcement would be considered and on the latest survey this has reduced to 15% offending.

This has now pleasingly dropped to our borderline figure for Police attention but I’ll put it out to our Roads Policing Unit for attention in the future.

Garden waste services set to resume

Garden waste services in County Durham will now be able to go ahead with changes to collection dates after they were initially postponed due to Coronavirus. For full details please see the council's press release published below:

Last month, Durham County Council had to postpone garden waste collections in order to maintain its essential refuse and recycling services during the Coronavirus outbreak.

After reviewing its operations, and as part of its plans to reinstate services, the council is now able to once again deliver its garden waste collection to residents.

The council is aware of how valuable this service is to residents so, to ensure it will be able to continue in conjunction with normal waste collection services, it will be changing garden waste collection days to Saturdays and Mondays. This will allow continued support to rubbish and recycling collections which operate from Tuesday to Friday.

Residents who are scheduled to have their usual collection on a Tuesday or Wednesday can expect their new collection day to be on a Saturday while those who are scheduled to have a collection on Thursday or Friday can expect their new collection to be on a Monday.

The council will be informing residents who are signed up to the service of their specific collection dates which will begin on either Saturday 2 May, Monday 4 May, Saturday 9 May or Monday 11 May, dependent on their collection calendar. Collection dates can be checked online via MyDurham at www.durham.gov.uk

The council continues to monitor government guidance and will keep the service under review over the next four months. Customers will be given advice on remaining collections beyond this time.

Information on collection dates is being updated on MyDurham and correspondence detailing changes to garden waste collections is being sent to residents who have subscribed to the service.

Those who do not wish to continue with the garden waste scheme should inform the council by Monday 11 May by completing a refund request form at: www.durham.gov.uk/gardenwaste or calling the customer services team on 03000 260 000.

Update on revised Waste and Recycling Collection services

Residents will have become aware recently of a number of changes to the council’s environmental services, including household waste and recycling collections, garden waste collections and household waste recycling centres (skips). These changes have been made necessary mainly because of the national response to the current Covid-19 virus and the impact it’s having on staffing numbers and restricted working conditions such as social distancing measures.

I asked yesterday for an update on how the council intends to review its services in light of government guidance and I have published below the response I received this morning from the head of service:

Household Waste and Recycling Collections.

I am very pleased to confirm that these core services are holding up well, including collections over the Easter period, a very busy time for us. We are deploying extra vehicles and crew (including from garden waste and bulky goods rounds) as well as volunteers from highways, leisure, clean and green and neighbourhood protection. These are all helping us meet our social distancing requirements. You will be aware that these key workers have received a number of compliments from residents, elected Members and others, which is really helping with morale.

I do recognise that with more time spent at home residents are producing more waste and recycling. Some residents and Members have asked if we could collect extra side waste. I hope you will understand that this cannot be done at the present time, as the crews are already stretched on the residual waste rounds, and for us to take extra quantities right now, would exceed our ability to cope. The exception to this is dry recycling, which if placed in a clear plastic bag, so loaders can see what is inside, then in accordance with existing policy we are able to take this, when left to the side of the recycling bin.

Ways in which residents can assist are as follows:

• For collection day in tight streets, please ensure that cars are parked to allow access by the collection vehicles.
• Ensure bin is presented for 7am (normal bin collections times may have changed as we comply with social distancing).
• Please don’t overfill the bins, materials that fall out pose hazards to collectors, delay their progress and can end up littering which then subsequently requires resource to deal with.
• Please recycle as much as possible, (squashing down the contents) and avoid contamination.
• If you or your family are unfortunate enough to have coronavirus symptoms then please separately double bag materials such as tissues and wipes, and leave for 3 days before putting in the refuse bin.

Garden Waste Collection – Move to Saturday and Monday Collections

The current service to over 55,000 customers was postponed for a month, to allow the resource to be deployed in support of the main refuse and recycling rounds which operate Tuesday to Friday. This has been invaluable as it allows 10 vehicles and 30 crew assist the main refuse and recycling crews, and provides capability to ensure social distancing.

Whilst the challenges to delivering the core refuse and recycling services haven’t gone away, we do recognise that the garden waste collection service is highly valued especially as many residents are now spending more time in their gardens if they have one. We have therefore looked at times when we have got spare capacity – namely Saturday and Monday where we can continue to provide a garden waste collection. We have worked to plans in place where so we can deliver the service on these days over the next four months.

All customers are being advised of the new arrangements, which we have kept straightforward as possible so that Tuesday and Wednesday are collected on a Saturday, with Thursday and Friday collected on a Monday. We are allowing provision for customers to request a refund, however as the service is still being provided (albeit on different days) we very much hope that most will stay with us.

Under the revised dates, garden waste collections will begin for some customers on Saturday 2 May with others collected on Monday 4 May, Saturday 9 May or Monday 11 May, dependent on their collection calendar. In addition to bespoke e-mails and letters, over the next few days information on the revised dates will be uploaded on the mydurham website.

It is proposed to review the position in four months’ time. The peak of the growing season will have passed, and hopefully the peak of the pandemic too. This will allow consideration of remaining collection arrangements for the rest of the season.

The welfare of our staff is of overriding importance to us, which is why we are not attempting this during the normal working week, and furthermore we will ensure this service (which is much smaller than domestic rounds which cover 230,000 properties a week), will have a rota system in place to limit hours worked.

Household Waste Recycling Centres

Nationally the vast majority of household tips are closed. This is not surprising as delivery and depositing of household waste is not included in the legally permitted reasons for leaving home which are restricted to shopping for basic necessities, medical need, travelling to work (where it can’t be done at home) or daily exercise.

We are continuing to monitor the national guidance and changes to regulations and at some stage anticipate that they will re-open. When they do so we will of course need to be mindful of limitations and service changes where necessary, which may prohibit/limit customer assistance in removal of items from cars, limit movement along walkways, and need to also take into consideration traffic management and impact on highways that may arise.

In the meantime, and whilst the facilities are closed, we are encouraging residents not to embark on large DIY projects, that will generate waste or if this is unavoidable to have in place arrangements for safe storage.

Recovery Phase. 

Clearly we are not there yet, but I want to assure you that we have commenced planning for tackling any excess household waste  that may have accumulated, which will include in addition to the household waste recycling centres, additional capacity and support to the currently suspended bulky goods collection service, and potential support for community skips and other mechanisms.

Extension to the Selective Licensing Scheme consultation

Earlier this year we posted details of a public consultation exercise on the council’s proposal to introduce a Selective Licensing Scheme for landlords and properties in the private-rented sector (please see post dated Monday 17 February 2020 for background details).

The proposal for a Selective Licensing Scheme follows our call at a PACT meeting two years ago for measures to tackle private sector housing related issues in our villages (please see post dated Friday 23 February 2018 for background details).

The deadline for responses to the consultation had originally been Monday 27 April 2020 however this has now been extended to 5pm on Sunday 24 May 2020.

Private-rented sector housing has been a contentious issue for quite a while in Blackhall Colliery, particularly since Accent Housing handed over their properties to the private sector a few years ago, so please make every effort to have your say on the council’s proposals.

For background details to the Accent Housing stock sale/transfer issue please see posts dated Monday 18 November 2013 and Saturday 28 February 2015, or enter ‘Accent Housing’ into the search bar on this site.

The consultation documentation can be found here:

Consultation on licensing of privately rented homes in some areas of the county

The deadline for comments is 5pm Sunday 24 May 2020.

Small Business Grant Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

How to apply for a Small Business Grant Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.

Covid 19 - apply for a Small Business Grant Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund

The Government has made several announcements on support to businesses affected by Coronavirus.

You may be able to make a claim if you fall into one these categories: 

• Support to be provided to those businesses that pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief or rural rate relief by way of a one-off grant of £10,000 being provided to help meet ongoing business costs.  
• A grant of up to £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.

Examples of the type of businesses that may qualify are florists, chemists, grocers, newsagents, greengrocers, opticians, hairdressers, barbers, pubs, coffee shops, gyms, takeaways, caravan parks, hotels, petrol stations and garden centers.

To check your eligibility please go to:

• Small Business Grant Funding
• Cash grant for retail, hospitality and leisure

If you require assistance in completing the form please contact Revenues and Benefits on 03000 268 997 or email businessrates@durham.gov.uk.

Occupiers of business units (where you are not the rate payer)

Businesses who occupy business units in retail centres, but are not named as the rate payer, may still be eligible for the small business grant.  We recognise that some businesses pay rates as part of their tenancy agreement therefore, if you are able to demonstrate you occupy a property and were trading on the 11th March 2020 you can register for business rates.  Once registered, you will be eligible to apply for the grant.

Please send your information or questions to CED@durham.gov.uk, clearly titled Business Rates Enquiry. 

Payment of grants

Once we receive your application for the COVID-19 Business Grant Funding Schemes - Small Business Grant Fund or Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund we will let you know, if you are eligible we will make payment to the bank account you have provided.

Please note: you may receive payment before you receive notification from us. However, you will clearly see on your bank transactions that the payment is from 'DCC'.

We will notify you if you are not entitled to a grant. In order to qualify for a grant you must have a current business rates account.

Contact us

Document downloads

•  Privacy notice - business rates (PDF, 39.9kb)

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