Coronavirus: How Peterborough and Cambridgeshire’s key services including council tax, bins and housing needs are affected

Both authorities have committed to giving daily updates, beginning today (Thursday).

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Here is a round-up of the latest news and how residents will be affected:

Education

The councils said they are waiting for further information on how children of key workers, and vulnerable children, will be supported after the Government announced all schools will close after Friday.

The councils said: “We will work with all affected schools and settings to share this information and its implications once we know more and will continue to offer our support and guidance. In the meantime, we’ll continue to post any information about school closures on both the Cambs and Peterborough sites.”

Libraries

All libraries remain open but events have been cancelled.

Peterborough council tax

The city council said: “If any residents are concerned that the coronavirus pandemic is going to affect their finances so significantly that they will have difficulties in paying their council tax we would suggest that first they contact the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss whether they may be entitled to claim Universal Credit, if they are on a low or no income due to self-isolation.”

Details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit.

The council added: “They can also apply for some specific help towards their council tax through council tax support and the link to the application form.

“We would urge any resident who may struggle to pay their council tax to contact our teams at the earliest opportunity to discuss options as everything we can offer will depend on individual circumstances.”

Bus passes

All concessionary bus passes can now be used for free before 9.30am.

The councils said: “We hope by relaxing the time limits during this challenging period it will help people to access supermarkets and the reserved time slots being offered should they wish and be able to do so.”

Inquests

The coroner service continues as normal while the councils wait for further guidance. They added that decisions may be taken at short notice.

Volunteer Hub

The councils are working through plans to establish a volunteer hub, including the numbers and individuals needed to deliver critical services.

They will then be joined by other staff and community members. More details are expected to be announced shortly.

Waste

The councils are asking members of the public to wipe their bin handles when putting the rubbish out and to regularly wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap and water.

Bin collections – our staff are doing all they can to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus when handling your bins, please can we ask you to wipe the bin handles when putting They added: “If anyone is self-isolating because they are experiencing any symptoms, we politely ask them do not come to any of our household recycling centres.

“Personal waste (such as used tissues) and disposable cleaning cloths can be stored securely within disposable rubbish bags. These bags should be placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste.

“This should be put aside for at least 72 hours before being put in your usual external household waste bin. Other household waste can be disposed of as normal.”

Peterborough housing needs

Peterborough City Council said: “The housing needs service will no longer be advising people to use the phones in the Customer Contact Centre or have face-to-face meetings. If residents want general information on their housing application or for any other queries, they should contact the team by email on [email protected].”

Residents that are homeless or threatened with homelessness can call the team during office hours (Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, apart from Wednesday which is 11am to 5pm) by leaving a voicemail message on 01733 864064. A member of the team will then phone you back to discuss your situation so you do not need to spend phone credit, the city council said.

Alternatively, people can email [email protected].

Residents that are homeless or threatened with homelessness out of hours (evenings/weekends) should call 01733 864157.

Ceremonies and registrations

Registrars will continue to attend ceremonies that are planned and going ahead. If you want to move or cancel your ceremony then the usual amendment and cancellation fees will not apply.

Registering a death or a birth

In order to limit the amount of people coming into the Registration Office, the councils are asking only the person (both parents if the baby’s parents are not legally married/civil partners) registering to attend.

They do not need to bring the baby along.

General update

The councils said: “We continue to monitor and observe national government guidance and are doing all we can to play our part. Our leadership team is meeting daily looking at how both councils strive to keep services running.

“All our teams who can do so are being asked to work remotely wherever possible in order to keep frontline, critical services operational, and those staff members who are out and about are maintaining hygiene standards and being provided with the relevant equipment to carry out their job safely.

“All council meetings have been postponed for this week across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. We expect to receive further information from the Government about running council meetings shortly. We would advise people to check our website for details.”

Updates can be found at: https://www.peterborough.gov.uk/healthcare/public-health/coronavirus/disruption-to-council-services or https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/coronavirus/disruption-to-council-services.

For advice and the latest information on coronavirus visit: www.peterborough.gov.uk/coronavirus and www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.