Coronavirus: Volunteer hub to open in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, schools asked not to fine absent pupils

Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council said it will be asking staff to support the hub and engage with communities.

A spokeswoman for both authorities, when asked by the Peterborough Telegraph what plans are being put in place to support the vulnerable and elderly, said: “At this challenging time our primary focus is on making sure that the people whose care we are responsible for are still looked after during this period.

“We are implementing plans to make sure our critical services will continue to run, while making sure the health of our staff and those vulnerable people in our communities can be protected.

“We expect to receive further information from government very shortly about running council meetings. Until we receive this council meetings are being postponed on a meeting by meeting basis, and we would advise people to check on our website for details.

“In order to support our communities at this challenging time we will be establishing a volunteer hub. Once we have identified the number and individuals needed to deliver our critical services we will be asking other staff to use their skills and experiences to support this hub as well as working with, and engaging with, communities.”

The PT also asked if any parents have been fined for taking their children out of school over fear of contracting Covid-19.

The spokeswoman did not confirm if any fines have been issued, but stated: £National advice is for schools to remain open and we would encourage parents to continue to send their children to school while this remains the case as children are at very low risk of contracting the virus, and their learning is important.

“Any period of self-isolation would be outside the penalty notice process. Although it is not advised that parents simply keep children at home without any symptoms and this is not something we would advise, most schools are being sympathetic in this early stage.

“In this particularly difficult time though we would not encourage schools to fine parents for absences.”

Meanwhile, Peterborough City Council has issued new information for ceremonies.

It said: “We appreciate the concerns there are over how the Government advice with regard to coronavirus will affect forthcoming ceremonies. The situation currently is that registrars will continue to attend ceremonies that are planned on going ahead.

“If you need to move or cancel your ceremony then our amendment and cancellation fees will be waived and do not apply.