Our community hub is now up and running and we are fielding calls and putting people in touch with local sources of support.  People can get in touch online at https://www.wealden.gov.uk/news-and-events/coronavirus-covid-19-latest/community-support/ or by phone on 01323 443322.   Your continued help and assistance in facilitating local responses is vital and much appreciated.

We are working with East Sussex County Council, other Districts and Boroughs and local CCG and NHS representatives to continue to refine and develop the support we can provide through the community hubs.  However, and in line with central Government advice, we hope that most people will be able to rely on their own support networks through family, friends and neighbours.  It would be helpful if you could also reinforce this message to help us all manage demand and expectations so we can all focus our efforts on those most in need.

We are arranging, with East Sussex County Council, for the attached leaflet to be delivered directly to households containing vulnerable people in Wealden – as you will see this helps explain who should contact the hub for support and how to do so.  We also plan to arrange for stocks to be delivered to you for local distribution as you see fit.  It would also be helpful if you could post on any social media that you use.  We hope to send the leaflet out in the next few days.

We will continue to refine and improve the information available on our website and hope to shortly include a list of businesses that can deliver food, and publish an interactive map enabling people to find their nearest support networks.

We are working with 3VA to coordinate volunteers and put them in touch with local organisations.  3VA have set up WhatsApp groups and Zoom meetings for local groups – if you have not already signed up for these you can contact 3VA at info@3va.org.uk .  3VA can provide help and guidance about working with volunteers  – further information can be found here https://www.3va.org.uk/how-we-can-help/coronavirus/health-advice   The Government has also published updated advice about DBS checks https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-factsheet-community-volunteers-during-covid-19-outbreak/safeguarding-and-dbs-factsheet-faqs

Government support for the extremely vulnerable – those who are at very high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 because of specified underlying medical conditions – is also progressing.  As I mentioned in my email last week, locally in East Sussex, support will be coordinated through the County Council, acting through the Sussex Resilience Forum.  The full list of individuals in the shielded group is being providing to each Local Resilience Forum and we expect to receive this data by the end of this week.  East Sussex County Council will make initial contact with the people on the list to check and establish their needs, including social care needs.

The Government is prioritising those in the high-risk group who are unable to rely on family or friends for adequate practical support throughout the period of shielding. For this group a basic package of food and household essentials will be supplied and delivered by major food service suppliers with established national delivery infrastructure.

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable

Do please keep us updated about your own local arrangements and let us know if there are any recurring issues that we may be able to help with.   We have recently circulated information to you about help with obtaining handheld card machines –  if you are interested in this please email your expression of interest to communitydevelopment@wealden.gov.uk no later than Wednesday 8 April.

In the meantime please also encourage residents to follow our twitter account (@wealdendistrict), like our Facebook page or sign up to MyAlerts for regular updates.

We are supporting Wealden

It has been a very busy week for all the staff and councillors at Wealden District Council as they continue to put a wide range of measures in place to support local communities in the difficult days ahead.

“We appreciate the stress caused by financial hardship and worry. Many of our teams have been working hard to ensure the financial support announced by Government  is delivered  to the businesses and households who need it.  I am pleased to say a great deal of progress has already been made,” said Cllr Bob Standley, Leader of Wealden District Council.

“Some 3,500 Wealden residents who currently receiving council tax support have already had their council tax accounts credited by up to £150 from the Government’s Hardship Fund. Read more ›

Wednesday 1st April 2020

News and Alerts It’s no April Fools Corona Virus scams continue to be reported across Sussex

The majority of reports are related to online shopping scams where people have ordered protective face masks, hand sanitiser and other products, which have never arrived. Some of the tactics being used in phishing emails include:

• Fraudsters purporting to be from a research group that mimics the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO). They claim to provide the victim with a list of active infections in their area, but to access this information the victim needs to either click on a link which redirects them to a credential-stealing page or make a donation of support in the form of a payment into a Bitcoin account

• Fraudsters providing articles about the virus outbreak with a link to a fake company website where victims are encouraged to click to subscribe to a daily newsletter for further updates

• Fraudsters sending investment scheme and trading advice encouraging people to take advantage of the coronavirus downturn

• Fraudsters purporting to be from HMRC offering a tax refund and directing victims to a fake website to harvest their personal and financial details. The emails often display the HMRC logo making it look reasonably genuine and convincing Stay safe and don’t fall victim to coronavirus fraudsters – if you have been victim to fraud, or for further advice, you can report fraud to Action Fraud UK

You can protect yourself by:

• Watching out for scam messages – don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails and never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for your personal or financial details

• When shopping online, if you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first, and ask a friend or family member for advice before completing the purchase. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one as most major credit card providers insure online purchases

• Protecting your devices from the latest threats – always install the latest software and app updates to protect your devices from the latest threats.

The National Cyber security Centre offers advice on looking after your devices.

Sussex Police’s Operation Signature offers further information on how to keep yourself safe from unwanted callers and other approaches.

The NHS and Public Health England websites offer the latest health information and advice about Covid-19.​​​​​​​

Message from Wealden District Council:

Please find below the latest service update about Garden Waste Collections.

All Wealden service updates and other information to help with the local response to Covid-19 can be found here: https://www.wealden.gov.uk/news-and-events/coronavirus-covid-19-latest/ including the application form for businesses to apply for the Covid-19 Business Support Grant, and information about our Community Support initiative.

27^th March– Suspension of Garden Waste Collection Service Read more ›