Author: Clerk

Register now if you’re shielding to access priority supermarket slots

People who have been encouraged to register as shielding are being urged to do so before the 17 July deadline, whether they need help at the moment or not. Although the shielding programme will be paused on 31 July, people on the shielded list who register for support with essential supplies before 17 July will still be able to access priority supermarket delivery slots from this date.  

In addition, the council will be keeping a record of everyone who is shielding, so that if there is a need for lockdown again, it has the details of everyone who might need support.  

Adrian Chapman, Service Director: Communities and Partnerships for Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “If you’ve been contacted by the NHS and advised that you need to shield and have not yet registered, please think about doing so, whether you need help at the moment or not. 

“Registering will allow us to keep in contact with you and provide support if there is a further lockdown and will allow you to access priority supermarket delivery slots, which may be useful to you in the coming weeks and months. To access these slots, please make sure you tick the box which asks for help with accessing essential supplies when you register.

“In addition, if you have registered and told us you don’t need help with accessing food, you won’t be able to access priority supermarket slots. If you would like to be able to, please contact the national shielding programme to change your preferences.” To register on the shielded list, or to amend your preferences, visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable or call 0800 028 8327. 

In addition, the Government has confirmed this week that the majority of children currently considered extremely clinical vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19) will be able to be removed from the shielded patient list from 31 July.

Children will only be removed from the shielded patient list by their GP or specialist doctor following consultation with them and their families. Specialists and GPs will be asked to contact families to discuss this over the summer, so people do not need to take any immediate action. 

The Government has decided to take this action following independent evidence from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), working with specialists in paediatric medicine, which shows the risk of serious illness for children and young people is low and only those with the most severe conditions should now be considered clinically extremely vulnerable.

 More information is available at www.gov.uk.

Booking system introduced at three household recycling centres

Visitors to three household recycling centres in Cambridgeshire will need to book a slot to access the sites from next week. This is in addition to a booking system for all sites that was recently introduced for vans and trailers requiring e-permits. From Monday, 22 June, you will only be able to visit Bluntisham, Alconbury and Thriplow household recycling centres if you have pre-booked a slot. The booking system will open today (17 June). This measure is being introduced to reduce traffic congestion, speed up entry times and reduce the risk of collisions around the sites. Residents should only make essential visits to Household Recycling Centres if it is not possible to store waste safely at home or dispose of it through kerbside or bulky waste collections. Further Government advice is available on GOV.UK (paragraph 1.1). Sites are provided for the use of Cambridgeshire residents only, and all users should be prepared to show proof of address on arrival. You can book your slot online but if you can’t access the website, you can phone 0345 045 5207 for help. Further advice on visiting household recycling centres, including what to expect, restrictions and how the teams are keeping users safe is on the council’s website.

South Cambridgeshire District Council; Reopening of High Street Survey

South Cambridgeshire District Council are working hard to support local small and medium customer facing businesses in our district. They have created a survey so that they can gather as much information about local businesses as possible, to find out about how they are faring during Covid19 and their plans on reopening.

You can take part in the survey via any of the platforms below.

Facebook; Facebook

Twitter; Twitter

LinkedIn LinkedIn

Action Fraud (NFIB)
Coronavirus-Related Scams – How To Protect Yourself
Dear subscriber,


Criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try and get their hands on your money and personal information. To date, Action Fraud has received reports from 2,378 victims of Coronavirus-related scams, with the total losses reaching over £7 million.


How you can protect yourself from Coronavirus-related scams:

There are some simple steps you can take that will protect you from the most common Coronavirus-related scams. Here’s what need to do:

1 – Watch out for scam messages
Your bank, or other official organisations, won’t ask you to share personal information over email or text. If you receive an email you’re not quite sure about, forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk

2 – Shopping online
If you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first, for example, by checking to see if others have used the site and what their experience was. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, other payment providers may not provide the same protection.

3 – Unsolicited calls and browser pop-ups offering tech support
Never install any software, or grant remote access to your computer, as a result of a cold call. Remember, legitimate organisations would never contact you out of the blue to ask for financial details such as your PIN or full banking password.



NHS Test and Trace scams:

The NHS Test and Trace service plays an important role in the fight against coronavirus and it’s vital the public have confidence and trust in the service. However, we understand the concerns people have about the opportunity for criminals to commit scams.


What you need to know:

Contact tracers will only call you from the number 0300 013 5000. Anyone who does not wish to talk over the phone can request the NHS Test and Trace service to send an email or text instead, inviting them to log into the web-based service.

All text or emails sent by NHS Test and Trace will ask people to sign into the contact tracing website and will provide you with a unique reference number. We would advise people to type the web address https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk directly into their browser, followed by the unique reference number given to you, rather than clicking on any link provided in the message.


The NHS Test and Trace service will never: ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to them (for example, those starting 09 or 087) ask you to make any form of payment or purchase a product or any kind ask for any details about your bank account ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone   ask you to download any software to your PC or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet to anyone else ask you to access any website that does not belong to the government or NHS

If you think you have been a victim of fraud, please report it to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. If you live in Scotland, please report directly to Police Scotland by calling 101.​​​​​​​