South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City Council residents are being asked to put their green bins out as normal from Wednesday 12 January, with waste crews working to empty as many as possible each day. The intention is to empty all green bins in line with the published schedule, but crews may not be able to reach all properties. While they work to bring the service back up to normal, it will not be possible to report any missed green bin collections in January. Find out more including your scheduled collection day and to read our FAQs: https://www.scambs.gov.uk/return-of-green-bin-collections/ See less

COVID community update on Lateral Flow Tests – 7 January 2022

As you will be aware, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has meant there has been a huge surge in demand for Lateral Flow Tests (LFT) and demand is currently outstripping supply at times. Although this is expected to be a temporary problem, obtaining test kits is currently not as straight-forward as it has previously been, especially since the most convenient source – local pharmacies – have not had a regular supply of test kits since the rise in demand.

For most people this will simply mean some extra patience when ordering tests online. The national system refreshes the delivery slots available every 30 minutes, so if you visit the website and no tests are available, try again in 30 minutes.
For those who urgently need tests and are able to travel, an alternative is to visit one of the rapid testing centres from where kits can be collected. In South Cambridgeshire there is a regular pop-up session in Cambourne, but all the details about the locations of these sites can be found on Cambridgeshire County Council’s website.

Perhaps the biggest concern is for those people who rely on LFTs so they can attend regular medical appointments but find it difficult or impossible to do so online. In such circumstances, people can still ring 119 to place an order. We would suggest that during this time it would be wise to place the order in plenty of time before it is needed – especially if a medical appointment is coming up.

Greater Cambridge Shared Waste News release – Wednesday 8 December 2021

Green bin collections suspended from Monday 13 December

Green bin collections across Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire are being suspended from Monday (13 December) because of the number of drivers and loaders absent – particularly with Coronavirus or self-isolating.

Crews are working hard to complete rounds that are scheduled for the rest of this week but after Monday (13 December), green bin collections will be suspended and are planned to resume on Wednesday 12 January 2022 in line with the previously published Christmas schedule.

In addition to staff shortages due to COVID-related reasons (sickness and self-isolation), there is a continued national shortage of HGV drivers as well as a lack of agency staff because of demand for them elsewhere such as in supermarkets and at online delivery services.

The suspension will allow crews to concentrate on emptying black and blue bins during the festive period when more waste and recycling is traditionally generated. Back in the summer, when the green bin service was threatened, the Councils gave advance warning that collections could be disrupted due to the pandemic causing staff shortages. This has now been realised.

Steps had already been taken to try and deal with staff shortages. Since September, Greater Cambridge Shared Waste has appointed 11 new bin crew members during a near-constant recruitment campaign. Six existing refuse loaders are also currently going through a driver training programme. However, with 30 members of waste operations staff absent today (Wednesday 8 December) it is no longer possible to continue planning to empty green bins from next week.

Many other councils, both in Cambridgeshire and across the UK, have already been forced to suspend their garden waste collection service.

For those residents that are expecting their green bins to be emptied this week, the message is to put your bin out as normal. If it is not collected on your usual collection day, leave it out, and it will be emptied by the afternoon of Tuesday 14 December.

During the green bin suspension, the advice for garden waste is to store this in the green bin or in a plie in the garden, or home compost, until collections resume. If necessary, it can be taken to the household recycling centres at Milton or Thriplow. As always, residents are being encouraged to waste as little food as possible, so they have less to throw away. For this period only, residents who do have food waste are being asked to put it into the black bin. Changes are now being made to update the online bin collection calendars at www.scambs.gov.uk/recycling-and-bins and www.cambridge.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-rubbish to reflect the suspension of green bin collections.

Head of Greater Cambridge Shared Waste, Bode Esan, said: “I really hope that residents will continue supporting our crews and understand that the decision to suspend green bin collections is not one that we have taken lightly. We have done everything we possibly can to keep all our collection services going, by working hard to cover for absences as well as recruiting new staff. However, we have reached the point where we can’t do this any longer and must prioritise emptying black and blue bins. Please help out our hard-working crews by storing any remaining garden waste and leaves from this autumn and minimise food waste  as much as possible over the coming weeks and the festive period in particular.”

Ends

For further information contact Tom Horn in South Cambridgeshire District Council’s communications team on tom.horn@scambs.gov.uk or 07704 072 548

Further information:

At present, the collections will resume on Wednesday 12 January 2022 in line with the Christmas collection date changes. As the green bin collections would have turned turn to their usual 4-weekly cycle from w/b 27 December/3 January, the suspension is adding an extra two weeks to this, so residents will only be missing one green bin collection throughout the planned suspension. Residents are advised to check the websites for updates and for their collection days via the online calendar which have been updated to reflect this. If you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

For additional information, below is a copy of the bin collection dates changes over the festive period.

Usual collection day	Revised collection day
Fri 24 Dec 2021	No change
Mon 27 Dec 2021	Wed 29 Dec 2021
Tue 28 Dec 2021	Thu 30 Dec 2021
Wed 29 Dec 2021	Fri 31 Dec 2021
Thu 30 Dec 2021	Tue 04 Jan 2022
Fri 31 Dec 2021	Wed 05 Jan 2022
Mon 03 Jan 2022	Thu 06 Jan 2022
Tue 04 Jan 2022	Fri 07 Jan 2022
Wed 05 Jan 2022	Sat 08 Jan 2022
Thu 06 Jan 2022	Mon 10 Jan 2022
Fri 07 Jan 2022	Tue 11 Jan 2022
Mon 10 Jan 2022	Wed 12 Jan 2022
Tue 11 Jan 2022	Thu 13 Jan 2022
Wed 12 Jan 2022	Fri 14 Jan 2022
Thu 13 Jan 2022	Sat 15 Jan 2022
Fri 14 Jan 2022	Mon 17 Jan 2022
Mon 17 Jan 2022	Tue 18 Jan 2022
Tue 18 Jan 2022	Wed 19 Jan 2022
Wed 19 Jan 2022	Thu 20 Jan 2022
Thu 20 Jan 2022	Fri 21 Jan 2022
Fri 21 Jan 2022	Sat 22 Jan 2022
Mon 24 Jan 2022	Back to normal

An update on contacting the Council

It’s usually easier to contact us online. You can do more online at a time to suit you. Did you know you can complete a short form to update your Council Tax bill if you’ve moved; report a change in your circumstances related to your Benefits; or report a missed bin collection? Just visit our website to do all of the above and more. You can also create a My South Cambs account, to see personalised information – such as your Council Tax payments or your Benefits account.

If you do need to call us, then please bear in mind that our Contact Centre has this month moved across to a single number for most Council services, which is 01954 713 000. This single number replaces the existing suite of 03450 numbers. This is easier for customers as there is now just one number to remember or look-up. It does not cost customers any more money in call charges than the previous 03450 number did. Please note that there are some exceptions to this new number, such as Building Control, Council house repairs or maintenance and out of hours numbers. Our Contact Us website page contains all the details.

We are also pleased to now offer residents who choose to call us a call back feature if call answering times are longer than usual. If the customer waits for five minutes to speak to us on the phone, the call back function will automatically be offered to them. Finally, we are also working on a webchat service so residents will be able to message us at their convenience online. We are working to make this service live in 2022, and further details will follow early next year.

Christmas bin collection dates:

Usual collection day	Revised collection day
Friday 24 December 2021	No change
Monday 27 December 2021	Wednesday 29 December 2021
Tuesday 28 December 2021	Thursday 30 December 2021
Wednesday 29 December 2021	Friday 31 December 2021
Thursday 30 December 2021	Tuesday 4 January 2022
Friday 31 December 2021	Wednesday 5 January 2022
Monday 3 January 2022	Thursday 6 January 2022
Tuesday 4 January 2022	Friday 7 January 2022
Wednesday 5 January 2022	Saturday 8 January 2022
Thursday 6 January 2022	Monday 10 January 2022
Friday 7 January 2022	Tuesday 11 January 2022

The Guildhall in Cambridge’s Market Square will play host to a walk-in vaccination centre this coming weekend. Open from 10am to 6pm on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 November, the CCG will be offering eligible people the chance to get COVID-19 vaccinations, including first doses, second doses and their booster (if it has been at least 182 days since their last vaccination). No appointment is required.

Eligible people aged 16+ can simply put on a mask and walk into the Guildhall to get their vaccination. The walk-in vaccination clinics are intended to provide the opportunity for as many people as possible to get vaccinated ahead of the festive season. You can find out more about where you can walk-in or book your COVID-19 vaccination by visiting www.thevaccinators.co.uk

PLEASE SEE BELOW FROM SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL

Universal Credit: available support

Changes are being made to the Universal Credit system this month which will see the temporary £20 a week uplift to payments coming to an end. The uplift was introduced by the Government in response to the pandemic and ended on 6 October, when Universal Credit payments returned to their pre-pandemic levels. With that in mind, we thought it would be useful to set out the support that is available from us to residents who may be facing financial hardship.

Residents finding it difficult to transition back to previous Universal Credit payment levels should contact us as soon as possible so that we can discuss the support that we may be able to provide. There are a range of options for those struggling financially, including:

• Discretionary Housing Payments which provide financial support towards housing costs. You can apply for these Discretionary Housing Payments here
• The Council Tax Hardship Fund, which aims to provide support to those who are struggling financially because of the pandemic. You can apply for this Hardship Fund here
• Support and advice from our Welfare and Money Maximisation Officer, Lucy Tompkins, who can be contacted via lucy.tompkins@scambs.gov.uk
• Signposting to external support and advice agencies
• Along with Cambridgeshire County Council and partners, we also still offer a one-off small payment to help with immediate food of fuel needs. Anyone needing that one-off help should email our communities team.

Email our Benefits team if you have specific questions or call 03450 450 061. Residents on Universal Credit can also seek financial advice and support via Citizens Advice. This should be accessed via a referral from their work coach at DWP Cambridge.

View in browser     Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce are hosting a lunch event next Wednesday and would like to offer you up to four free places to attend. The event is for businesses in South Cambridgeshire that trade internationally or are considering it. The event will take place at Holiday Inn Cambridge on Wednesday 29 September from 11.45am to 2.00pm. A two-course lunch will be provided. Speakers include: Vic Annells, Chief Executive, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce Adele Gritten, Business and Economic Development Team Leader at South Cambs District Council who will talk about the support available for South Cambs businesses Karen Cash, International Trade Team Leader at Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, who will advise on the latest changes for trading with Egypt, new international trade training courses being delivered by the Chamber and the services provided by the team including customs declarations, transit declarations, ATA Carnets, and export documentation. Karen will also be available to take any questions you may have. To confirm your place, please email Sadie Parr with the names of who will be attending.     Business Support South Cambridgeshire District Council South Cambs Hall Cambourne Business Park Cambourne  CB23 6EA openforbusiness@scambs.gov.uk       This email was sent to email@willinghampc.org.uk You received this email because you are registered with Business Support   Unsubscribe here       © 2021 Business Support

Many South Cambridgeshire residents have been deeply moved by the events in Afghanistan and want to donate and help Afghan refugees relocating to the UK through the Government’s Afghan Locally Employed Support (LES) scheme. The District Council has advised that they have made three homes available for Afghan families relocating to the UK. These homes will be fully furnished and up to three months’ worth of food and essential supplies are provided to help the families start new lives. Their latest update can be found here, announcing our partnership with Cambridge City Council to provide wraparound support for the Afghan families.

At this time, The Council are unable to accept donations directly, but anyone who would like to donate their time, goods, or money can do so through the following national and local organisations:

1. Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
2. Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum
3. Distribute Aid

British Red Cross