Rules banning shops selling non-essential items during Wales' firebreak lockdown will not be reversed, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said, reports the BBC.
On Sunday afternoon, Mr Drakeford said the implementation of the rules may be tweaked, but the "basic decision" behind the ban was the right one.
The ban on supermarkets selling non-essential items during Wales' lockdown will be reviewed after the weekend, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
The BBC is reporting this morning that pressure has mounted on the Welsh Government to reverse the decision to prohibit supermarkets from selling items such as clothes and microwaves.
The largest petition ever submitted to the Senedd has now passed 45,000 signatures.
Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government was ensuring "common sense is applied"
Supermarkets have been told they can only sell "essential" items and must close parts of their stores which sell products such as clothes, shoes, toys and bedding during Wales' 17-day "firebreak lockdown".
A hospice is appealing to the public to help it continue to provide free patient care for cancer patients and those with other life-limiting illnesses in this area.
Nightingale House Wrexham is encouraging more people to come forward and join its hospice lottery to inject much-needed cash into providing vital services for patients with chronic diseases including cancer, motor neurone disease and heart failure.
The hospice continues to improve its services and introduced a new direct referral service during the first lockdown.
It also operates a 24/7 helpline for patients and their families who need support and guidance.
As 80% of the hospice’s services are funded by donations and fundraising activities the Nightingale House weekly lottery is a major lifeline for generating income.
Last week’s announcement on an all-Wales lockdown until November 9 means all retail outlets and cafes have closed once again making the hospice's situation ever more precarious.
Whilst Nightingale House was allocated a share of government cash to assist until previous income streams could be restored it did not receive all the funding it requires.
And it is unclear about what further money will be allocated to independent hospices in Wales during this latest national lockdown.
All face to face fundraising activities have either been abandoned or taken online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and as a result the lottery has become a beacon of hope for the hospice.
Thanks to the generosity of almost 16,000
people who have already signed up the lottery raised £535,000 in 2019. It costs £3.4m per year
to run Nightingale House.
Lottery manager Tracey Price said: “During these uncertain times playing the lottery in support of Nightingale House means so much to patients and their families as it is a vital source of income for us and provides consistency in our fundraising abilities to complement those organised events and other donations and fundraising efforts.”
Chair of the board of trustees Eluned Griffiths said: “The lottery has helped keep our heads just above water during the last seven months, providing essential cashflow for the hospice and remains a pivotal part of our fundraising, particularly as business support schemes disappear and we are left to face an uncertain financial future alone.
“The latest national lockdown for Wales means we will struggle once more as our overheads remain the same.
"We appeal to the First Minister of Wales to release the rest of the funds promised to us earlier in the year, as so far we have only received approximately a third of these and also to ensure the charity sector is not forgotten during this uncertain period.
“We are so lucky to have wonderful supporters who are digging deep to help us get through this difficult period. If there are family members who already support the lottery we would urge them to encourage others to take part and take the message into their workplaces and tell colleagues and friends about the lottery’s positive impact on our hospice care.
“Encouraging more people to sign up would bring us a sense of relief and provide stability to all those who benefit from our services and our hard working staff who continue to provide the care and support that patients with chronic illnesses are able to access 365 days a year.”
Denbighshire County Council is calling on the
county’s residents to comply with the ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown introduced yesterday in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus cases across Wales.
Its leader Councillor Hugh Evans said: “Over recent weeks we have seen a significant increase in the number of cases of coronavirus across the whole of Wales and the Welsh Government has made it clear that urgent measures need to be taken to try and avoid going into a full lockdown.
“Now that we have clarity on the circuit breaker, we now need to make sure that we all play our part in working through the restrictions.
“We fully recognise that some people may find the idea difficult, especially given the sacrifices made by people earlier in the year, but compliance is essential. We really need to do this to try and protect our most vulnerable in our communities.
“On top of the new restrictions, we must also continue to adhere to the social distancing measures, as well as wearing face masks to visit the essential shops and following stringent hygiene measures.
“The council and its partners will continue to remind people of the restrictions being introduced through local media, websites and social media feeds."
Information about the restrictions can be found on: www.gov.wales
* The council says it is resuming its wellbeing checks on vulnerable residents during this new lockdown.
It will begin contacting people on the shielding patients' list from Monday, October 26.
Staff from the
library service will be making calls to check on people’s wellbeing, to see if
they need any help, and to check that they will be keeping warm over the
winter.
Any residents
who are concerned about the legitimacy of these calls should hang up and call
the Council back direct on 01824 706000.
Cllr Bobby
Feeley, the Council’s Lead Member for Well-being and Independence, said: “We
want to reassure vulnerable residents that we will be resuming the wellbeing
checks we carried out during the first lockdown.
“These calls will provide a service to those members of our community who need extra support during this difficult time.
"During the first lockdown we contacted more than 5,000 people and were in regular contact with a majority of those.
The council’s telephone befriending service, which is staffed by council employees and volunteers, including a number of county councillors, continues during this period.
* Work has been carried out by Denbighshire County Council officers with input from county councillors and town and community councils to map out a list of resources available during the Covid-19 outbreak across Denbighshire.
You can find
the list at https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/coronavirus/community-resources.aspx
The list contains information about local emerging groups and businesses across Denbighshire offering support including information about food deliveries, grocery services and support services.
As well as community based information
it also contains links to a variety of support agencies and networks which
operate locally, regionally and nationally.
This list of key information will be updated on a regular basis and should you have any information or links that you feel would be useful to residents please email to: communitydevelopment@denbighshire.gov.uk
Finance Minister Rebecca Evans (pictured) says the job support measures set out by the Chancellor yesterday are ‘a step in the right direction’, but warns that the level of support does not go far enough to guarantee a decent income for workers.
The
Minister also expressed her disappointed at the news of a one-year spending
review and called on the UK Government to put an end to its "stop-start approach" to handling public finances.
Rebecca Evans said: “Whilst the Chancellor's announcement is a step in the right direction, I am calling on the UK Government to ensure that under this new scheme employers will not be any worse off than they were under the Job Retention Scheme.
“Throughout
the Covid crisis, the package of support we have provided to businesses in
Wales has been more generous than that in any other part of the UK. We are
still working through the details of the announcement, but we anticipate
that the support we will be providing to businesses who have to close as a result
of the two week firebreak will still be more generous than that provided in
England.”
The Minister continued: “We also need to see an end to the UK Government’s stop-start approach to handling public finances. This approach, coupled with a lack of multi-year investment, is deeply unhelpful and makes the task of managing our budgets an extremely difficult one.
“We need
long term spending commitments from the UK Government to enable us to continue
to protect the people of Wales from the worst impacts of the pandemic, and to
help us better manage our public services and start to lay the foundations for
our recovery.”
Denbighshire County Council is advising motorists and residents in the south of the county about planned roadworks on the A542 at the Horseshoe Pass near Llangollen.
The road will be closed from Monday, 26th October for preparatory works, ahead of essential road surfacing works to take place.
The road is expected to be closed for three weeks, but will be open for traffic over the weekends whenever possible.
The area affected is between the quarry and the lay-by near the summit of the Horseshoe Pass.
Diversions are in place and will be signposted.
Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “We have previously undertaken some works along the Pass to carry out some drainage works ahead of the main surfacing project.
“This work due to be carried out over the next few weeks is essential, as it will provide some quality improvement to the road surface.
"We will try and minimise the disruption and we would like to thank motorists in advance for their co-operation and understanding."
Denbighshire residents are being encouraged to exercise in their local areas during the upcoming lockdown.
As part of the
Welsh Government’s ‘firebreak’ lockdown which starts at 6pm today (Friday) residents are asked not to travel to exercise or visit beauty spots in the
county such as Loggerheads and Moel Famau country parks.
People are
advised to take exercise from their homes and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley
AONB will be posting ideas for local walks throughout the lockdown period on
its social media account.
Cllr Tony
Thomas, the council’s Lead Member for Housing and Communities, said: “During
the lockdown residents are asked not to travel to exercise so we are
encouraging residents to take advantage of their local areas.
“Exercise is
vitally important for everyone’s wellbeing and from the coastal areas with
their beaches to the rural areas of the county there are a wealth of local
walks and opportunities for exercise.
“We are
encouraging residents to take advantage of their local area, to exercise from
home and to continue to practice social distancing and good hygiene to stop the
spread of the virus and protect our communities.”
Residents are
advised that the Countryside Centre at Loggerheads Country Park will be closed
during the lockdown.
