For the most up-to-date Government advice, please visit www.gov.uk.
Tuesday 29th September 2020
The Government has announced further measures to tackle
COVID-19 in England.
These include:
- In the North East of England, from Wednesday 30th September, it will be illegal to mix households indoors – including pubs and restaurants, but not offices.
- Failing to self-isolate when instructed to do so can now result in a fine of £4,000
- Staff who are self-isolating must tell their employers when they start and finish or they can be fined
- There is now a 10pm curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants across England
- Failure to wear a face mask in shops, supermarkets, public transport, taxis or indoor hospitality will lead to increased fines
- Fines can also be issued for those who break the ‘rule of six’
- Those who have been shielding do not need to do so unless they live in an area under local lockdown
The Almshouse Association is here to advise members should
they require further clarification. However, members should pay close attention
to announcements from their local authorities who will be able to provide the
most up to date information.
Thursday 24th September 2020
On Tuesday the
Prime Minister announced a number of new measures to limit the spread of
coronavirus over the winter months. The measures announced were:
- Staff to work from home where possible
- All pubs, bars and restaurants must operate
table service only. All hospitality venues including takeaways to close at 10pm
- Retail and hospitality workers are required to
wear masks
- Businesses will be fined if they breach rules
- Maximum of 15 people allowed to attend weddings
- Rule of 6 extended to all adult indoor team
sports
- Conference events/sporting events reopening to
be postponed from the planned opening in November
These measures are likely to be in place for the next six months. For more detailed guidance on what you can/cannot now do, please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do.
Additional measures have been put in place for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Whilst the
majority of these restrictions will have little or no impact on the running of
your almshouses, the Prime Minister has not ruled out further restrictions
being imposed over the coming months in addition to the local lockdowns already
in place in large parts of the country. You may also feel that it is necessary
to take additional steps to control the spread of the virus within your own almshouse
communy.
Communal Facilities
We are
receiving a number of enquiries at present about the opening of communal
facilities and guest rooms. We strongly recommend that, where these facilities
exist, our members should carry out a risk assessment and put in
mitigation/social distancing measures where appropriate. Such measures would
include providing hand sanitiser, moving or removing furniture to ensure social
distancing is maintained, limiting the number of people who can use the
facilities at any one time, and carrying out additional cleaning of these
areas.
Our
understanding is that community rooms do not need to abide by the ‘rule of six’
but we would encourage our members to consider their own circumstances. Where a
charity is treating the almshouse community as a single household, gatherings
of more than six people from within that household would be fine. In
communities where residents get out and about more, limiting indoor gatherings
to six people would reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
Lockdowns/Preventing Visitors
Back in March (and, in some cases, shortly before), when the full lockdown was announced, a number of our members limited visits by friends and families to residents. We’re aware that some members are looking to do this again over the winter in order to protect their vulnerable communities. If this a route that your charity would like to take, we recommend that you consult with your residents and get their approval before implementing such measures. You should also consider the impact that a strict lockdown might have on your residents. The National Care Forum and Age UK have published a joint blog post, which considers the impact of no visitor policies. Whilst the blog refers to care home residents, it gives food for thought to all housing providers that cater to older people. You can read the blog post at:
https://www.nationalcareforum.org.uk/blog-posts/visiting-in-care-homes-where-now/
Resident Health and Wellbeing
We are
receiving an increasing number of enquiries from our members who are dealing
with residents displaying significant mental health issues, including
depression, aggressive behaviour, and alcohol abuse which have been exacerbated
by the coronavirus outbreak. Residents should always be encouraged to approach
their GP for support in the first instance. You may also wish to contact adult
social care services in your area to see what support they can provide. We have
already seen that the thought of a long term “lockdown” is causing anxiety
amongst residents. Some members are looking to use more positive language such
as “Restricted activities” where possible.
There are
also many sources of external help that may be useful for you and your
residents:
Mental
Health
Alcohol
Drugs
Staff
If your
staff are able to work from home, they should be encouraged to do so. Not only
will this protect your staff from contracting the virus in the workplace or
during their commute, it will also reduce the risk of them bringing Covid-19
into the almshouses.
Where staff cannot work from home, you must ensure that your premises are ‘Covid-19 secure’. The government offers guidance on what measures should be put in place for different work environments at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
During the lockdown, many members asked their wardens to replace their usual daily visits to residents with phone calls instead. You may wish to revert to this practice again if you feel it would be safer for your residents.
In some instances, employers are able to claim a refund on Statutory Sick Pay if an employee has to self-isolate due to coronavirus. To see whether your charity is able to claim a refund, visit:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-back-statutory-sick-pay-paid-to-employees-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
Trustees
The Charity
Commission has issued the following guidance on holding trustee meetings under
the current restrictions:
The government has introduced new rules
which mean that from 14 September it is against the law to meet in groups of
more than 6, either indoors or outdoors. There are some exceptions where groups
can be larger than 6 people and this includes providing voluntary or charitable
services.
This means you can hold trustee or members’
meetings of more than 6 people where these meetings are necessary for providing
charitable services.
You can get more detailed information on these rules in the guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): Meeting with others safely (social distancing).
The Charity
Commission also provides guidance on holding meetings online or by phone and
holding AGMs. This can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector
Posted 24 Sept 20; updated 29 Sep 20