In an attempt to cut costs, the City of Lincoln Council is proposing to scrap its pest control service, after expected losses of up to £16,000 this year.
The City Council has to make cuts following announced public spending reductions from central government, and the loss-making service could be the first to go.
A report of the proposal will have to get the approval of the council’s Executive Committee at a meeting on November 22 at the City Hall.
The service delivers pest control treatments to residential customers within the city and does not treat public open spaces or commercial properties.
A council report says that demand for its pest control service was almost 75% down on previous years (842 vermin treatments in 08/09 and 218 in 09/10).
The authority did not take large incomes from the service either. Actual income for 09/10 was £4,523, around half of the projected income.
The predicted loss this year for the service is expected to be around £16,000.
If the service is discontinued, it is believed that the council’s Environmental Protection team will have to take on board the additional pressure.
However, the report claims that the Environmental Protection team does not have the capacity to absorb additional work from the pest control service.
By law, the council has a duty to deal with issues of vermin, whether or not it operates its own pest control service.
In 2009, the City Council tried to reform the pest control service, introducing a £40 fee, and a 50% reduction for those on benefits.
Scrapping the service would mean that those on benefits won’t have access to a pest control service at a lower concessionary rate.
If the City of Lincoln Council Executive Committee agrees to scrap the pest control service, it is yet to be decided when it will actually be discontinued.
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We are appealing for help to find 16-year-old Kirsty who was reported missing from Skegness.
She is described as a white female, with blonde hair and was last seen wearing black trainers, black Adidas leggings, a Nike beige hoodie and a white puffer jacket.
If you have seen her or know where she is, please call 101.
The first two UK cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been identified, one of which was in Nottingham, near the Lincolnshire border.
Two cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 identified in the U.K.
Individuals and their households are self-isolating and contact tracing is ongoing
From 04:00 Sunday, November 28, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Angola will be added to the UK’s travel red list
After overnight genome sequencing, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed that two cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 have been identified in the UK.
The individuals that have tested positive, and all members of their households, are being re-tested and told to self-isolate while further testing and contact tracing is underway.
One case has been located in Chelmsford and the other in Nottingham.
The two cases are linked and there is a link to travel to Southern Africa. UKHSA is carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive cases were likely to have been infectious.
In addition, in line with updated advice from the UKHSA, from 4am Sunday Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola will be added to the travel red list. Travellers who have returned from these four countries in last 10 days must isolate and get a PCR test. UKHSA are following up recent arrivals from these countries.
This adds to the six countries placed on the red list on Friday.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid said:
“Thanks to our world class genomic sequencing we have been made aware of two UK cases of the Omicron variant. We have moved rapidly and the individuals are self-isolating while contact tracing is ongoing.
“We will do all we can to protect the UK public against this emerging threat and that is why we are surging testing capacity to the impacted communities and introducing travel restrictions on a further four countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola. We will not hesitate to take further action if required.
“This is a stark reminder that we are not yet out of this pandemic. Getting the vaccine has never been more important – please come forward for your first jab if you haven’t already and if eligible, book your booster as soon as possible.”
Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said:
“We will continue to work closely with the international community to quickly gather and analyse information on this variant to understand any possible increase in transmissibility or resistance to vaccines.
“It is important that everyone takes sensible precautions – get a PCR test if you have symptoms, isolate when asked, wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, ventilate rooms, get your vaccine and boosters as soon as you can.”
Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, said:
“We have identified these cases thanks to the UK’s advanced sequencing capabilities which means we are able to find variants and take rapid action to limit onward spread. We are particularly grateful to public health colleagues in South Africa for early sharing of information on the Omicron variant to support global health security.
“We are continuing our efforts to understand the effect of this variant on transmissibility, severe disease, mortality, antibody response and vaccine efficacy.
“If you have any COVID-19 symptoms you must isolate and get a PCR test immediately
“It remains vital to come forward for vaccination, wear a face covering in crowded places and try to meet people in well-ventilated areas.”
From 04:00 on Sunday, November 28, non-UK and Irish residents who have been in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. This does not apply to those who have stayed airside and only transited through any of these countries while changing flights.
UK and Irish residents arriving from 04:00 Sunday, November 28, must isolate in a government-approved facility for 10 days. During their stay, they will be required to take a coronavirus PCR test on day 2 and day 8.
About B.1.1.529 Omicron
The UKHSA designated variant B.1.1.529 as a variant under investigation (VuI) on Thursday 25 November. In response, the government announced that six African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Lesostho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia – would be added to the red list.
The B.1.1.529 variant includes a large number of spike protein mutations as well as mutations in other parts of the viral genome. These are potentially biologically significant mutations which may change the behaviour of the virus with regards to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility.
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