Former Sincil Bank play area to get new lease of life

Pregnant women and people who are needle-phobic will be able to get their COVID jabs at dedicated walk-in sessions at the county’s two Mass Vaccination Centres.

More than 468,00 booster vaccinations have been given out across the county, and now Lincolnshire Showground and the PRSA at Boston and are making a concerted effort to encourage pregnant women and people who are needle-phobic to get vaccinated.

Rebecca Neno, director of COVID and influenza vaccination programmes for NHS Lincolnshire CCG, said: “The point of the walk-in sessions being held for pregnant women at PRSA and at the Lincolnshire Showground, is to provide the opportunity for them to have a discussion with a midwife about the COVID vaccination, and to provide a quiet environment should they want to get vaccinated.

“Similarly, with the walk-in sessions for people who are needle-phobic, the purpose is to provide the opportunity to attend for vaccination during a quieter time at PRSA and at the Lincolnshire Showground, when there’s also less time pressure around the length of each appointment.”

Rebecca is urging anyone eligible to take advantage of the sessions, saying specially trained teams will answer any questions or concerns and give people as much time as they need to make their own decision.

She added: “We continue to offer everyone eligible the opportunity to get jabbed, but we’re aware that it’s not a straightforward decision for everyone to get vaccinated, particularly pregnant women and people who are needle-phobic. This is why we’re putting these dedicated sessions on and why they have been deliberately scheduled for early morning until early afternoon at PRSA and the Lincolnshire Showground, when the centres are otherwise not operating currently.”

The sessions, which will be run on a walk-in basis (no appointment necessary), will run as follows:

Pregnancy walk-in sessions at Lincolnshire Showground

• January 26, 10am-1pm
• January 27, 9am-1pm

Pregnancy walk-in sessions at PRSA

• January 20, 9am-1pm
• January 24, 9am-1pm
• January 26, 9am-1pm

Needle-phobic walk-in sessions at Lincolnshire Showground

• January 25, 9am-1pm
• January 27, 9am-1pm

Needle-phobic walk-in sessions at PRSA

• January 25, 9am-1pm
• January 27, 9am-1pm

Continuing on from the successful pop-up walk-in vaccination sessions held across the county in recent weeks, a further round of sessions has been confirmed for next week as follows:

• Saturday, January 22 at the Fenside Community Centre, Taverner Road, Boston PE21 8NL, between 10am and 3pm.
• Monday, January 24 at Bridge Church, Portland St, Lincoln LN5 7NN, between 10am and 6pm.
• Monday, January 24 at Fenside Community Centre, Taverner Road, Boston PE21 8NL, between 1pm and 7pm.
• Tuesday, January 25 at Bridge Church, Portland St. Lincoln LN5 7NN, between 10am and 6pm.
• Tuesday, January 25 at Fenside Community Centre, Taverner Road, Boston PE21 8NL, between 1pm and 7pm.
• Wednesday, January 26 at Fenside Community Centre, Taverner Road, Boston PE21 8NL, between 1pm and 7pm.
• Thursday, January 27 at the Wainfleet Coronation Hall, High Street PE24 4BS, between 10am and 7pm.
• Thursday, January 27 at the Engine Shed, Lincoln, between 10am and 7pm.
• Friday, January 28 at Boston College, Skirbeck Road, Boston PE21 6JF, between 10am and 7pm.
• Friday, January 28 at Bishop Grosseteste University, Longdales Road, Lincoln LN1 3DY, between 10am and 7pm.
• Saturday, January 29 at Boston Local Community Centre, Mitre Lane PE21 6EB (behind the old Marks and Spencer), between 10am and 6pm.
• Saturday, January 29 at Lincoln City FC, LNER Stadium, LN5 8LD, between 12pm and 3pm (in the Fan Village).
• Sunday, January 30 at Lincoln City FC, LNER Stadium, LN5 8LD, between 10am and 4pm (Stacey West car park).
• Sunday, January 30 at the Boston Local Community Centre, Mitre Lane PE21 6EB (behind the old Marks and Spencer), between 10am and 4pm.

The pop-up sessions allow anyone eligible to get vaccinated without an appointment, whether that be a booster (16 and over) or for first and second doses (available to anyone aged 16 and over, as well as 12-15 year-olds provided a parent/guardian is present to consent).

North East Lincolnshire’s proposed budget which will see council tax rise has come a step closer after being passed by cabinet.

The draft contains a 1.98% rise in council tax and 1% rise in adult social care precept.

The budget would see £131.6million spent across public services in the next financial year.

Cabinet passed the budget on Wednesday, and the public still have chance to have their say on it before it goes to the full council in February.

Councillors said they would have liked to avoid a tax increase, but pressures from the pandemic and social care and child services meant that it was unavoidable.

Councillor Stan Shreeve, Deputy Leader and portfolio holder for finance and resources, said: “When we started this process, we did a lot of work to try to avoid any increase to council tax. We know that many in our area have had a difficult few years due to the pandemic, and we don’t want to add to that burden.

“This budget will ensure that the services that we all use will be properly funded, whilst support remains for those that are struggling and there is investment to encourage more people to move to the area and for businesses to thrive.

“Our biggest challenges without a doubt are the funding of adult social care and children’s services. These are our biggest priorities.

“People can still have their say on the budget. The public consultation is open until January 27, 2022. We really do welcome feedback and input from residents – this has to be a budget that works for them and provides them with the services that they need.”

The draft budget will next go to formal scrutiny panel.

Residents can have their say on the proposals on the council website, or can get a paper copy of the consultation by calling 01472 324380 or emailing [email protected].

Dozens of women have suffered at the hands of abusers for more than a decade.

A report into domestic violence found that some were at the mercy of partners or other people they lived with for years.

Figures from North East Lincolnshire’s Women’s Aid says 93 victims reported that the abuse had been going on for 11 to 20 years.

Twelve victims said it had lasted more than 20 years.

The report to North East Lincolnshire’s Communities Scrutiny Panel committee highlights the challenge in encouraging people to come forward sooner.

According to national research, it takes on average between two and three years before a victim seeks support.

There were 5355 incidents of domestic abuse reported to Humberside Police in 2020/21.

The number of cases has risen for the past few years as victims have increasingly felt confident to go to the police.

However, they plateaued during last year’s coronavirus lockdowns, despite experts believing the amount of violence actually went up.

Due to victims’ circumstances, not all reports of domestic violence are logged as crimes.

Humberside Police are now recording a greater proportion of incidents as crimes than ever, with 64% in 2020/21 compared to just 29% six years previously.

However, hundreds of children are still living in households where domestic abuse takes place.

The latest data states there are 877 children living with abuse victims in North East Lincolnshire.

The report sets out how the council will continue to tackle domestic abuse in the borough.

It claims there has been “significant progress” made to support victims of domestic abuse and their families, with extra government funding made available, but says it remains a challenge for North East Lincolnshire.

It will be discussed at the Communities Scrutiny Panel on January 31.