Lincolnshire County Council announces latest coronavirus measures

Staff will work from home and council meetings will be suspended under the latest plans announced by Lincolnshire County Council.

In a five-minute Facebook Live video this afternoon, authority leader councillor Martin Hill and Chief Executive Debbie Barnes outlined some of the plans from the council.

The live event, however, did begin with some technical hitches – first beginning on its side, then moving upside down.

Mr Hill said the authority would “do our best to continue to cover services and support staff.

“The efforts we have all been making to limit coronavirus will lead to widespread disruption to our daily life for everyone.”

“We are following Government guidance as usual to prevent coronavirus from causing harm to our residents and communities.

“We are all working together to find the best way to deliver services while protecting our staff,” he said.

“However, we are at the stage where national guidance means we need to change the way we operate and make priority decisions.”

The council’s announcements follow both Lincoln and Boston councils, among others, cancelling meetings and services across the county.

The duo announced a range of measures, including:

• Staff, particularly the most vulnerable, starting to work from home
• Most formal committee meetings to be suspended for the immediate future while alternate methods were established
• Decisions continuing to be made publicly available for public to scrutinise
• Advice continuing to be available to critical services
• Financial help being given to council providers experiencing financial hardship
• The closure of all heritage sites
• The stopping of large gatherings at authority buildings such as libraries
• Parents and carers will still be able to access support
• Some ante-natal appointments may now take place at children’s centres
• Those expecting home appointments will be contacted by phone
• Non-essential Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue events have been postponed

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