200 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Wednesday

Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill has said a campaign hoping to reclaim more than £12 million in lost highways funding is “not looking particularly hopeful”.

Conservative Councillor Hill was asked for an update on the authority’s “Fix Our Funds To Fix Our Roads” campaign during the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board meeting on Thursday.

Leaders say that if a 25% government cut to its roads maintenance budget (from £51 million to £39 million) continues, 72,000 potholes could be left unfilled or 111 miles of road left not repaired over the next three years.

The leader told members they council was still waiting for news of the funding settlement from the Department for Transport.

However, he added: “I have to say, I don’t think at the moment, from correspondence received back from our MPs who are lobbying on this matter… at the moment it’s not looking particularly hopeful.”

“What we have established is that the treasury and government are quite clear that, in their opinion, they’ve given a good settlement to the Department for Transport So I think we’ve established this issue remains within the priorities that are set within the Department of Transport.”

He said the councillors and MPs would continue to lobby the government.

He also looked to reassure members it was still a one-year settlement, but added the council “have a fair indication of where we’ll end up in the next two years”.

“All I can say in terms of advising the overview scrutiny committee is that we will have to address this issue if we haven’t had a positive response by the executive next month and come up with some proposals which can be debated as to what we do about it.”

Councillors have previously warned of some difficult decisions ahead if the funding is not increased again.

The council put in £10 million of its own money last year and has tried to do more on minor roads, however, there will be a priority for main roads.

Lincolnshire County Council calls on residents to write to their MP and share stories of potholes on the roads they use, which can be done at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highwaysfunding.

NHS COVID passes will no longer be required by law at venues and mandatory face coverings have been scrapped as part of the government’s announcement to move out of Plan B restrictions from Thursday.

The rules were introduced over the Christmas period to combat the rapid growth of cases brought on by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

In Lincolnshire, the situation worsened to the extent of critical and major incidents being declared at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust due to huge staffing issues.

Military personnel has been drafted in at both ULHT and East Midlands Ambulance Service to help with the staff shortages.

However, the government has now called for these Plan B restrictions to be relaxed, meaning the rules have been reverted mostly to what they were pre-Omicron.

From Thursday, January 27, people in England will no longer be legally required to wear face coverings in indoor settings, except for on public transport in London, where it remains mandatory.

The Department for Education is advising masks are no longer needed in communal areas at schools, though directors of public health for local authorities will have the option to reintroduce measures if cases spike again.

You will also not need to show an NHS COVID pass at venues and events by law anymore, but the relevant venues can still ask for COVID passes at their own discretion.

It comes a week after staff and pupils in secondary schools were told they didn’t need to wear masks in classrooms anymore, and eight days on from working from home guidance being scrapped.

The next measures to be changed will be on February 11, when there will be no requirement for vaccinated passengers arriving in England to do lateral flow tests once they arrive.

Those who are not fully vaccinated will need to test before they leave England, as well as taking a post-arrival PCR test, but they will not need to isolate straight away.

A Lincoln biotechnology firm has been awarded a research grant of more than £500,000 to improve poultry welfare and reduce waste.

The £514,000 Innovate UK grant, awarded to Arden Biotechnology, will fund a two year project to develop a natural solution to a disease that results in paralysis and painful bone deformities in poultry – without relying on antibiotics.

The wider aim of the project is to improve welfare, and reduce feed usage and food waste, resulting in less carbon emissions.

Arden Biotechnology, based at the Lincoln Science & Innovation Park, and Avara Foods, one of the UK’s largest poultry producers, are working together to develop the solution.

Dr Joseph Brown, Research Director at Arden Biotechnology, said: ““The bacteria we are looking to control is naturally present in healthy chickens, but in some cases, the bacteria get to where they normally aren’t and form cyst- like growths within the spine resulting in paralysis.

“This paralysis means the birds can’t feed or drink and unfortunately die from dehydration or starvation unless there is an interventioned. Previously antibiotics, now largely banned from the food chain, kept this avian pathogen – Enterococcus cecorum- under control.”

According to the World Health Organisation, feed accounts for 78% of greenhouse gases in poultry production. In reducing the amount of pathogenic bacteria that are associated with poor feed conversion ratio, birds are able to gain weight in a more efficient manner. This means that less feed is consumed to achieve target weights.

Dr Brown added: “So the natural solution we are researching would support the agricultural transition to a net zero carbon emission industry through reduced feed usage, reduced food waste and improved welfare.”