Health bosses in Lincolnshire have urged people to be cautious over the next few weeks as the government looks to scrap COVID Plan B measures.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that restrictions such as working from home, face coverings and COVID pass requirements would be coming to an end next week amid decreasing cases.
Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Andy Fox told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that in terms of trying to move towards a place without restrictions it was “good news”.
However, he said: “The questions are around what’s likely to happen over the next few weeks as a result of it and actually there’s plenty of evidence to suggest rates have not been going down everywhere at the same time.”
He said in Lincolnshire in particular there were still high rates in children, especially of primary age.
But he said it was a mixed picture and there had been “a couple” of days recently when there had been no patients in intensive care.
He said that although overall infection rates had decreased to somewhere around the 900 per 100,000 mark and continued to be below the England average, they were still way above the heights of previous waves which reached the 500 per 100,000 mark.
He said a suggestion that social distancing measures could also be scrapped in March depended entirely on numbers.
But he acknowledged there was now a “really high level” of background immunity from both the vaccination programme and from prior infections.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking on Wednesday.
“[The government] need to get to a point where they do remove all restrictions at some point, so really, it becomes a question about timing,” said Mr Fox.
“It’s always going to be a political decision to balance the various different risks, but in principle, it’s a place we want to get to now so we just need to make sure that we’re all being cautious and careful if we can to to mitigate any of the risks.”
He said previous waves of Alpha, Delta and the latest Omicron wave had shown that it “seems to be tied to literally people’s behaviours and what people are doing”.
“People do seem to be still limiting the amount of contact that they’ve got and that seems to have brought things down quite fast.
“It’s really clear that the choices that people make now can have a big impact upon where we go with the pandemic.”
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Improvements will be made to the cycle network between Pinchbeck and Spalding after the government awarded a payout of £1.8 million to fund Lincolnshire County Council’s Active Travel Plans.
The money allocated to Lincolnshire will be spent on improving facilities along both the Spalding and Pinchbeck roads, subject to feasibility.
The two communities of Pinchbeck and Spalding will be connected with a safe and direct active travel route while also linking up with the important destinations along Wardentree Lane and Enterprise Way.
This route was identified as a priority for active travel development during the council’s work with stakeholders on the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Spalding.
Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “I’m delighted to see further active travel money coming to Lincolnshire. Active travel is something that can benefit all of our communities and I’m pleased to see the development of a route in the south of our county.
“Having been actively developing this idea for one of our Local Cycling and Walking Plans (LCWIPs) it’s clear to see that the benefits are going to be widely felt. This is a great success in one of our bids to the Department for Transport.
“Lincolnshire has invested in developing a LCWIP for each of our strategy board areas. We believe the LCWIPs will be the key for unlocking more of the active travel funding and we look forward to working with the DfT to develop more ideas from our plans for Lincolnshire.”
The deputy headteacher at a now-closed down special needs school near Grantham is appealing against his convictions for rape and sexual assault.
Lincoln man David Taylor, 71 at the time of conviction, and 86-year-old Raymond Longley, were convicted of several sexual offences at the former Stubton Hall School, spanning over a 20-year period between 1983 and 1995. Taylor was sentenced to a total of 19 years and six months behind bars, while Longley was jailed for four years.
A former pupil who was sexually abused by the deputy headteacher from the age of 10 previously encouraged others to speak up about abuse as a civil lawsuit mounted against Lincolnshire County Council, who owned and ran the school.
Taylor, who worked at the school between 1975 and 1995, was granted permission to appeal against his conviction by a High Court judge on March 29, 2022. The date for the appeal hearing, which will be held in public, has yet to be confirmed.
Solicitor Katherine Yates from Andrew Grove and Company is currently acting for 40 claimants from across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire who are seeking damages from Lincolnshire County Council for the sickening abuse they endured. They recently sent a letter before action to the authority which is the first stage in the civil court proceedings.
Katherine said: “What we are being told is quite horrific and it’s hard to believe that Taylor is appealing his conviction given his despicable crimes and the fact that he fathered a child with one of the girls who he began abusing when she was under 16.
“Although we have started court proceedings against Lincolnshire County Council, we are still taking statements from witnesses and claimants as part of our ongoing investigations, and I’d urge anyone who was physically or sexually abused at Stubton Hall School to contact my firm.
“It doesn’t matter if you have not previously come forward to the police – we are listening, and we can help you seek the compensation you are entitled to. This money can’t erase the past, but it could help you build a better future and can be used to pay for counselling or training, for example.
“All claims are being funded by way of a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement so financial concerns should not prevent anyone from making contact and bringing a claim.”
David Taylor (left) and Raymond Longley (right) were two management level staff members at Stubton Hall School near Grantham. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Clare (not her real name) was seriously sexually abused by Taylor throughout her time at the school for vulnerable children between 1982 and 1987 and is one of the claimants seeking damages in the civil court.
She said: “When I found out from the police about the appeal I broke down in tears. I thought it was all over and I could try and move on with my life. Now I cannot do that. A jury found Taylor guilty and he got what he deserved. I hope the appeal court sees through it.”
Heather Sandy, Lincolnshire County Council executive director for children’s services, previously said: “LCC expresses deep regret over the abuse suffered by the victims in this case.
“We wish to apologise to the victims and are pleased that justice has been done through the convictions in the criminal case.
“We hope that this brings some comfort and closure to the victims. We are unable to comment further regarding potential legal claims.”
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