Author: Ollie Cowan

Sefton Council have been awarded a government grant to help residents who may be struggling to pay their Council Tax during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Sefton will receive a grant of £3.037m as part of £500m available nationally from the government’s emergency Council Tax Hardship Fund.

Any residents who are of working age, and have had their bill reduced by an award of Council Tax Reduction, will be eligible for relief of at least £150 from the fund.

The local authority will make a decision on a case by case basis for any relief above £150, taking into account the funding available.

A spokesman for Sefton Council said: “This relief will reduce Council Tax bills for eligible claimants for the financial year of 2020/2021.

“Any eligible council tax bills will be re-issued once the relief has been applied.

“Any balance remaining from the £3m will be added to the Council’s Council Tax Exceptional Hardship Payment Fund.

“This fund can be applied for by anyone who is responsible for Council Tax who is suffering financial hardship.”

For more information on this visit https://www.sefton.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-hardship-fund-(covid-19)

An initial package of measures from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority aimed at easing the Coronavirus burden on local people has been unveiled.

Chairing the first meeting of the Liverpool City Region Coronavirus Action Group, the Mayor announced a number of new initiatives:

•The ‘LCR Cares’ COVID 19 Community Support Fund – a new crowdfunding campaign to support community and voluntary organisations on the frontline of helping our communities cope with the spread of Coronavirus.

•Free bus travel to and from school for the children of key workers using existing Merseytravel funded supported bus services.

•Lifting the 9.30am restriction on concessionary travel for essential journeys, such as accessing designated shopping hours reserved for the elderly.

•A fund of £65,000 of business support for community and social businesses to help them cope with the impact of COVID-19.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said: “Tackling a challenge of this scale requires everybody to come together and do all that we can to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, and mitigate the economic, social and health impacts it will have.

“This obviously requires support from government – and we’ve seen the start of that this week, though we await further announcements – but there are things we can do locally as well. I want to do all that I can to help support local people, businesses and community organisations through this uncertainty.”

The LCR Cares COVID 19 Community Support Fund website page is now open for donations from the public. Just go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/ and search for LCRCares or www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/lcrcares

Early next week, a simple and speedy processes for organisations to access those funds will be in place.

Sefton Council’s Trading Standards have received a number of reports of scams and profiteering on the coronavirus outbreak and are asking people to stay Safe and Savvy during this difficult time.

The reports range from inflated prices for hand sanitisers to emails claiming to be from organisations affiliated with the centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), designed to obtain personal and banking details.

Earlier in the the month Action Fraud reported receiving 21 reports of fraud where Coronavirus was mentioned, with victim losses totaling over £800k, since February 2020.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, said: “This type of behavior is both shocking and disgraceful and has an impact on vulnerable members of our communities.

“Of the 21 reports, ten were made by victims that attempted to purchase protective face masks from fraudulent sellers.

“One victim reported losing over £15k when they purchased face masks that were never delivered.

“Reporting numbers are expected to rise as the virus continues to spread across the world and we are encouraging residents to engage with Citizens Advice.

“They have launched advice on coronavirus scams and a scam checker, to check if something might be a scam

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s chief executive Leon Livermore said: “It is abhorrent that unscrupulous individuals are using this difficult time as an opportunity to immiserate others further.

“Consumers should now be extra vigilant, and aware of these new scams that take many forms.

“The general rule of scams applies – if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

“CTSI is monitoring these developments and will update the public as we receive further intelligence.

“In the meantime, the public should follow the official government advice, and take all necessary precautions.”

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/check-if-something-might-be-a-scam/