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With the coronavirus pandemic having had an impact on many people’s incomes, Sefton Council is urging anyone concerned about their Council Tax payments to get in touch, on 0345 140 0845, as soon as possible.

A wide range of advice and support is available to people facing difficulties paying Council Tax and other household bills. Council staff can put callers in touch with organisations providing free, independent financial advice such as Citizens Advice Sefton, Sefton Advice Services, Sefton Credit Union, National Debt Line and the Step Change Debt Charity.

There are also a number of ways that people can reduce their Council Tax liability. These include the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for people on a low income and the Exceptional Hardship Fund. There are also several discounts and exemptions including for people who are sole occupiers.

A Council spokesperson said: “COVID-19 and the measures taken to prevent its spread have had a direct and indirect impact on many of us and has had a negative effect on many people’s incomes.

“Feeling you can’t pay your bills can be frightening which is why we want people concerned about their Council Tax and other outgoings to start talking to us now, rather than just worrying about it.

“The sooner people get in touch, they sooner we can start helping them with practical solutions and ways to reschedule their payments.”

Anyone who thinks they will struggling to meet their payments, should contact the Council on 0345 140 0845 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, where an advisor will be able to help.

Find out more about the help available. 

The spokesperson added: “It’s so important that those of who can pay our council tax, continue to do so – now more than ever. Council Tax pays for facilities and services including to some of the most vulnerable in our communities and it is our duty to everyone in the Borough to collect it.

“We have already written to residents with existing Council Tax arrears to remind them about payment and to ask them to get in touch if they anticipate payment problems.

“The Government recently introduced revised legislation allowing Enforcement Agents to re-start visits to collect debts in the coming weeks. However, where Sefton residents are facing genuine and often unforeseen financial challenges as a result of coronavirus, we want to work with them to find solutions and see that kind of recovery action as a last resort.”

People across Sefton Borough can now benefit from two, walk-through Local Testing Sites for coronavirus.

Located opposite Bootle Town Hall and at Southport Town Hall, the two, fully accessible sites are the first in Merseyside.

Open from 8am to 8pm, they provide easy access to COVID-19 tests for people who do not have access to a car and for those who have coronavirus symptoms and should not travel by public transport.

Each test Centre has between four and eight testing bays which can each test up to three people an hour.

Users will be asked to self-swab when attending. They will also need to wear a mask or face covering.

And they are asked to dispose of masks in the bins provided or to take them home, after the test.

Unlike the three-day Mobile Units, which people have already used to take over 7,000 tests at Sefton’s five locations, the Local Testing Sites in Bootle and Southport will be open for several months.

To use the walk-through process, people first need to book a test.

You can do this online at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus  or by calling 119 or Sefton Council’s Contact Centre on 0345 140 0845.

In Bootle, the site is in the parking area opposite the Town Hall. In Southport, access to the Town Hall’s Test Centre is via the Corporation Street entrance.

There is on-street pay-and-display parking nearby for those people travelling to the Local Testing Sites by car.

Find out more with our Guide to the walk-through testing process.

More information on visiting a Local Testing Site is available in this YouTube video

At the launch of the Bootle site, Sefton Council leader, Leader of Sefton Council, Cllr Ian Maher, said: “We have been working very closely with colleagues in the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside and the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that we have the most accessible testing facilities for the people of Sefton, when and where they need them.

“I am delighted that we have been able to secure the first ever Local Testing Site facilities in Cheshire and Merseyside and that people will have even greater access to testing should people feel unwell.

“We have a fairly unique borough, which is both long and narrow, so being able to secure a Local Testing Site for both Southport and Bootle is a really good result. We will continue to work closely to ensure that all of the testing availability is used in the best possible way to help keep Sefton safe as we look to support the recovery of our area and the local economy.”

Regional Testing Director for Cheshire and Merseyside, Terry Whalley, said: “This additional capacity is great for Sefton and the whole of Cheshire and Merseyside.

“Having two semi-permanent Local Testing Sites  in Sefton means that we will be able to use other testing facilities more flexibly and be able to deploy them in a more targeted way in the future. This will help the Director of Public Health, and other professionals have a greater say in how testing is used and deployed locally.

“Having this extra capacity, more permanently, means that we can respond and react in a much more targeted way with other testing resources, should we see local outbreaks or other urgent needs. Such decisions can now be made in the knowledge that there are testing sites in both Bootle and Southport to rely on day to day.

“We will carefully study the use of these new sites in Sefton as we look to roll out further testing capability across Cheshire and Merseyside in our bid to continue protecting lives and livelihoods.”

As well as  the Local Testing Sites, Mobile Testing Units are scheduled to be at locations across Sefton on most days in September.