Samford Division
October Newsletter
Cllr Georgia Hall
Georgia.hall@suffolk.gov.uk

07955 434445

Extra COVID-19 support heading to Suffolk
Public health bosses in Suffolk have welcomed the Government’s commitment to provide extra
resources to help fight COVID-19 in the county.

It comes as pressure on the county’s hospitals is reaching critical levels due to more people needing
treatment – and some of the highest rates of infection in the country.

A request for additional support was submitted earlier this week by Public Health Suffolk – on behalf
of public sector partners – and is intended to secure in additional support, funding and resources to
help the NHS avoid unsustainable pressure. The additional support will include:

o Support for the vaccination efforts by extending opening hours and creating pop up
vaccination clinic within our communities
o Help to coordinate on the ground door knocking campaigns
o Help to reduce transmission in schools with increased testing and additional
temporary powers
o Funding for COVID-19 awareness raising communications and advertising.

Cllr Matthew Hicks, chair Suffolk’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board and leader of Suffolk County
Council, said:

“I very much welcome this additional help and funding from the Government. It will support our
already considerable efforts to get more people vaccinated and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in
Suffolk.

“Throughout the pandemic, Suffolk has been effective at keeping our COVID rates low compared to
other parts of the country. This is because we have worked hard and been proactive at every stage.

“The situation facing Suffolk now calls for the same forward-thinking and preventative work to
protect residents, businesses and our way of life.

“As we learn to live with COVID-19, it will be actions such as this that prevent COVID from having an
even worse impact and, ultimately, holding back our recovery.”

From Monday 1 November, Suffolk will therefore become an ‘enhanced response area’ (ERA) for up
to five weeks. This approach has already been used in other parts of the country to help reduce the
rate of COVID-19 transmission within the community and is also being taken in Cambridgeshire and
Peterborough at the same time.

To help reduce the spread, residents in Suffolk are now being encouraged to:
• Get fully vaccinated and your booster when it’s due
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water
• Always wear a face covering in crowded areas
• Ventilate indoor spaces
• Get tested regularly and stay at home if you feel unwell

Cabinet to study £50 million plan to boost Suffolk bus services
On October 7
th
it was announced that wider coverage, cheaper fares, improved ticketing, and better
evening and weekend services are among proposals forming part of a £50 million plan.
Subject to approval by the Suffolk County Council Cabinet, the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)
will be submitted to the Government by the end of the month.
Following on from the submission of the BSIP, the council, bus operators and other stakeholders will
be working together to establish a countywide Enhanced Partnership.
This will enable the BSIP proposals to be delivered, building on experience gained from the existing
Ipswich Quality Bus Partnership.
The funding bid is being made to the government’s £3 billion fund under its Bus Back Better national
bus strategy for England.
Suffolk County Council will be asking for a minimum of £50m over three years – £15m each for the
first two years and £20m for the third.
A report to Cabinet members said:
“The Bus Back Better National Bus Strategy provides a real opportunity to be ambitious in delivering
a bus service for Suffolk that will support sustainable transport and the Council’s carbon reduction
ambitions.”
Other proposed features include:
• Reviewing service frequency on Suffolk’s key corridors, including evenings and weekend
services
• Simplified services – including regular timetabled buses and ‘demand-responsive’ services
• Expanding the experimental Katch electric demand-responsive bus, which is currently being
piloted between Framlingham and Campsea Ashe for Wickham Market station to other rural
areas
• Identify and implement bus priority opportunities and changes to parking on key corridors,
with particular focus on the ‘last mile’ where buses are delayed by congestion approaching
key destinations
• Lower fares for those aged up to 25
• Contactless touch-on and touch-off ticketing and daily fare caps
• Multi-operator ticketing o Expanding rail and bus ticket options (PlusBus)
• Develop existing park and ride sites as mobility hubs and identify new ones to serve rural
areas or new development sites o Explore merging Ipswich’s two bus stations into one main
hub

Face masks back as additional measures brought in to reduce
Covid-19 transmission in Suffolk schools and education settings

From October 20
th
face masks and restrictions on visitors are to be reintroduced to Suffolk schools to
help slow the current rate of transmission in education settings.
SCC are advising that the following measures be implemented from the 1 November 2021.
• Staff in all education settings (primary, secondary, and higher education) to wear face
coverings in communal areas outside of the classroom, unless exempt for medical reasons.
• Students in all secondary and higher education settings to wear face coverings in communal
areas outside of the classroom, unless exempt for medical reasons.
• All education settings to restrict entry to their site to essential visitors only.
• Any visitors to wear a face covering while on-site, this includes adults collecting children in
the playground.
On October 6, SCC introduced a new sibling policy, which advised children and young people aged
between 4 and 18 years to stay at home when a sibling they live with tests positive for COVID-19.
This applies to schools with an outbreak of Covid-19 and is still in place.
The number of cases within children and young people aged 10-14 has increased by almost 15% and
cases amongst 15–19-year-olds has increased by 32% in the past week of data. This means that in
October alone school children in Suffolk have lost 26,264 days of education due to positive cases of
Covid-19. There has also been an increase in cases amongst other age ranges across Suffolk, which
may be due in part, to family transmission.

These measures will be reviewed during the week commencing Monday 15 November 2021.

Stuart Keeble, Director of Public Health said:
“We have seen the number of Suffolk pupils with covid-19 increase so are working with schools to
implement these additional measures immediately to help break the chain of transmission.
“We are taking these numbers seriously and school leaders are being extremely vigilant to ensure
children and staff safe. If parents have concerns, we would advise them to speak to their schools
who will be able to reassure parents of the measures they are taking.
“Our main focus is to balance pupil and staff safety whilst giving children as positive and normal
education as possible.”

Lorry Route Plan review in Suffolk
The technical and community led review of lorry routes that considers changes to the highway
network since the plan was updated in 2011.
The technical and community led review of lorry routes that considers changes to the highway
network since the plan was updated in 2011. This includes:
• new strategic roads
• new Lorry Watch areas
• Air Quality Management Areas in Suffolk
Councillor Richard Smith MVO, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic
Development, Transport Strategy and Waste responsible for the ongoing review of the county’s
Lorry Route Plan.
The review will involve two parts and will update and validate the County Council’s existing lorry
route network plan
The technical review is currently taking place. It’ll look at a range of evidence including:
• Collision records and traffic data
• Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) for weight, width and height restrictions
• The resilient road network and its strategic road network diversions as well as GPS data –
showing the origin and destination of trips, routes taken and the locations of building strikes
• Public complaints
• Data from Lorry Watch schemes
Community led review
The community led review will run from 22 October 2021 to 17 December 2021.
Suffolk County Council is seeking the views of Parish and Town Councils about their local issues and
intelligence.
Information will be gathered by a survey sent to all of Suffolk’s Parish and Town Councils and their
County Councillor will then be asked to endorse the key issues for their area. Each local council will
be limited to three issues within their community to ensure fair and equal representation across the
county.
The review will be completed in Spring 2022 where the County Council plan to publish a new
interactive Lorry Route map.

For more information click here: Lorry Route Plan review in Suffolk | Suffolk County Council