British Deaf Association Updates
James Colhoun live streaming of news and updates:
BSL Zone for news, updates and some much-needed distraction:
DWP Corona Virus Special
The roundup of recent DWP announcements can be found by clicking Corona Virus Special 30th March 2020
Coronavirus advice on NHS Inform
The NHS Inform has a range of advice and information about coronavirus/COVID-19, including information in Easy Read and BSL.
You can find out more by following the link.
www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19
Craigmillar Community Group
The walking group for the time being will be held on Thursday’s, meeting at 12 noon, at the Wauchope Community Garden bottom of Wauchope terrace/behind the Moffat Center.
Personal Assistants Required throughout Scotland
As the Coronavirus continues to spread this will inevitably result in many PA employers and PAs having to self- isolate as a result of either themselves or someone close to them being affected by the virus. We at the Personal Assistants Network Scotland are working in partnership with the Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network (SPAEN) to try to mitigate some of the problems that this will undoubtedly cause for both parties.
We would like to ask all Personal Assistants who would be willing to work to help other employers, who may be suffering as a result of their PA being in self-isolation, to get in touch with either ourselves or SPAEN. It may be that your own employer is self-isolating and for a period of time your work hours have been reduced or that you are willing to work more hours to help those in need. Either way, if you get in touch with us giving us your contact details and details of the area that you are willing to work within, we will add you to our emergency PA list.
Anyone out there who would consider working to support vulnerable people during this crisis is also welcome to contact us and your details can be added to our contact list.
We can guarantee strict confidentiality at all times and we will not give your details to any prospective employer without your direct consent. If there is an employer within the area you are willing to work in who needs support, we will contact you. We’ll give you details of the job requirements, hours of work available, hourly rate of pay etc. and you can let us know if you are interested in speaking to the employer. Only then would we give an employer your contact details.
We are not acting as an introductory service or recommending anyone as being a suitable employee, the employer would still need to follow all the normal recruitment practices before employing you. We are simply trying to help people to shorten the timescale that this would normally take.
If you would like to register as being available for PA work please contact –
PA Network Scotland on 01563 522551 or email: [email protected], alternatively you can contact SPAEN on 01698 250280 or email: [email protected]
Good Neighbour Corona Virus – Voulunteer Edinburgh
Volunteer Edinburgh’s Frequently Asked Questions list for volunteers and potential volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shared Care Scotland Announcement about Corona Virus
As for the majority of organisations across Scotland, Shared Care Scotland is monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and following the advice set out by the NHS and Scottish Government. We are doing all that we can to minimise the impact on our staff and our work, but we recognise that there are inevitably changes that we have to make to our working practices. This statement sets out our current position. We will update it as required over the coming weeks and publish updates on our website – www.sharedcarescotland.org.uk
Access to information and support
First and foremost, we acknowledge that these are worrying times for carers and those that they care for. Furthermore, it is clear that there will be significant changes to short break services and the support that they are able to offer over the coming weeks. The Scottish Government Carers Team has recommended the following:
- For the latest verified information and advice visit NHS Inform and the Scottish Government website
- Carers who don’t have an emergency plan in place may want to talk to family and friends who could take on their caring role if they become ill or need to self-isolate;
- Where carers and family or friends are unable to provide essential care for someone, they should contact their local social work department;
- Carers should also make sure that they have key information about the person that they care for readily available for anyone who may have to step into the caring role;
In addition to this many carers centres are no longer operating regular groups or face to face support sessions, however some are offering alternative forms of support such as telephone counselling. You can find details of your local carers centre through our interactive short breaks information map.
The team at Shared Care Scotland are committed to continuing to deliver our work programme and are well-placed to work remotely. We can be contacted through our main office number on 01383 622462 or through our [email protected] email address.
In terms of short beaks we are working on pulling together information on a range of alternative short breaks that can be accessed from home. This will include phone support services and online forums, online subscriptions, distance learning, and a range of resources that may be of use to those who are spending time in isolation. We will make this available via our website and on our social media channels. Find us @CareBreaks across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
We will also be moving our different practitioner networks to online forums and using webinars instead of face-to-face meetings.
Short Breaks Fund
The Short Breaks Fund team is working as usual and aiming to minimise the impact on current and future grant holders. The team are preparing information for both currently funded projects and for those that are awaiting the outcome of their application to the most recent round of Better Breaks funding.
We will email all projects directly by the end of this week (Friday 20 March).
Respitality
For all our Respitality Delivery Partners, please keep referring to our Workplace group and we’ll keep you posted of any developments there. This is an extremely difficult period for our Scottish hospitality, leisure and tourism industry and we are thinking about them. We send our good wishes to the many businesses that have generously donated breaks through the Respitality scheme.
Many thanks indeed.
Don
Don Williamson
Chief Executive
Important information for LCiL service users regarding coronavirus/COVID-19
This page will be updated with any new guidance or information regarding the current coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. Up-to-date NHS guidance is available here; www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Updates will be added in chronological order and dated, so please scroll down if you wish to read older updates.
Wednesday 8th April 2020
COVID-19 and Annual Leave
Can I ask staff to take annual leave for a set period?
You can ask your employees to agree to take a period of annual leave. If the employees do not agree, then you may give notice ordering them to take holiday on specified dates. There are no legal requirements about the form that this notice must take, but this notice should be at least twice the length of the period of leave that the employee is being ordered to take. This is also outlined in their terms and conditions of employment.
When staff return to normal working patterns, they will have accrued a lot of annual leave. Can I do anything about this?
Staff will continue to accrue annual leave as normal whilst under contract with an employer. Normally, employees are required to “use or lose” statutory annual leave (5.6 weeks) in the year in which it accrues, unless they are on a form of family leave or, in some circumstances, have been unable to take holidays due to sickness.
One option, to prevent a large amount of annual leave building up without being taken, is to give notice to employees requiring them to take leave (see above). However, to help with this issue the Government has amended the Working Time Regulations to allow statutory holidays accrued this year to be carried forwards for up to two years where it was not possible for staff to take leave due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The carry-over amount will be limited to four weeks’ statutory leave. Statutory holidays above this amount should be taken this year. Contractual holidays over and above the 5.6 weeks statutory entitlement are a matter for agreement between employers and staff.
Some employers already allow carry-over of leave from one year to the next. An employer could allow for more leave than usual to carry forward or require staff to take holidays this year, whether on certain dates or at the employee’s choice.
Can staff take annual leave to “top up” furlough leave and pay?
From the Government guidance published to date, it appears that staff on furlough leave must be designated as being absent on those grounds, which would suggest that they cannot be deemed to be on annual leave at the same time. In order for an employer to apply for support with wage costs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the staff member must be furloughed for a minimum of three weeks. However, once the minimum period of furlough is spent, the employee could take annual leave for a period.
We continue to wait for definitive guidance from the Government / HMRC on whether annual leave can be used during furlough. As one of the key features of being furloughed is that you cannot undertake work for your employer, which is also the case during a period of annual leave, it has been speculated that it is possible for employees to use up periods of annual leave during furlough leave.
For employers seeking to act now and who are choosing to combine furlough leave with annual leave, please note that if further guidance confirms it is not possible to use up annual leave during furlough leave and reclaim costs through the scheme, you may need to allow the employee to reschedule that leave for later in the holiday year.
24th March 2020
The UK and Scottish Government have announced new guidance designed to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. You will likely have heard about this already but you can download a UK Government issued PDF here;
Full_guidance_on_staying_at_home_and_away_from_others__1_ (PDF)
LCiL would advise all PA employers to follow government guidance but would also highlight that PAs should be considered essential, key workers so, unless you or your PAs have to self-isolate due to being ill, your PAs can still travel to work and continue to support you.
In the event of a care crisis, you should contact your local authority. Contact details are available on this page. Please scroll down.
We have also had a number of enquiries from service users, worried that their PAs will not be able to get to work in light of the new guidance. It is our understanding that PAs will be considered key workers as they are ‘front-line’ social care workers. Please see Government guidance below. This may also mean that if your PA has school-age children, they could be entitled to continued school provision. They should contact their local authority/school regarding this.
Monday 23rd March 2020
Neighbourhood help
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of volunteer groups across the Lothians are coordinating support for vulnerable people who are self-isolating and require support with someone doing their shopping for them, picking up prescriptions and more, even assistance with dog walking.
Below you’ll find some links which you may wish to explore. LCiL are not affiliated with any of these groups and you should use usual caution when it comes to giving out personal details but there are plenty of good people out there looking to offer their support if you feel this is appropriate for you.
For some links, you may need to be signed up to, or willing to sign up to Facebook.
To access the Edinburgh postcode based help requests and help offers groups please, use this Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoronaEdiLocalGroups/learning_content/
To volunteer and/or ask for help in Dalkeith and Woodburn area, please use this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/506952593331425/?hc_location=ufi
To volunteer and/or ask for help in Kirkliston area please, use this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/211918693222004/?hc_location=ufi
To volunteer and/or ask for help in West Lothian please, use this Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/westlothiancovid19support/
To register a dog owner whose canine is potentially remaining without support in case of COVID-19 illness or self-isolation please, use this online form but if it’s not yourself then check with the dog owner before registering. This is the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9soJL0E4G5ftQoiqFkYF7zYjC-_FqBBLmYkOifxDTqBy-6Q/viewform?fbclid=IwAR033nuJOtEnHcB4KYrTuNzitZozmJZRWKSaLuTCowIg-nZyjKcU4KRPhnk
Wednesday, 18th March 2020
Coronavirus/COVID-19 and people in receipt of a direct payment and/or Independent Living Fund Scotland funding
For Personal Assistant employers
You and your Personal Assistant (PA) should make yourselves aware of current NHS advice and follow it. Up-to-date guidance is available here; www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
If your PA is self-isolating or has been tested positive for COVID-19 and earns at least £118 per week they would qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the first day of absence for up to two weeks and the cost for this can be recovered from the state.
If the PA earns less than £118 per week then they would need to approach the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in regards to benefits.
If you need to self-isolate then your PA should not come to work but they will still need to get paid as they are available for, but unable to attend, work. You can still use your direct payment for this. Depending on the type of assessed support you require there may still be some tasks your PA can safely carry out for you; shopping, for example.
Please keep up to date with NHS guidance regarding COVID-19 and if you require employment law advice you can contact your Employer’s Liability Insurance providers employment law advisors or the LCiL’s Independent Living Team.
Lack of support
Any absences due to self-isolation or illness will have a negative impact on many people. As a direct payment recipient, your local authority maintains a duty of care and if you find yourself without support or with reduced levels of support that put you at risk, you should contact your local social work department. This duty of care applies whether you use your direct payment to employ PAs or to contract with a care agency.
In all cases, your first port of call should be your allocated social worker if you have one. Alternatively, you should contact;
City of Edinburgh Council
Social Care Direct
0131 200 2324
Monday to Thursday 8.30 am to 5 pm and Friday 8.30 am to 3.55 pm
Or out with these times (evenings, weekends and public holidays);
0800 731 6969
East Lothian Council
Social Work Contact Centre on 01875 824 309.
Monday to Thursday 9 am-5 pm and Friday 9 am-4 pm
Emergency Social Work Service, for evenings, weekends and public holidays 0800 731 6969
West Lothian Council
During business hours;
Assessment and Care Management Team 01506 284848 [email protected]
Out of hours;
Social Care Emergency Team – 01506 281028 / 01506281029 [email protected]
Midlothian Council
Adult social work 0131 271 3900
Children and families 0131 271 3413
Emergency social work (outside business hours) 0800 731 6969
Independent Living Fund Scotland
In light of the latest COVID-19 developments, ILF Scotland has taken the decision to suspend home visits to the recipients of their 2015 Fund.
Instead, they will carry out 2015 Fund reviews through a combination of telephone calls, emails and Skype. If you are due to have a review visit soon, one of their assessors will be in touch to advise further.
At this time, ILF Scotland’s day to day work will carry on as usual and they will continue to make payments. You can contact their specialist caseworker team on 0300 200 2022 or [email protected]
Tuesday, 17th March 2020
From LCiL’s CEO, Florence Garabedian;
“Dear LCiL service users
I am writing to you to let you know how LCiL is mitigating the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic at present. Given the rapid change of governmental advice, and our duty to protect staff and follow procedures, we are planning for the worst-case scenario. As a small organisation, our relatively small number of staff may well be affected, compromising our ability to deliver services as normal. We also have a duty to reduce the risk of spreading infection to people using our services, so we are reducing, or cancelling, meetings of any kind.
For users of the Financial Management Support Services
- Payroll service
We will do our upmost to provide you with information to pay your staff and HMRC on time, as normal. In case we were too low on staff to do this, and we could not process your timesheets on time, we advise you to do the following:
- If your staff have worked the same hours as the previous month, when we have provided you with the correct salary figures, you should pay them the same amount.
- If their working hours have increased from the previous month, you should still pay them the same amount as the month before and settle the difference later when we provide you with the correct figures.
- If the hours have decreased you should pay the number of hours at the minimum wage rate £ 8.21 (until 5th April 2020) and/or £8.72 (from 6th April 2020) and settle the difference later when we provide you with the correct figures; e.g. if your staff have worked 50 hours, you should pay them
50 X 8.21 = £410.50 (to the 5th April)
50 X 8.72 = £436 (from 6th April 2020)
- In relation to HMRC – you should pay the same amount as you’ve paid the month before.
I would like to clarify that this should be done only as an emergency response if we are unable to deliver the service as usual.
- Financial management support service (or enhanced financial management service)
We will do our upmost to pay your staff on time with the right amount. If, however, we were too low on staff to process your timesheets on time, we will follow the payroll process as described above and pay your staff and HMRC accordingly.
For users of the Independent Living Service
The Independent Living Team is doing as much as possible to provide continuity of service. However, in line with Government advice, they are cancelling any visits and will have no direct contact with service users until further notice. Meanwhile independent living officers will continue to communicate with service users as much as possible by email or by phone.
For users of the Grapevine Disability Information Service (in Edinburgh only)
The service will do its upmost to keep its phone line open, although it may be reduced at some point. Meanwhile the service will continue its on line service. Face-to- face support for benefit interviews are now cancelled until further notice.
For users of the SDS programme
Previous participants in the project will be contacted personally. We can confirm, however, that all in person workshops and meetings are cancelled until further notice. We hope to have some virtual groups running soon.
We are sorry about the current and potential disruption of the services we normally provide and we hope you understand that this in order to minimise greater and longer impact of the current Coronavirus /COVID-19 situation
With kind regards,
Florence Garabedian, CEO”
Government advice about Corona Virus
Face-to-face assessments for all sickness and disability benefits will be suspended for the next 3 months, the government announced today (16 March 2020).
The temporary move, effective on Tuesday 17 March 2020, is being taken as a precautionary measure to protect vulnerable people from unnecessary risk of exposure to coronavirus as the country’s response ramps up in the ‘delay’ phase. We will ensure those who are entitled to a benefit continue to receive support, and that new claimants are able to access the safety net.
It affects claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), those on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and some on Universal Credit, and recipients of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
The suspension of face-to-face assessments also covers new claims to those benefits.
Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:
As we move into the next phase of our response to coronavirus, it is right we take steps to protect those with health problems.
Temporarily suspending face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits will allow us to ensure we continue to provide a safety net for those in need, while removing unnecessary risk of exposure to this disease.
Anyone who has a face-to-face assessment appointment scheduled from Tuesday 17 March onwards does not need to attend and will be contacted to discuss next steps and alternative arrangements, which could involve either telephone or paper-based assessments. We expect this measure will be in effect for the next 3 months but we will be regularly reviewing the position in line with Public Health advice.
No further action is required by any claimant as a result of this change. They will be contacted with advice on next steps.
DWP continues to accept new claims for all benefits. Anyone already receiving PIP, ESA, Universal Credit or Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, will continue to receive their current payments as normal while alternative arrangements are put in place to review or reassess their claim.
Suspending face-to-face health assessments is a precautionary measure which reflects the Prime Minister’s decision to trigger the ‘delay’ phase. It is important to note that this change does not affect or change any existing public health advice.
Read the current NHS guidelines on coronavirus, including advice on those who should stay at home.
Edinburgh Project SEARCH
Edinburgh Project SEARCH helps people with disabilities who want to work full-time. If you are 16-29 years old it could be for you. Information evenings are being held on Wednesday 26th February, Tuesday 3rd March and Thursday 5th March at Waverley Court, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh.
To book a place call 0131 529 3139 or email [email protected]
For more information click on the Project Search Leaflet 2020