Devon County Council explain the tier 2 rules which will apply across the County after lockdown ends on 2nd December:

You must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place.

• You must not socialise in a group of more than 6 people outside, including in a garden or a public space – this is called the ‘rule of 6’
• Businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a COVID-Secure manner, other than those which remain closed by law, such as nightclubs
• Pubs and bars must close, unless operating as restaurants. Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals
• Hospitality businesses selling food or drink for consumption on their premises are required to:
  • provide table service only, in premises which sell alcohol
  • close between 11pm and 5am (hospitality venues in airports, ports, transport services and motorway service areas are exempt)
  • stop taking orders after 10pm
• Hospitality businesses and venues selling food and drink for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-through
• Early closure (11pm) applies to casinos, cinemas, theatres, museums, bowling alleys, amusement arcades, funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities, and bingo halls. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can stay open beyond 11pm in order to conclude performances that start before 10pm
• Public attendance at outdoor and indoor events (performances and shows) is permitted, limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors
• Public attendance at spectator sport and business events can resume inside and outside, subject to social contact rules and limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors
• Places of worship remain open but you must not socialise with people from outside of your household or support bubble while you are indoors there, unless a legal exemption applies
• Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on numbers of attendees – 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, and 15 people can attend linked commemorative events such as wakes or stonesettings.
• Organised outdoor sport, and physical activity and exercise classes can continue
• Organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes will only be permitted if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with (or share a support bubble with). There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, which can take place with larger groups mixing
• You can continue to travel to venues or amenities which are open, but should aim to reduce the number of journeys you make where possible
• If you live in a tier 2 area, you must continue to follow tier 2 rules when you travel to a tier 1 area. Avoid travel to or overnight stays in tier 3 areas other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities.You can travel through a tier 3 area as a part of a longer journey
• For international travel see the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice for your destination and the travel corridors list

You can find out more about the rules on the Goverment website by clicking this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/lo...

This new grant is called the Additional Restrictions Grant. It is for those businesses in South Hams and West Devon which were not forced to close, or did not qualify for the earlier grant, but were significantly impacted under the national restrictions in November.

There were many businesses, which did not qualify for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG), that was available during the national lockdown. This is because many of them were not rateable businesses or because they were not on the list of businesses that were asked to close in November, and therefore did not qualify for the grant.

If a business that did not get the Local Restrictions Support Grant can now demonstrate that their business has been adversely impacted by the national restrictions, and they have lost trade or turnover of over 50%, they could now be eligible for the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG).

Cllr Judy Pearce, Leader of South Hams District Council said: “I am pleased to be able to announce the opening of this grant. With any grant, there has to be some qualifying criteria and unfortunately, there are always those who fall between the gaps. This grant serves to fill some of those gaps left by the earlier Local Restrictions Support Grant and enables those businesses which can evidence that they have been severely impacted get help.”

Cllr Neil Jory Leader of West Devon Borough Council Said: “Giving our businesses support during this difficult time is so important to us. We aim to get these schemes open and available as quickly as possible.

“When you do apply, please fill in the forms as clearly and as carefully as you can. The difference between this grant and the earlier LRSG is that the businesses which apply, must be able to evidence that they have been severely impacted.

“Please clearly signpost us to that evidence in your application, it should be evidence of your income from the previous two Novembers compared with this year.”

The Councils encourage applications from businesses both within, and which supply, retail, hospitality and leisure, including the events sector.

Businesses, which will not be eligible for the Additional Restrictions Grant, include properties that ‘home share’ (such as Airbnb), second homes and businesses that have already received the earlier, Local Restriction Grant.

To apply for the grant and see a full list of the eligibility criteria visit the Councils' websites:

South Hams : www.southhams.gov.uk/ARG
West Devon : www.westdevon.govk/ARG

Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In the application it should be shown that the decreased level of trade, at least 50% compared to a more representative time of trading, is a direct consequence of the national restrictions.

We would like to say thank you to all our patients for your continuing support during these difficult times.

We want to reassure you that we are very much still open, and have been throughout the pandemic. We have all had to adapt to a new way of working and indeed living in order to keep our community as safe and healthy as possible.

We are experiencing a high number of calls, requests and queries, and so we may take a little longer to respond than usual. There may be longer waits to book appointments. Please look at our website for lots of self-care information and advice. https://www.chillingtonsurgery.co.uk/

One of the major changes for all of us has been the national roll out of ‘triage first’ contact with GP practices. This means that there needs to be some information gathering before an appointment with a member of the practice is given - very different from how we used to work!

There are two major ways that we do this. Firstly using an online consultation method. For practices in Devon we have been asked to use eConsult, which you can access and see more information about on the front page of our website.

Although there are limitations with the eConsult model, it is a national program and therefore constantly being evaluated and tweaked. It will continually therefore adapt and improve. We understand that as a way of interacting with general practice it is here to stay! The pandemic has just massively fast forwarded its implementation nationally. Many Patients have told us it is more convenient for them as they have the flexibility to decide when to complete an eConsult and they have the opportunity to think and plan in advance as to what they need from us.

We have found it very useful as a practice, particularly in terms of gathering information in advance of a discussion, making far better use of any subsequent appointment time. From the information given, we are often able to efficiently signpost to other sources of help and support and use other members of the practice team where a GP or nurse appointment is not needed

The other triage first option is to talk to a trained receptionist. The receptionist will need to gather information in the same way, either by asking you to or helping you to complete an eConsult or by asking some questions.

During lockdown we have had to make significant changes to the Dispensary, and we continue to react and adapt to national and local needs. We are doing the best that we can do, and we thank everyone for their continuing forbearance.

We expect the next major event for us all will be how to deliver the Covid-19 mass vaccination programme. We expect to be notified at very short notice - it is a constantly and rapidly changing field. What we know so far though is, that at least initially, we are likely not to be able to use the flu clinic type model within the practice. This is because of the nature of the vaccine and the large numbers that need to be delivered, wastage needs to be minimised. We are likely to be working with other practices to deliver this mass vaccination across a large area at a location yet to be confirmed. When the time comes for patients to be vaccinated, they will be contacted, possibly by a national programme. Please keep an eye on the practice website for any updates on this.

If you change your mobile number or email address, please let reception know as soon as possible.

Thank you again for supporting us.

A big thank you also to all our volunteers, and also to everyone else helping out within our community.

25 November 2020

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council have processed over 500 applications for the Local Restrictions Business Grant (LRSG), with payments worth £618,196 already made.

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council have received 1,914 applications for the Local Restrictions Business Grant (LRSG) since the scheme opened last week on 16 November 2020. 529 applications have been processed so far, with the teams at the councils working through the weekend to ensure this financial lifeline for local businesses reaches bank accounts as quickly as possible. The first payments have now been received.

The grant is available to businesses in South Hams and West Devon who were ordered to close when the national restrictions began on 5 November. Grants are worth up to £3,000, depending on the rateable value of the business.

Cllr Neil Jory, Leader of West Devon Borough Council said: “It’s been a testing year for our local businesses and we know just how important this grant is. It was our priority to get this scheme up and running fast and the team has worked hard all week and over the weekend to ensure payments can be made as quickly as possible. I’m pleased to say that some payments have already been made. If you are waiting for your payment, please be reassured that we are working on this as fast as we can.”

Cllr Judy Pearce, Leader of South Hams District Council added: “We understand just how much pressure our local business owners are under at the moment and we’re committed to doing what we can to help. It was really important to us to that we got our system up and running quickly and made it as easy as possible for business owners to apply. We’re proud that we managed this in just a few days and feedback shows 80% of those applying are happy or very happy with the ease of the process.”

There have been 597 applications from West Devon and 1,317 from businesses in the South Hams. Of the 529 applications approved so far, 202 are from West Devon totalling £209,400. 327 applications from the South Hams, worth £408,796 have already been paid.

The LRSG scheme is still open to all eligible businesses affected by the current set of national restrictions. Businesses can apply for the grant through the council’s website – www.southhams.gov.uk or www.westdevon.gov.uk

Once approved the grant will provide those eligible businesses with a rolling 28-day grant, lasting as long as the National Restrictions apply.

When applying for the grant, businesses will need a number of documents. These include:

• A recent bank statement showing your account number and address as evidence the business was trading immediately before the restrictions.
• Your company number (if the business is registered with Companies House).
• Your business rates account number.

Valerie Davenport, who owns Kaleidoscope Toys in Tavistock, commented: “West Devon have yet again proved to be helping local business. The grant process was quick and very easy to use and we received notice that our application was successful within the week.”

Adam Sherring, who owns Habit in Kingsbridge, told us: “Conditions on the High Street were tough enough even before the pandemic and any support now is massively welcome. It was a relief that it was straightforward to apply for this grant. Even better, the money is already in the bank, which will really help us as we aim to reopen as soon as guidelines allow it.”

A full list of all of the businesses that were instructed to close and those on the exemption list can be found on the Government’s business advice pages: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/closing-certain-businesses-and-venues-in-england

If a business (included in the list) is substantially closed but still able to offer some click and collect or take-away service, they ARE still eligible for this business support grant.