Covid Update: Plan B and How it Affects the Voluntary & Community Sector
On Wednesday the 8th of December the government announced the implementation of ‘Plan B’ and the re-introduction of certain social restrictions as a result of the latest Covid-19 variant – Omicron. Sajid Javid in his statement to parliament stated that the regulations will be reviewed on 5 January, before their expiry date of 26 January.
We have been hearing from many in the voluntary and community sector that once again it is difficult to understand how these will affect our ways of working and our delivery of services. We hope in this short piece to help guide you through it from a VCSE perspective.
We have been working our way through the guidance for you.
It is important to recognise that Plan B has not yet introduced any restrictions that may prevent any services currently running from continuing, however, how these are delivered may be impacted.
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Community centres, youth centres, members clubs and social club
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Intentions behind plan B
Before looking at specifics of the announcement, let us first consider what the intentions are behind Plan B. Plan B has two main objectives, to eliminate the social transmission of the virus in certain settings (home working) and to reduce the risk of social transmission in others (face Coverings/covid pass).
Given that it will likely take time until the guidance catches up with our sector, we would encourage you to keep these two objectives in mind as you review your ways of working and your service delivery in response to plan B.
Look to see if you can eliminate the risk of transmission in your offices, buildings and venues. Could staff work from home and provide services remotely? Where this is not feasible, practical or would risk harm to service users- perhaps risking mental or physical health, disrupt treatment, lead to social isolation, etc, look at the ways you can reduce the risk of transmission.
Do keep checking to see if the guidance has changed. Not all changes come with a loud announcement. In the first lock down, changes to guidance on running support groups and on volunteering were made quietly and we all relied on larger organisations closer to government to filter this through.
Familiarise yourself
Please do familiarise yourselves with this as the guidance will inevitably change.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do#history
This information was written on the 10th December and was our best understanding of the situation at that time, please note that this is a very fluid situation and inclined to rapid change. We recommend that you undertake your own research alongside this information in order to satisfy yourself that it is applicable in your situation. It is understood that the government will be making further announcements the week of the 13th December. There will also be updates for particular sectors.
How may some of the specifics of the 8th December announcement affect how we work?
Work from home if you can
The first thing here to take note of is that this is guidance only. It is not mandatory.
From Monday 13th December all office workers who can work from home should do so. The guidance recognises that this will not be possible for all of us all of the time.
The guidance also states that:
“Employers should consider whether home working is appropriate for workers facing mental or physical health difficulties, or those with a particularly challenging home working environment.”
Regular lateral flow testing is recommended where people continue to go into work. Enclosed spaces should be well ventilated and cleaned regularly.
Volunteering
Currently the government guidance on volunteering remains unchanged, but all volunteering would also need to address the same aspects of Plan B as for paid staff. Working from home where possible; wearing face coverings, etc.
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-volunteering
Face Coverings
From the 10th of December, mandatory face covering was extended once again since its earlier reintroduction. Police have enforcement powers, including fixed penalty of £200 for the first offence, doubling for each subsequent offence.
You must display signage or take other measures to ensure that people entering your premises are aware of the requirement to wear a face coving where applicable. If you have removed your Covid App QR code, you may wish to put one up again. You can create a code here
A full list of where a face covering must be worn and where exemptions apply can be found here
Community centres, youth centres, members clubs and social clubs are included in the list for mandatory mask wearing. This means that such venues and services can continue to run as normal, but with the wearing of face coverings. We would suggest that you also reintroduce regular cleaning, use of hand sanitiser and/or regular hand washing.
The main exemptions to the extension of mandatory face covering is with the hospitality industry. It would be reasonable to place services such as meal clubs for the elderly and similar activities within this. It would be sensible though to interpret this as requiring face coverings when entering and leaving the building and when moving around as it is likely that the meal clubs are not in a dedicated ‘hospitality’ settings, but rather somewhere more akin to a community centre.
Do bear in mind the section of the guidance that states:
“While not mandatory, you should continue to wear a face covering in indoor places, which are crowded and enclosed and where you may come into contact with people you do not normally meet.”
Grassroot sport specific guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-coronavirus-covid-19-measures-for-grassroots-sport-participants-providers-and-facility-operators published 9 December
Covid Pass
“From 15 December, certain venues and events will be required by law to check that all visitors aged 18 years or over are fully vaccinated (currently a full course of vaccination without the need for a booster, but this will be kept under review), have proof of a negative test in the last 48 hours, or that they have an exemption. This means that those aged 18 years or over must show their NHS COVID Pass, or an alternative proof of a negative test result, such as an email or text proof, to gain entry into these venues.”
The requirement for a Covid pass or negative lateral flow test only starts where an indoor venue holds more than 500 people.
It is unclear from the guidance if a community hall holding a dance would come under ‘dancehalls and discotheques’. However, given that the guidance also mentions ‘other late night dance venues open between 1am and 5am,’ a venue that is not solely a dancehall or discotheque and not open between 1am and 5pm would appear to fall outside of the Covid pass requirement, but within other measures such as face coverings for entering and leaving. The venue or organisers would be entitled to make their own arrangement as to if they would require a Covid pass or proof of a recent negative text.
Finally, please don’t be tempted to call the dance party ‘a cheese and wine business meeting’.
Contact Us
If you would like to discuss the situation with your organisation please contact our senior development officer, Keith Johnson keith@huntsforum.org.uk M: 07809 214895
