Local heroes of the pandemic presented with Somerset Medal
A select few of Somerset’s many unsung coronavirus heroes have been presented with awards as the first ever winners of the Somerset Medal.
The Somerset Medal was launched by Somerset County Council to say a heartfelt thank-you to the best of the best, with the winners honoured at a special reception at Taunton Rugby Club this week.
Somerset’s Lord Lieutenant Annie Maw spoke at the start of the ceremony before the medals were presented by Council Vice Chair Councillor Mark Keating.
Those honoured included local vaccination volunteers, food deliverers, PPE producers, pop-up shop keepers and a whole host of other good Samaritans who all went above and beyond to make sure Somerset kept going during the pandemic.
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In my opinion, councils should be granted full control over council tax, business rates and charges to allow them to raise, spend and invest what they need to help their areas thrive. They should also be allowed more discretion in how they manage their budgets than the current fiscal rules allow. With some businesses facing an uncertain future, many places across the country are struggling. Local government, with its detailed knowledge, is best placed to be the driver of their recovery. The upcoming white paper (on how councils can reshape local public services to meet the need of next spending review) now needs to give local councils the tools to act on this knowledge.
The new tougher restrictions came into force just after midnight this morning.
Leader of Somerset County Council David Fothergill says: “In the last three weeks in Somerset the number of Covid-19 cases has almost trebled, rising from 473 cases per week to 1,299.”
“In the most recent week, the rate of new cases increased by more than a third (37 per cent). Tier 4 restrictions are tough but very necessary if we are to get back in control of our rising rates and cases.
“We’ve just heard the new Oxford vaccine has been approved, so the vaccination programme will gather pace but now is not the time to be complacent.”