News in Sandbach

Cheshire East Council has announced they will be providing supermarket vouchers for families who need them over the half-term break.

The move comes after the government rejected calls from England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford MBE to extend free school meals to cover holidays.

This weekend is Cheshire's second under tier 2 coronavirus restrictions, and despite a long, and occasionally arduous road to this point, the battles over the future of the county's Covid response are still ongoing.

However, round two is not over restrictions — it's about support.

More than 500 children in Cheshire East are cared for by the council, new data shows.

A freedom of information request to the body reveals 535 youngsters are designated 'looked after children' by CEC, with 269 aged 12-plus.

The director of public health in Cheshire East has called on residents to observe two metre social distancing following a sharp rise in cases locally.

The borough is currently in tier 2 of restrictions and neighbouring areas in Greater Manchester will move into the 'very high' tier 3 today.

Cheshire Constabulary is urging residents to work together to help in the continued fight against Coronavirus.

In recent weeks there has been a steady increase in coronavirus cases across the county, which has resulted in the introduction of a number of restrictions under the new three-tier system.

Fiona Bruce MP has faced criticism for voting against a Labour motion that would have seen free school meals extended to cover holidays until Spring next year.

The Congleton constituency MP was among 318 of her party colleagues to block the move which has been pushed forward by Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford MBE.

Missed bin collections in Cheshire East almost trebled last year, the LDRS can reveal.

A freedom of information request to the council showed that 21,340 collections were missed in 2019-20, compared to 7,182 the year before.

New figures show that Cheshire's GP practices conducted nearly half a million face-to-face appointments during the first six months of the Coronavirus response.

Between April and September 2020, GP practices across Cheshire also conducted more than 640,000 telephone and video appointments, processed more than 24,000 referrals and issued more than six million prescriptions.

Councillors have voted to freeze their allowances until May 2021 at Cheshire East's full council meeting.

The allowances, which were recommended to be increased by the authority's independent remuneration panel, are given to elected members as compensation for their time performing various duties associated with their role.

Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, has said he does not want to see tier 3 restrictions placed on the borough.

Responding to a question from Alsager Town councillor Sue Helliwell, the Labour representative added he had not asked the government for such a move.