South Yorkshire Local Politics News

04/10/2021

The public grave is the final resting place of youngsters born from the late 1800s, right up until the 1970s, with no memorial in place

The bottom corner of a Pen*stone cemetery looks like an unremarkable patch of land to the naked eye.

09/06/2021

This has caused a lot of confusion. Sheffield Council said it has “all hands on deck” to fix it

More than 77,540 taxpayers found their latest council tax bills were not taken on time after what Sheffield Council said was a “technical failure”.

07/05/2021

It’s been a unique local elections involving Covid-19 regulations and, for some, four different votes

Voters said it was strange but smooth as they headed to the polls for a unique local elections that involved Covid regulations and, for some, four different votes.

16/04/2021

“For all of these guys who are a part of Sheffield Diving Club and get what they do from that, both physical and psychological benefits, we need to be allowed to stay in and carry on training regardless of what happens now”

The head of City of Sheffield Diving Club said it was like “deja vu” returning to a busy Ponds Forge today as Covid-19 restrictions lifted.

15/04/2021

🗳Make sure you are registered to vote. The deadline is 11.59pm on April 19. You can do it here https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Get on the electoral register so you can vote in elections and referendums.

29/03/2021

The group said the level of interest in the climate summit showed just how hungry Sheffield is to make progress on

Sheffield Climate Alliance welcomed Sheffield Council’s first climate summit, saying the level of interest in the event showed a hunger for progress.

29/03/2021

A councillor has called for them to be open seven days a week, for 10 hours in winter and 12 hours in summer

A councillor urged Sheffield Council to improve its household waste recycling centres after revealing it had some of the shortest opening hours among core cities.

25/03/2021

“The option of not doing anything doesn’t really exist anymore”

You can share your ideas of how to tackle climate change with Sheffield Council here https://sheffield.citizenspace.com/place-planning/working-with-you-to-tackle-climate-change/

“Everybody needs to play their part for climate change”, was the key message from experts and city leaders at Sheffield Council’s first climate summit.

23/03/2021

Councillor Paul Turpin, representative for Gleadless Valley, said: “It’s just like an open landfill, it’s absolutely shocking.”

A councillor has shared shocking images of fly tipping in his ward and claims it is becoming the “dumping ground of south Sheffield”.

23/03/2021

Good news for those living here who have been calling for these safety measures for years

The council has agreed to put safety measures in place on a busy Sheffield road, following campaigns lasting years.

23/03/2021

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition for a safe crossing on this busy road

Campaigners dressed as zebras stood in protest alongside a dangerous road to urge Sheffield Council to put safety measures in place.

04/03/2021

The council sold the block, on Wombwell High Street as part of a budget savings plan in 2014 for £67,000.

The block had been due to be turned into a takeaway

03/03/2021

Would you like to see rail services restored across Sheaf Valley? 🚂

Sheffield MPs Olivia Blake and Louise Haigh are working on a bid to reopen stations at Millhouses, Heeley and Beauchief and expand the one at Dore & Totley.

Have your say here
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuZDsImkZvTy_ixxaxv9ERfMnd59XDdxDzocz3pNKZEcmZyg/viewform

I am currently working with Louise Haigh MP on a bid to restore rail services to the Sheaf Valley, reopening stations at Millhouses, Heeley, and Beauchief, and expanding Dore & Totley station. We see this as one way we can ensure access to more sustainable modes of transport to the people of Sheffie...

03/03/2021

This is the number to call if you also need business support: 0114 224 5000

Sheffield Council’s business support helpline has taken nearly 10,000 calls since the Covid-19 pandemic started.

03/03/2021

It’s the highest single increase Sheffield Council has ever seen

Sheffield Council has seen the biggest ever increase in the number of parents wanting to homeschool since the beginning of the pandemic.

23/02/2021

“It’s fantastic news and it’s great to see small businesses being supported by the council”

Sheffield Council has leased a popular beauty spot site to a family-run cafe for the next 25 years.

19/02/2021

Council officers said it could bring a range of benefits including generating income, improving safety, enhancing the quality and attractiveness of the park and bringing the site back into use.

Sheffield Council has welcomed plans to set up a dog training centre on a disused bowling green.

19/02/2021

Good news!

The city’s museums are set to merge into one trust with plans to extend free entry across all sites as soon as possible.

12/02/2021

Officers said: “This is mainly due to an overall reduction in net business rates due to anticipated growth in reliefs awarded to empty, charitable and partially occupied premises due to the ongoing economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic“

Sheffield Council received £4.4 million less in business rates than budgeted for over the past year due to Covid-19.

12/02/2021

Have your say on these new recycling centre opening hours here https://sheffield.citizenspace.com/place-planning/household-waste-recycling-centres-opening-times/

Sheffield Council is planning to open household waste recycling centres earlier following a crackdown on queuing.

12/02/2021

“It’s not the generous package ministers have claimed, but leaves hundreds of people in Sheffield trapped in unsafe flats with unaffordable bills”

Sheffield politicians said an extra £3.5 billion from the government to remove and replace unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings over 18 metres was not enough.

08/02/2021

ICYMI: Sheffield Council recently approved plans for a pub garden at Millhouses Park that divided public opinion. Read the story online here https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/council/controversial-plans-sheffield-pub-garden-given-go-ahead-3121532

08/02/2021

Exciting new plans to make Sheffield city centre healthier, more sustainable and vibrant

To take part in the consultation that runs until March 3, visit https://connectingsheffield.commonplace.is/schemes/proposals/neepsend-kelham-city-centre/details

Sheffield Council has unveiled ambitious plans to improve the city centre for walking, cycling and public transport.

08/02/2021

This is quite a long read but it's an issue which affects us all.

When dental surgeries closed during the first lockdown, patients were left in pain, needing major treatment and despairing about where to go for help.

Almost a year on, a shock report by watchdog Healthwatch Sheffield has found that many patients are still "confused and distressed" and the NHS reveals some practices are only offering a fifth of the services pre-pandemic.

Dental patients have been left with broken dentures, gum disease, in pain and needing fillings and root canal work for months on end because of the impact of Covid. Healthwatch says enquiries have increased significantly during the pandemic.

It says delayed treatment is having a serious impact with some people trying for over a year to get an appointment.

One person told the watchdog “I am aghast how he can be left in such a terrible state, in so much pain”

And another said: "Called NHS 111 but issues regarding dentures do not count as an emergency”

Healthwatch says: "We are beginning to hear from people about the longer term impacts of delayed or paused treatment.

"People who needed fillings or root canal work told us that they had been left in pain for a significant amount of time, and the pain medication prescribed over the phone isn’t always enough to help them.

"There is a lack of clarity about what is ‘urgent’ care. We know that dental pain can be very distressing so when people are told their issue isn’t urgent or they can’t access care, it can be confusing.

"Guidance advises that dentists should triage people who contact them for treatment, but we’ve heard this doesn’t always happen, and some people do not get chance to explain their issue.

"One person told us her dentures had broken and she could not eat properly, but after phoning several dentists without being triaged and being able to explain her issue, she didn’t know what else to do.

"Others feel it’s unclear what is considered urgent - a person with gum disease who’s been unable to get this checked for over a year, as he was told it wasn’t urgent.

"We know that dentists have limited capacity while trying to care for patients and maintain proper safety procedures; however for patients who are told their issue isn’t urgent enough, it can be difficult to accept."

Healthwatch says patients, who are often in a significant amount of pain, need clearer public communication about what their options are, and what they can expect when phoning a dentist for triage.

"Many of the people who phone us say they are struggling to find information online, or that they hear an out of date answerphone message when they phone their dentist.

"As a local Healthwatch, we also struggled to access clear information in order to support people with their enquiries.

"Advice that we gave people based on public information didn’t always match their experience when they phoned their local dentist."

Patients accessing a new dentist had more issues than people with a regular practice, including parents trying to get an appointment for a child.

One person said: "I've been trying to get an appointment for over a year, but can't get one”.

Another said: "I contacted several dentists who have all said that she must be registered with them as an NHS patient to be seen.”

Healthwatch says: "NHS England guidance states that patients can phone a local dentist for urgent care even if they have not been treated there before.

"However, we have heard confusion about this - whilst dental practices don’t have a patient list in the same way that GP practices do, people tell us that their local dental practice has cited ‘not being registered’ as a reason they cannot access an appointment.

"It is unclear where this miscommunication is coming from, but clearer information both publicly and internally may help to alleviate this confusion."

Accessing an NHS dentist was also a problem with some people being told waiting lists were 18 to 24 months long.

One person said they couldn't afford private prices while another said dentists were prioritising people who had more money.

Healthwatch says: "Others have told us that their local dental practice were unable to see them as an NHS patient at all, but said they could pay for private care and be seen more quickly.

"The number of people telling us about this has increased significantly since November and people who cannot afford to pay for private care tell us they’re very concerned about this disparity.

"Access to NHS vs private dental care could have an ongoing impact on existing health inequalities."

Dentists were told to stop treatment and provide remote consultations at the end of March 2020. Practices reopened in June but Covid is still impacting on services.

Debbie Stovin, dental commissioning manager of NHS England Yorkshire, says in a report: "All practices must follow stringent infection prevention and control measures.

"This is impacting on the level of service that can be delivered and is as low as one-fifth of the activity that was being delivered prior to Covid at some practices.

"Strict infection control procedures between appointments reduces the number of patients that are able to be treated on a daily basis.

"The other impact is on those patients wishing to resume their routine dental check-ups and treatments. Practices have been asked to prioritise those patients with an urgent or emergency dental need."

26/11/2020

“Not only can mum not hear me, she cannot even watch my lips. It’s barbaric, inhumane and like visiting at the zoo”

Families have shared their heartbreaking experiences of care home visiting during the Covid-19 pandemic and said a government pilot to enable more meaningful contact is “too little, too late”.

18/11/2020

“For the care home residents themselves, many of whom have dementia, this is bewildering and distressing. For their next of kin, who are watching them fade before their eyes, it is heartbreaking”

Thousands of people across Sheffield have endured a heartbreaking eight months without hugs or even holding hands with loved ones in care homes as they watched their condition deteriorate from a distance.

18/11/2020

Sheffield’s cabinet is set to make a decision today on whether 284 homes will be built in Sheffield or Barnsley

Sheffield Council’s cabinet is set to debate changing the city boundary to include a huge development on the edge with Barnsley.

18/11/2020

It was one of the most controversial days in Sheffield’s history

Residents marched down Rustlings Road today in memory of trees cut down four years ago on one of the most controversial days in Sheffield’s history.

12/11/2020

One local said: “I truly believe the cemetery provided a lifeline for many residents during the first lockdown. What possible reason could there be for closing it this time round?”

Residents have raised concerns after finding a popular Sheffield cemetery was closed to the public for lockdown.

09/11/2020

Developers said it would help cope with demand

Plans to change student accommodation into a hostel for asylum seekers to cope with demand were recently submitted to Sheffield Council.