Welcome to the latest edition of Hayes Town News.The Government announcement of a road map out of the pandemic is welcome news and these are the key dates:

  • Monday 8 March - schools to re-open and people in care homes to be allowed one regular visitor.
  • Monday 12 April - re-opening of non-essential shops, hairdressers, nail bars etc plus cafes, restaurants and pubs (but only with outside seating).
  • Monday 29 March - 'Stay at home' rule to go.
  • Monday 17 May - almost all businesses to re-open fully but customers of cafes, restaurants and pubs must order, eat and drink while seated.
  • Monday 21 June - all outstanding restrictions to be lifted.

These dates depend on a number of criteria being met including a reduction in infection levels and it worth thinking about the timetable in relation to the first item below.

David Brough
Chair
Hayes Town Partnership
Infection levels still too high
coronavirus poster
The latest figures for infection levels show that Hillingdon has the second highest incidence in London after Hounslow. There is evidence that the successful roll out of the vaccination programme and the news about the road map are encouraging some people to bend or break the rules. Health officials are warning against complacency. Their stark message is that lockdown restrictions are still in place and must remain so until the numbers come down much further.
7 Hayes Town shops fined for breaking regulations
£ sign
Since the start of the year the Council's Licensing Team have made over 485 visits to premises in Hayes to check that they are complying with coronavirus regulations. 7 businesses have been fined. The penalty for an offence is £200 or £100 if paid within 7 days. Those fined have been mainly takeaways serving people while on the premises and also two phone repair shops. 59 advisory letters have also been issued to businesses that are not following face covering rules. There have been 9 complaints from members of the public. If you would like to report a local problem please send an email. Further visits to the Town Centre are being planned along with the Police.
Community champions needed to spread the word - 3 March
Volunteers have been a key part of the effort to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and now the search is on for people to become Community Champions to spread accurate and up-to date health messages in their communities. There are still many people who are unsure about the vaccine or have been given false information. You could be part of the drive to turn that around. Local care consortium H4All is joining with Hillingdon Council to get this initiative under way and they are keen to recruit representatives from all of the diverse communities in the Borough. Training will be provided together with ongoing support. To find out more please sign up for a briefing on Zoom on Wednesday 3 March at 5pm by sending an email to H4All.
Brilliant parents are there for you
Brilliant parents 2
Last week campaigning charity Brilliant Parents joined Hillingdon Children & Young People's Services in an excellent presentation on navigating the social care system. A key message was that seeking help for your children is a strength and not a weakness. The idea that making contact will end up with your children being taken into care was dispelled and two parents told their stories about how they were helped to turn things around. To find out more click here.
Kooth for youth
Kooth
As part of the same presentation we learnt about Kooth which is a specialist organisation that provides young people with online support and advice. They can help with everything from the everyday worries of growing up to deep depression. The advice is free, safe and confidential. Click here to learn more.
Hayes talent shines
Dhruti Shah
Readers of Barbara Fisher's column in the local Gazette newspaper would have been pleased to see her recent item celebrating the achievements of two famous people who were raised and educated in Hayes - BBC journalist Dhruti Shah (pictured) and psychologist Dr Sarb Johal.

Dhruti gained a place at Oxford and did work experience at the Gazette before joining the BBC. She has recently published a book 'Bear Markets and Beyond: A bestiary of business terms'. Sarb is author of 'Steady: Keeping Calm in a World Gone Viral' and has been an adviser to the New Zealand Government on its handling of the pandemic. His family were neighbours of Barbara's in Hayes and she is justly proud of both him and Dhruti. Many thanks to Barbara for sharing this story. If you have a local human interest story why not send her an email?
Your chance to learn about asthma and diabetes
Asthma
Despite the endless media coverage of the coronavirus other serious health conditions are just as much a problem as before. The local NHS is determined to raise awareness on important issues such as Asthma and Diabetes. Under the banner 'My Health, My Self, My Life' they are running a series of free online workshops. Click here or send an email to book a place or find out more.
Childrens Centres continuing to provide support
Barra Hall
The Children's Centres at Barra Hall (pictured) and Pinkwell are continuing to provide online group sessions with a wide range of activities. These include rhyme & story time, music & movement, attention building and parenting skills. Click here to see what is in the programme from February to April.
Too many scams to choose from
The number of scams seems to get worse and the pandemic has helped criminals who are happy to work from home. To see the latest Police report on scams suffered by local people click here. A reader has warned about automatically generated phone calls that are supposedly from Amazon. This link informs you how to work out if it really is from Amazon.

Another reader has told about a caller from the USA who knows that someone at the address was employed by British Airways. They are saying that there is high demand for BA shares and that they could be worth about £5 a share. They are presumably trying to engage in a discussion about bank details but BA shares no longer exist as they are part of IAG. In addition, the share price is currently 180 -190p, so the potential price is totally unrealistic.

To ensure that you are as prepared as possible for all the different kinds of scam click here to see the Metropolitan Police's Little Guide to preventing fraud and cyber crime. It is worth a look.
Women get ready for work - starting on 4 March
GROW
Local employment training organisation GRoW (Get Ready for Work) is based in Station Road but all their courses are currently online. The next one will be on Thursday 4 March and is an introduction for women who may be looking for a part-time job or some training to improve their skills or a work placement to build confidence. To sign up for a place click here. There is also going to be a course on Thursday 11 March in Farsi, Pashto, Punjabi and Urdu. Send an email to find out more.
Last week to apply for community development job
H4All logo
As reported in last week's edition of Hayes Town News. H4All, the local consortium of care providers has a vacancy for a Community Development Officer. The closing date for the receipt of application is Monday 8 March at 9am. Click here for details.
Know someone who would like to receive Hayes Town News? Forward this email to them and ask them to join our list by clicking the button below.
Follow us on Twitter