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A high street pharmacy chain says it will offer vaccination services at two sites in West Yorkshire as an early part of its bid to help with the coronavirus vaccine roll-out.

Image source, Reuters/Russell Cheyne/Pool

Boots is one of several businesses that have offered their facilities to the vaccine programme and says it is "proud" to be supporting the NHS.

So far over 1.1 million people in England have been vaccinated, with the government pledging to provide jabs to 14 million by February.

A spokesperson for Boots said two vaccination sites will be set up initially in West Yorkshire - in Halifax and Huddersfield - as well as a site in Gloucester.

However, bosses said they were working with the government to expand operations.

In a statement, a Boots spokesperson said: "We stand ready to do much more and our national network of pharmacy expertise is prepped to support the NHS and the government to accelerate the roll-out of the vaccine."

Other businesses such as Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons have also offered facilities to assist with the vaccine programme.

Keighley-based brewer Timothy Taylor's has ceased producing cask beer "until further notice" due to Covid-19 restrictions, it's confirmed.

Image source, Timothy Taylor's

Following another closure of pubs across Yorkshire and beyond due to the new national lockdown, the brewer has announced the majority of its workforce will be furloughed and it will concentrate on its bottled beer business.

Paul Matthews, Timothy Taylor's sales director, said: “Once the reopening of our industry is confirmed, we can assure you we will be ready to meet demand and support our trade customers once again."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The number of patients being admitted to hospitals in Scarborough and York with Covid-19 is at the highest level since the pandemic began, according to the local hospital trust.

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Simon Morritt, chief executive of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust currently has 135 patients with Covid-19 - higher than the 131 patients it was treating last March.

Mr Morritt said: "We are seeing quite a rapid rise in the number of Covid admissions."

The trust said only a few days ago it was treating 70 patients and expected further admissions in the coming days.

The trust, which provides hospital services to about 800,000 people in York and parts of North and East Yorkshire, has a total of 150 beds for Covid patients, but more space is being created.

York's Covid-19 infection rate was 530 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 2 January, the highest in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Mr Morritt added: "We can expect to see a tough few weeks. In seven to 10 days we would expect to see the effect of lockdown kick in."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Town centres in the borough of Barnsley have been awarded a multi-million pound regeneration cash boost.

Image source, Google

Part of the £15.6m, from the government’s Future High Streets Fund, will be used to revitalise shop fronts on Eldon Street (pictured), the council says.

Other towns in the area, such as Goldthorpe, Hoyland and Wombell, will also receive some of the money.

Sir Stephen Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, said: "It is important now more than ever that we continue to invest in our high streets and protect their future.

"Town centres and high streets were already facing significant challenges before the pandemic and these have been further compounded as a result."

He added that the funding means Barnsley will be "rejuvenated, vibrant and provide an offer right for our communities, as well as ensuring its future sustainability".

The new national coronavirus lockdown has been described as a "tragedy" by business leaders in East Yorkshire.

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The chief executive of Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce says before the latest lockdown was announced on Tuesday, businesses were starting to "bounce back."

However, Dr Ian Kelly says: "It's a tragedy in terms of the impact on perfectly good businesses - the actions that have had to be taken and the consequences on the lives of the people who work for the businesses.

"Also for entrepreneurs who have put their life savings and businesses on the line and are having to face consequences way beyond their control."

Yesterday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a range of financial support for businesses, including grants of up to £9,000 for the retail, hospitality and leisure industry.

Mr Sunak also pledged a further £594m for local authorities and devolved administrations to support businesses not eligible for the grants.

People booked in to have their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus vaccine at Bradford Royal Infirmary this week are being told to turn up as planned - but anyone who's booked to have the booster jab from next week faces having their appointment rearranged.

Image source, Reuters/Carl Recine/File Photo

When 975 doses of the vaccine were given out in mid-December at the hospital, those who got it were told they'd be getting their second jab in three weeks' time.

But UK chief medical officers have since agreed to a longer wait between the first and second jabs to allow more people to get a first dose.

Bradford Royal Infirmary bosses say people whose appointments are being cancelled will get a new one no longer than three months after their first dose of the vaccine.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The worst of Covid-19 could be over by late spring but the current national lockdown was "inevitable", according to Sheffield's health boss.

Image source, LDRS

Greg Fell, the city's director of public health, says infection rates had flatlined from mid-December but are now going back up and he expects that to continue for some time.

Mr Fell told a full meeting of Sheffield City Council: "When will it end? I don’t know. If I had to guess, I would say late spring - but that is a guess.

"There needs to be a very high level of vaccine coverage, probably more than 70-80% of the eligible groups will need to be vaccinated, and even then we’ll still need to be careful."

Currently, the Covid-19 infection rate is 230 cases per 100,000 people in Sheffield, but Mr Fell warned the new variant of the virus was spreading very rapidly.

Mr Fell added: "Lockdown was probably inevitable given the epidemiology in south east England but it absolutely depends on our behaviour.

"In March, we were scared. Now, we’re significantly more used to the virus, we’ve lived with it for nearly a year. I don’t know whether we’re scared, but it’s still dangerous - it still kills people.

"The impact of lockdown will have the desired impact on infection rates, but it comes at the cost of social and economic harm, and we need to be very mindful of that."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Council tax in York may need to rise by a further 1% if a new multi-storey car park in the city does not go ahead, planning bosses have warned.

Image source, City of York Council

The scheme for St George's Field (artist's impression pictured above) is recommended for approval at a council meeting later today, despite the project being paused by a planning committee in November.

The council wants to build the new five-storey car park, with 372 spaces, so it can close Castle Car Park and transform it into “world class” public space.

But the planning committee called for a review of parking in the city centre and evidence that the new car park is needed.

A report by council officers says parking brings in a huge amount of money for the local authority, which goes towards services such as bin collections.

Castle Car Park alone brings in about £1.2m year.

The report says: “Not replacing this revenue stream would have a significant impact on the ability to deliver these services or would require a council tax increase of 1% to allow a balanced budget."

It adds that data shows car parks in the area usually full or close to being full at peak times during normal years.

But at the meeting in November councillors questioned how much parking will be needed after the coronavirus pandemic.

A mass coronavirus testing programme in West Yorkshire will only remain open to critical workers from today, officials have confirmed.

Kirklees Council was aiming to test 50,000 people after opening sites in Batley, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Ravensthorpe on 18 December.

However, the authority has now said people should stay home wherever possible due to the new lockdown.

The rapid test sites, for people without symptoms, have to date carried out 20,000 tests, with 300 people returning a positive result.

Kirklees' director of public health, Rachel Spencer-Henshall, said: "Many thousands of people have stepped up to get a test and protect their families and community.

"We've found hundreds of cases in people who may never have otherwise known they were carrying the virus."

However, she said: "We have to act on the risks that we are all facing. The most important thing people can do for the next few weeks is to stay at home."

More than 330 fines have been issued to people in North Yorkshire in one month for breaking Covid restrictions, police have said.

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Supt Mike Walker, who's in charge of North Yorkshire Police's response to the pandemic, told BBC Radio York: "Between the start of December 2020 to the start of January 2021 we issued 334 fines just for indoor gatherings - so it's people going to other people's houses that they don't live with."

Supt Walker said some people who officers encountered "don't seem to particularly care there's a worldwide pandemic".

"The seriousness of the situation, the spread of the virus in the city of York and across North Yorkshire is exceptionally serious," he added.

"We're seeing more people in hospital and more deaths, so I'm asking people to think twice before they leave the house. It's very much a stay-at-home message."

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Local Democracy Reporting Service

South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner (PCC) has echoed calls for officers to be prioritised for a Covid vaccine.

Dr Alan Billings (pictured) said front-line officers risked exposure to the virus on a daily basis due to close contact with the public and the county needs "a force that is immune".

It would not be in the public interest to have a police force "seriously debilitated by illness", he said.

"My own view is that we need those in the front line to be protected as soon as possible," Dr Billings said.

His call follows a request by the Welsh Police Federation and Chair of the Met Police Federation in London who also called for officers to receive a vaccine as a priority.

Dr Billings said: "Front-line officers come into contact with the public on a daily basis. Where there is a domestic incident, for example, they may have to enter a house where there may be children as well as adults.

"When someone is arrested and taken to a custody suite, they and the custody officers, will be in close contact while processes are gone through."

The government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said in its report on 30 December that first responders may be prioritised in the second phase of vaccinations.

However, no decisions have been made.

Parents of children with special educational needs describe the effect of the latest lockdown.

The affected churches faced a combined repair bill of more than £2m, a court hears.

More than 300 cases of coronavirus in people without symptoms have been found during mass testing in Kirklees.

The West Yorkshire local authority began testing people without symptoms at four venues in the area on 18 December.

They say more than 20,000 tests have been carried out, with in excess of 300 returned as positive.

Due to the latest national lockdown the testing service will only be offered to critical workers, external from Thursday 7 January as the vast majority of people are urged to stay at home under lockdown guidance.

Kirklees’ director of public health, Rachel Spencer-Henshall, said the response of the community to testing had been "incredible" but urged people who were not critical workers to stay at home.

She added: “If you have a job that means you will be working outside your home, you can still come to one of our centres to get a test if you don’t have symptoms and we encourage you to do this once a week. We need to focus on the people who are most at risk and try to break the chain of transmission because we know how quickly and easily the virus is now spreading."

Police are appealing for witnesses to a crash in North Yorkshire in which a man in his 20s was killed.

Image source, Google

The man died after the black VW Passat he was driving left Bradley Lane in Rufforth near York, with police being called just before 22:00 on Tuesday 5 January.

He was pronounced dead at the scene

North Yorkshire Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision, or the vehicle involved prior to it, to contact them.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Tributes have been paid by councillors to a former Lord Mayor of Bradford who died of Covid-19 on Christmas Eve.

Image source, Bradford Council

They used the first council meeting of the year to remember Abid Hussain, a Labour councillor for the Keighley Central ward and Lord Mayor of Bradford in 2017-18.

At a meeting of Bradford Council’s executive, leader Susan Hinchcliffe described Mr Hussain as "our friend and colleague".

She added: "I want to express how sad we all are for his loss. Abid was always busy and seemed fit and healthy. It was a shock to all of us to lose him.

"He was always willing to help all the time, day or night. He loved being mayor and loved bringing people together. You never saw him angry. He was always calm and always impeccably dressed.

Conservative leader Rebecca Poulsen added: "It was a shock to us all."

Councillor Hussain was born in Mirpur in Pakistan and moved to the UK in 1971 at the age of 12 with his family.

He was educated at Greenhead Grammar School in Keighley and became a Bradford councillor in 2010.

During his time as Lord Mayor, he raised thousands of pounds for Down's Syndrome Training and Support Services in Bingley and the Wishing Well Appeal through his Lord Mayor’s Appeal.

Doncaster sign Brentford goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe and Barnsley winger Elliot Simoes on loan until the end of the season.

Action is needed to ensure children who are falling behind in lessons due to the coronavirus pandemic can get access to laptops, a South Yorkshire MP has said.

All primary and secondary schools are closed to pupils, except for vulnerable children and the children of key workers, for the next six weeks and teaching is meant to continue remotely.

But more than a million school children in the UK still lack access to a computer at home, research suggests.

Meanwhile, almost two million are unable to go online at home, according to digital education charity, the E-Learning Foundation.

Sheffield Labour MP Louise Haigh said: "We know at least 5,000 children across Sheffield don't have access to devices at home which allow them to participate in remote education.

"In the last national lockdown, we saw far too many children not having access to education and so for the first time in years the attainment gap between the most and least deprived widened."

Meanwhile, the BBC is changing its schedule on CBBC, devoting three hours every morning to primary school programmes from next week.

BBC Two will also run programmes to support secondary pupils, it's been confirmed.

Police in North Yorkshire are asking for help finding the next of kin of a man and woman who were found dead at their home near Pateley Bridge last month.

Frank and Anne Woods, aged 75 and 79, were found following a call from a concerned member of the public on Wednesday 30 December 2020.

There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding their deaths, according to North Yorkshire Police.

Mr Woods was originally from the United States and may have relatives there, police said.

A spokesperson for the North Yorkshire force said: "Officers are now trying to locate friends and, importantly, family members of Mr and Mrs Woods."

Anyone who can help identify any next of kin is being asked to contact police.