Local Democracy Reporting Service

South Kesteven District Council is proposing a £5 increase in council tax for 2021-22.

Image source, Google

Meetings of the authority, cabinet and the joint overview and scrutiny committee, are expected to examine the plans next week.

The proposed increase is the higher of the two options available to councils before sparking a referendum and would take the authority’s Band D share of the tax to £168.62 - a rise of just over 3%.

A report before councillors says: "The scale of the financial challenges ahead are significant and largely as a result of the external environment - namely a further delay in the national review of the local government funding formula and the detrimental impact the pandemic has had on the council’s resources."

The budget also outlines a number of cuts the authority wishes to make, including the removal of toilet attendants in Grantham and Stamford, the merger of Visitor Information Centres and box office at Stamford, as well as increase of some charges such as green waste and car parking and sub-letting offices at St Peter’s Hill.

Consultation on the plans will take place following the meetings.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A lists of the Covid-19 vaccination hubs across the Greater Lincolnshire Region has been published by the NHS.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service says the list covers both hospitals and local satellite vaccination centres including doctors’ surgeries, sports centres and village halls.

The Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine will arrive at hundreds of GPs across the country in order to make it easier to protect care home residents and other vulnerable people against the virus.

Here is the list in full:

Hospitals: United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust - Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital Boston. Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust - Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Scunthorpe General Hospital.

Community hubs: Lincolnshire - Franklin Hall Spilsby, Portland Medical Practice Lincoln, Rustons Sports and Social Club Lincoln, The Sidings Medical Practice Boston, Cliff Villages Medical Practice Navenby, Louth Hospital, St Mary’s Medical Centre Stamford, The Table Tennis Club Grantham Meres. North East Lincolnshire - Beacon Medical Practice Cleethorpes, Open Door Grimsby, Pilgrim Primary Care Centre Immingham, Scartho Medical Centre Grimsby. North Lincolnshire - Cedar Medical Practice Scunthorpe, Riverside Surgery Brigg, South Axholme Practice Epworth, The Central Surgery Barton.

People in Lincolnshire are being asked if they can 'make a difference' by donating an old computer to schoolchildren in the county.

Many haven't got access to their online lessons because they don't have a tablet or laptop.

One of Lincolnshire's top police officers says her team should get the coronavirus vaccine soon.

Image source, Reuters/Carl Recine/File Photo

Assistant Ch Con Kerrin Wilson says she understands there are lots of other key workers out there, but the force also needs to be able to keep doing its job.

She adds that unlike shops, the police force can't just close:

A Met Office weather warning has been issued for snow and ice later.

It includes Lincolnshire for this evening and tomorrow:

BBC News Travel

The A1 has reopened in Lincolnshire.

It was closed for some time between Long Bennington and Newark because of an accident.

Scunthorpe United sign Bolton Wanderers defender George Taft on loan until the end of the season.

Wednesday was a busy night for Lincolnshire's firefighters, according to the county's fire service.

Image source, Google

Crews dealt with three different house blazes across Lincolnshire.

The first was a chimney fire in Great Limber and there was also a fire in Sturton by Stow.

The latter blaze started because of an electrical fault in a tumble dryer, according to Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Crews were also called to a house fire in Bardney, which is believed to have started after a candle fell to the floor.

The Conservative MP for Lincoln was one of only 12 Tories who rebelled in the vote on the new coronavirus lockdown law last night.

Image source, Reuters/John Sibley

While England's lockdown became law at midnight on Wednesday, MPs voted overwhelmingly - by 524 to 16 - in support of the tougher measures yesterday evening.

Labour backed the restrictions but 12 Conservative MPs - including Lincoln's Karl McCartney rebelled to vote against.

The vote came after Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced there were now 30,000 Covid-19 patients in the UK's hospitals.

BBC News Travel

The A1 is closed in both directions at Long Bennington.

It's due to accident between Valley Lane (Long Bennington/Cotham turn-off, Long Bennington) and B6326 Great North Road (Balderton/Claypole turn-off, Newark).

The collision is affecting traffic between Newark and Grantham.

BBC Weather

Today will be cold and mostly dry with a mixture of bright spells and some banks of cloud.

Staying dry and cold into this evening. Gentle winds.

Tonight will be cold albeit with clear spells gradually giving way to increasing amounts of cloud.

A chance of some spots of rain or a few light snow flurries by dawn. Gentle winds.

The leader of Lincolnshire County Council has backed the authority's decision to raise council tax by 2%.

Image source, PA Media

The council announced the decision on Tuesday, saying the pandemic had put a huge strain on its services.

Councillors said a rise was needed so the authority can invest in the county's infrastructure as well as maintain day-to-day services.

Councillor Martin Hill says the money has to come from somewhere:

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

The RSPB nature reserve at Frampton Marsh has been temporarily closed due to the new coronavirus lockdown, it's been confirmed

However public trails there can still be used, according to the charity:

We can see how the weekly death rate across Wales and England unfolded, up to Christmas.

A Lincolnshire head teacher has criticised the decision to allow vocational exams to go ahead this month, even though GCSEs and A-Levels planned for summer have been cancelled.

Image source, David Davies/PA Wire

The government has left it up to individual schools to decide whether they should take place.

Further education college leaders had complained this was unfair to students, saying they would face "stress" from taking exams in the lockdown.

The Department for Education said it recognised "this is a difficult time", but wanted to allow students who had prepared for exams and assessments to continue, including those who needed to take hands-on practical tests for qualifications for jobs.

However, Matthew Van Lier, head teacher of Haven High in Boston, says the move means staff have effectively been forced into holding them or risking damaging students' prospects.

Lincolnshire Echo

Anti-covid protesters managed to make their way inside Lincoln County Hospital.

The group managed to get into the hospital on Saturday 2 January – despite admissions being heavily restricted due to the pandemic, reports Lincolnshire Live, external.

The protesters were moved on from the facility with Lincolnshire Police being informed.

Image source, ULHT Lincoln County Hospital

The Conservative MP for Gainsborough, Sir Edward Leigh, has called for "more reliance on self-reliance" during Prime Minister's Questions.

Sir Edward has spoken in the commons before about using personal judgement rather than lockdown legislation.

He told Boris Johnson that he was concerned that "every successive lockdown" would be "less and less effective".

A Boston hospice has reopened its inpatient ward following an eight-month closure.

Butterfly House closed to patients back in April because of the pandemic - the nursing team was redeployed to help with services elsewhere.

Image source, Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust

Now staff are looking at ways to expand and develop the six-bed facility.

Marcin Stolarek's body was found in a drainage channel in Boston on 12 January 2020.