Ashfield council leader slams Government's 'false promises', saying tier three could last beyond January

Councillor Jason Zadrozny says he was informed by Department of Health officials that Nottinghamshire may well be placed under the strictest public health measures until January – dashing hopes that the situation may be reviewed sooner.

He said: “On Thursday, November 26, I was invited to a meeting. It was a meeting in the loosest possible terms.

“Council leaders in Nottinghamshire were precluded from asking questions and just dictated to. This has been the case throughout the pandemic.”

He added: “No detail was forthcoming on mass testing – despite it being announced by the health minister nearly three weeks ago.

“We had no update on the supply of lateral flow testing kits other than to confirm that 10,000 had been dumped on the county council with no guidance.”

The new localised restriction tiers are due for a first review on December 16, and councils, residents and businesses all over England may be hoping for measures to be relaxed in the final run-up to Christmas.

The Government will make adjustments based on factors such as the epidemiological patters and current healthcare capacity in each area.

Coun Zadrozny said: “The Department of Health have claimed however that it is doubtful that we will come out of tier three lockdown on December 16. This could last past January.

"This defeatist attitude was disappointing and it’s obvious they are making false promises to the country.”

He added: “It seems to be that the reviews are a sham when these reviews should be shaping the work we need to do as communities to get out of the harshest lockdown restrictions.

“People need to see light at the end of the tunnel and not more bluster, rhetoric nor spin.”

In the meantime, there are urgent concerns for Ashfield’s hospitality hospitality sector and the district council is lobbying for more financial support for affected businesses, having paid out nearly £2million in Covid grants already this year.

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