Coronavirus (COVID-19): Council services
- Overview
- Council services
- Support for people
- Support for businesses
- Volunteering
- Public transport updates from Nexus
- News and messages from the Council
- School closures
- Outbreak Management Plan
See which Council services are affected
South Tyneside Council is continuing to monitor the situation closely, and follow national and regional advice.
We will update this page with details of disruptions to Council services.
You can also follow South Tyneside Council on Facebook for the latest updates.
Face coverings
From Saturday 8 August, we ask that you wear a face covering when entering a Council building.
Bins and recycling
See bin collection information.
Services running with changes:
- Recycling Village - open with new restrictions
- New bins - we are delivering new bins with social distancing
- Green bins - collections are running, with an extra collection in 2020, and a discount for next year
- Business waste collections - if you have closed your business you can suspend your collections
Births, deaths and marriages
See which Register Office services are affected (marriages, funerals, registering a birth or death).
From 8 August 2020, face coverings will be mandatory for guests at wedding or civil partnership ceremonies and at funerals. See government guidance on face coverings.
Services running:
- Cemeteries are open
- Crematorium is open with some areas closed
- Copies of birth, death or marriage certificates - with changes
- Birth registrations - with changes
- Marriages and civil partnerships can now take place
Business and licensing
Support for businesses:
- Emergency business grants are available to a significant number of small and medium-sized businesses
- South Tyneside Small Business Recovery Fund for certain businesses which have fallen outside the scope of previous financial aid
- Business rates for the coming financial year will be waived for all businesses within the retail, hospitality and leisure sector
Information:
- The proposed selective licensing scheme is postponed
- Taxi licensing information
- We are processing payment to suppliers of Council goods and services as quickly as possible
- Business incubators and business centres are closed, except for a small number of businesses who service the health sector
- Trading Standards are investigating inflated pricing
Care and health
- Support for people most at risk
- Advice for clinically extremely vulnerable people
- Information for care providers
- Funding update to care home providers
- Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) information
- Domestic abuse support
- Impact Family Services temporary phone number - 07375 788 835
- Sexual health home testing kits
- Carers - information, advice and support for informal carers
- All new mums will be offered a face to face contact with their Health Visitor, further contacts will be conducted over the phone, but face to face support will also be offered based on need
Council and democracy
- Council meetings: Most Council meetings have been stood down until further notice. This does not include statutory, business-critical meetings which will go ahead when needed. Some Council meetings will be available to watch live online, see watch Council meetings.
- Community Area Forums (CAFs) will be available to watch live online, see Watch Council meetings online.
Council Tax
- All working age residents currently in receipt of Council Tax Support will receive an additional £150 reduction in their Council Tax Bill, with no further payment due until 1st October 2020.
Customer service
- Cash kiosks are reopen
- Customer Service Centres at South Shields Town Hall and Jarrow Town Hall are open Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm
- From 6 August 2020, Jarrow Town Hall will be closed every Thursday
- If you visit a Council building we may ask for your name and contact number for NHS test and trace
Events
Leisure
- Leisure centres are open - to visit, you must book a session
- Simonside Climbing Wall will open on Tuesday 4 August with changes
Libraries
- Council owned libraries are open with limited services
- From 8 August 2020, face coverings will be mandatory in libraries. See government guidance on face coverings
Market and shops
- Changes to the main shopping areas
- South Shields Market has started to reopen with changes
- Public toilets are open with restrictions
- Guidance for market traders
Parks and outdoors
Services affected:
- Play areas have reopened with new signs in place
- Boat launching ramp - new permit requests are suspended
- Grounds maintenance work will be done with social distancing
Information:
- Dog walker guidance
- Lifeguard information from the RNLI
- Public rights of way and coastal trails are open
Planning and environment
Services affected:
- Building control and planning information
- General tree maintenance / inspections have been suspended, with resources directed toward emergency works
- Local land searches are affected
- Personal searches of the Local Land Charges Register are affected
- Land Ownership queries about ownership of land/boundaries will be dealt with, but there will be a delay due to the need to enable remote access to certain data
- South Tyneside Council garden tidy scheme
Services running as normal:
Information:
Parking and roads
- Car parks are open - please use cashless payment where possible
- To allow more space for shoppers, some parking bays are temporarily suspended at the Nook, South Shields
- Parking permits are in place again
- Highways works have restarted
Schools and learning
Your child's school will be in touch with you about reopening, read about the phased reopening of schools.
Read about children's centres and early years.
- Appeals for most schools in South Tyneside have restarted
- Free school meals will still be provided to eligible children
- We are not currently providing a school crossing patrol service, due to the reduced numbers of schools open and limited use of the service
- Music lessons are available online
- Educational Psychology Service
- Skills South Tyneside - you can still access courses online
- Outdoor education and youth centres are closed