This evening's update covers the latest on support for businesses, a reminder that waste will be collected on the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays, additional hub schools, and how the Council and the Police joined forces to patrol Cardiff's parks. 

Over £35 million of grant aid delivered to local businesses in Cardiff

More than £35m has now been distributed to Cardiff businesses in grant aid by Cardiff Council as part of the on-going COVID-19 rescue package. 

Since the £1.4bn financial rescue package was announced the council has processed 2,590 applications in just under a week on behalf of Welsh Government. 

Applications are continuing to flood in and the authority is assessing them as quickly as possible to ensure that vital funds can be distributed to eligible businesses that are in need of assistance. 

The distribution of this grant aid follows the announcement from Welsh Government thatall retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of £500,000 or less will receive 100% non-domestic rates relief for 2020-21. 

This will be administered automatically through the Council's Rate Scheme and will apply automatically so eligible businesses do not need to make any representations to the Council. 

In addition to the business rate relief which is available, a number of grants are available for businesses which have been directly affected by the crisis.

Read more here:

https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/23590.html 

Easter Waste and Recycling Collections

Your collection day will remain the same during Easter this year, but collection times may change so please ensure your waste is out by 6am. 

Waste collection services will operate on both Good Friday (10 April) and Easter Monday (13 April). 

Our refuse collectors will work across the Easter bank holidays to ensure the collection service continues.

Recycling

We're asking that you continue to separate recyclable materials, just as you normally would, as we recognise that there would be no space in your black bin / red striped bags for these items if you didn't have a recycling bag collection. 

Cardiff wants to become the best recycling city in the world, so we want you to continue to use your green recycling bags to keep up good habits for when the crisis is over. 

The following items can go in your green recycling bag:

     Cardboard Easter egg boxes

     Plastic packaging from Easter egg boxes

     Foil (please make sure that it is clean and scrunched up in a ball)

If you're unsure if an item can go into your recycling bag, please check our Recycling A-Z:

https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/resident/Rubbish-and-recycling/A-Z-of-recycling/Pages/default.aspx 

Additional hub schools opened this week

Today, an extra four hub schools opened to provide child care for key workers, bringing the total number of schools to 20. 

Peter Lea Primary School, Rhydypennau Primary School, and Ysgol y Wern have been opened in order to bring additional capacity to the system. This has allowed pupil numbers to be more evenly distributed across all the hubs, further strengthening the schools' arrangements for social distancing. 

The fourth addition hub school to open today is Bryn y Deryn. This is providing extra support for vulnerable young people at Key Stage 4. 

Cardiff Council initially implemented the school hub system on Monday, 30^thMarch, in response to the restrictions on movement and social gatherings introduced by UK Government and Welsh Government. 

Since then, over 800 children and young people have been registered to receive child care, with around 200 going to a hub school each day, on average. 

The hubs are being staffed by a daily team of over 130 volunteer teachers, teaching assistants and other support staff, helping to deliver over 12000 hours of childcare a week. 

In addition, over 200 pre-school aged children are being cared for by registered private, voluntary and independent childcare providers across the city. 

Click here for more information on school arrangements over Easter:

https://www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/23566.html 

Council and the Police join forces to patrol Cardiff's parks

Our parks team were out on patrol with police colleagues this weekend and we're pleased to report that, despite the sunshine, Cardiff's parks were generally quiet and the majority of people were following social distancing requirements. 

We want to keep parks open as long as possible, so that people can enjoy the mental and physical health benefits of exercising in the open air, but we need everyone's help to do that. 

Stay home, stay safe, and if you are visiting your local park, please ensure you follow government instructions on social distancing - and remember, that includes when you're using bridges over the city's rivers.