Major drop in applications for social care jobs across North Yorkshire

The gravity of the staffing crisis in social care has been underlined as North Yorkshire County Council launches its biggest ever recruitment drive for the sector.

The number of people applying for social care jobs has plummeted, partly due to yesterday’s introduction of mandatory vaccines for care staff.

A full meeting of the council next week will hear at least three of its executive members highlight concerns over the 70 per cent drop in applications for jobs in social care across the 500 providers in the county since July and providers continuing to go out of business, partly due to staff costs.

On any given day there are at least 1,000 jobs available across the county.

A high percentage of the county’s care homes are in the Harrogate district.

In an attempt to fill the vacancies, providers in the county are offering extra financial incentives to staff to take on the roles, from a £1,500 golden handshake for a care setting nursing role in Northallerton to carers being offered £2,000 for referring three friends.

Councillor Michael Harrison, executive member for adult services, said:

“We have people who have joined us from all different types of experiences, some from the entertainment sector; actors, drummers, from the travel sectors; pilots, cabin crew, and everything in-between.

“There is a great career to be had in care and great stability and we support people who join us with career development. From the word go you can make a big difference to somebody’s life in this job; the work that you do really counts towards improving lives and no two days are the same.”

There are 20,000 people in North Yorkshire working in the care sector, from the 13,000 care and support workers in 500 organisations providing services in residential care and people’s homes through to social workers, project managers and administrators.

The alerts come after the authority said it was having to intervene in a number of care homes to keep them staffed and the government undertook to provide workforce recruitment and retention funding to support local authorities and providers to recruit and retain sufficient staff over winter.

In a statement to the meeting, the authority’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, said:

“I am pleased that as the government launches a nationwide initiative we are undertaking more locally the biggest ever recruitment campaign to attract people into a rewarding and progressive career.”

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The council has recently warned the situation would only worsen with about 200 fewer care workers in the county due to rules requiring all care workers to be vaccinated.

Before yesterday’s deadline, numerous foreign-born care staff in North Yorkshire had said they would leave the UK if they had to have the covid jab to work.

Pay concerns

Care workers have also suggested the lack of pay progression, with staff with more than five years’ experience being paid just 6p more an hour than those with less than a year in the role in 2020-21 is a cause of recruitment difficulties.

In a statement to the meeting, Councillor Michael Harrison, the authority’s adult social care executive member said the county’s situation reflects fierce competition within the labour market alongside hospitality, retail, heavy goods transport and construction.

He said:

“Pressures are building within nursing, residential home and domiciliary care capacity as a result of workforce pressures within the external market, and we continue to see provider failures in the system.

“Packages of care are being handed back to the council to either re-source or find alternative solutions to keep people safe. This is putting significant pressure on and impacting our in-house provision as we try to find solutions for people or fill the gaps using staff from our services.

“This is impacting our ability to provide re-ablement and respite services. Complex care packages are being handed back at short notice alongside those requiring two carers or in more rural locations. In addition we are seeing care home providers withdraw from providing nursing care or withdraw completely from the market.”

Warning of “difficult choices” in the upcoming Budget, the council’s finance boss Councillor Gareth Dadd will tell the meeting that securing the necessary workforce remains acutely challenging.

In an attempt to ease staffing pressures, the council is working with providers and has just launched a recruitment campaign focusing on the diversity of career opportunities in care.

Coun Harrison said:

“We are working with providers and partners to look at options and ideas to work more efficiently and promote people’s safety should we not manage to recruit more people to the sector.

“A system plan is in place with short, medium and long term actions to address issues relating to workforce, which includes capacity for registered manager support to care homes, recruitment to reablement, and recruitment to NHS posts to ensure sufficient intermediate capacity is available to meet the growing demand.”

Acting police commissioner confirmed after Philip Allott resignation

Jennifer Newberry has been appointed acting North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner after the resignation of Philip Allott.

Ms Newberry, who is a staff member in the commissioner’s office, will take temporary charge for just three weeks ahead of an election to appoint a successor.

The move follows Mr Allott’s resignation last month over comments in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard.

Councillors on the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel voted unanimously to approve Ms Newberry taking temporary charge yesterday.

Ms Newberry told the panel:

“I’m really proud to have my name put forward to be acting commissioner in this interim period.

“I am committed to working collegiately with the executive management team during this period.”

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Simon Dennis, chief executive of the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said:

“Jenni is a public servant of the highest calibre with a background in making a positive difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

“She deservedly has the support of the panel to serve as acting commissioner, a role which must be filled from within the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. The whole team will support her to succeed, and I thank her for her dedication, commitment and integrity in putting herself forward.”

A successor to Mr Allott will be elected on November 25 when voters head to the polls.

Candidates for the election have been confirmed with the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Women’s Equality Party and an Independent all standing. 

Voters have until November 9 to register to vote. Further details about voting are here.

The full list of candidates is:

North Yorkshire Police vetting details set out following Sarah Everard murder

Vetting procedures for North Yorkshire Police officers have been set out in a new report that aims to reassure residents following the murder of Sarah Everard.

The report by the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner follows its chief executive Simon Dennis saying last month he was not certain about some legal rules regarding the issue.

Resident Susan Galloway had questioned whether the North Yorkshire police, fire and crime panel, which scrutinises the commissioner, believed there were sufficient background checks on new recruits and police staff transferring to the North Yorkshire force and if the processes were adequate.

The report highlights how North Yorkshire Police carries out checks on all new recruits, from officers to volunteers, and also enhanced the vetting of transferees a year ago “to ensure we know as much as can be disclosed about the transferee”.

Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, who murdered Ms Everard, had used his warrant card to falsely arrest her just two years after being transferred into the Met from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, despite having faced indecent exposure allegations.

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The concerns were raised hours before Philip Allott resigned as the county’s commissioner after saying Ms Everard “never should have submitted” to arrest by Couzens.

Contractors and staff roles

The report outlines how the force follows the College of Policing vetting code so that anyone working on police and fire service property, including contractors, and also those working remotely with access to police systems have their backgrounds checked.

It details how the force also re-vets transferees, regardless of when they were last vetted by previous current force.

The report says: 

“The checks on transferees are enhanced by more in-depth questions to their force regarding previous complaints, intelligence held on anti-corruption / integrity unit systems, and performance concerns. We only accept new recruits and transferees once vetting clearance has been attained.

“North Yorkshire Police enhanced our vetting of transferees about one year ago, to ensure we know as much as can be disclosed about the transferee. This included no assumptions over information provided by their existing force that everything would be within the history documents provided.”

The report says the force assigns a vetting researcher to undertake a series of checks and wherever there is “a trace”, more detailed research is completed, the conclusions of which are reported to the force vetting manager.

However, the report states while all applicants are required to declare spent convictions there is no requirement for an applicant who is applying to take on a police staff role such as a receptionist, rather than an officer, to declare a conviction or caution.

More than 500 excess deaths in North Yorkshire during coronavirus

There have been 559 excess deaths in North Yorkshire during the coronavirus pandemic, new figures have revealed.

Excess deaths are a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected when compared to previous years and can be used to show the overall impact of the pandemic.

Figures presented to a meeting of North Yorkshire’s Outbreak Management Advisory Board showed 11,347 deaths from all causes were expected during the weeks of the pandemic based on the five-year average.

A total of 11,906 deaths from all causes were recorded up until 1 October – giving an excess of 559.

Dr Victoria Turner, public health consultant at North Yorkshire County Council, told today’s meeting that these figures were “largely reflective of the national position”. She said:

“The largest peaks of excess deaths, unsurprisingly, were during covid’s first and second wave.

“This was followed by periods where deaths were actually a bit below the expected number, however, those periods were not enough to offset the very high numbers of excess deaths that we saw during both wave one and two.”

According to Public Health England figures, there have been a total of 1,227 deaths in North Yorkshire where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

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The recent rate of Covid deaths and hospital admissions has increased slightly since the end of summer, however, the figures are lower than previous waves.

20 patients still in intensive care

Despite this, Sue Peckitt, chief nurse at NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said the heath service was still facing “unprecedented” demand with 171 Covid patients currently in the county’s hospitals.

She told today’s meeting that the majority of these patients were over-65 and that 20 were in intensive care:

“We continue to see high demand into our primary and emergency care departments.

“Whilst we are seeing high numbers of Covid infections in our younger population, it is the older population that is presenting into hospital.”

Ms Peckitt also said the vaccine rollout was continuing with a focus on booster jabs for over 50s and increasing uptake for 12 to 15-year-olds who will be offered their single dose by the end of November. She added:

“The schools programme for 12 to 15-year-olds is now rolling out through our provider Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, but we have also opened up three sites on the national booking system.

“These are the pharmacy site at Knaresborough, the Askham Bar site at York and the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.”

Philip Allott’s successor to be elected on November 25

Philip Allott’s successor as North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will be elected on Thursday November 25.

Selby District Council, which is running the election, announced the date today.

Candidates must be nominated by October 29 and the their names will be published on November 1.

A briefing for prospective candidates and agents will take place at 4pm on Monday next week.

Voters will go to the polls just six months after Mr Allott, from Knaresborough, was elected to the £74,000-a-year role.

He resigned on Thursday following comments about the Sarah Everard kidnap, rape and murder by a serving Met Police officer.

Councillors passed a motion of no confidence in his leadership and fellow Conservative politicians, including Ripon MP Julian Smith, called for him to resign.

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In May’s election, the Conservative Mr Allott received 84,737 first and second preference votes.

Labour’s Alison Hume, who received 53,442 total votes, was runner-up.

Ms Hume said on Twitter last week she was “relieved” Mr Allott had resigned but it is not known yet if she will be the Labour candidate again.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are also yet to announce their candidates.

Independent Keith Tordoff, who also stood in May’s election and received 22,338 first preference votes, told the Stray Ferret he intends to stand again.

No driver shortage for winter gritting in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council reassured people today that it has enough drivers to operate a full complement of gritters this winter.

The council, which spends between £6m and £10m each winter on gritting, has spent £2.2m on 18 new vehicles to replace some of the 80 in its gritting fleet.

The fleet, which is on call 24 hours a day, is complemented by more than 100 farm contractors.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“People may recently have seen media reports suggesting the risk of a shortage of drivers in parts of the country. We can reassure people that in North Yorkshire we have sufficient drivers and robust systems in place to ensure we can operate our full complement of gritters.

“Our salt stores are well stocked, with 55,000 tonnes of salt – enough to fill 21 Olympic-size swimming pools – plus about 8,000 grit heaps and bins, and we have a strong relationship with a local supplier.”

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The council recently announced it would save up to £120,000 by improving the efficiency of its gritting operation, which led to concerns that the service would be cut back. But Cllr Mackenzie said:

“This change is in no way a reduction in our services and will not compromise the safety of our roads. It enables us to use our resources to maximum effect.

“We remain committed to maintaining the level of service that sees us routinely treat a greater proportion of our network than any other council in England.”

NY Highways formed

The new vehicles join NY Highways, which is one of numerous new companies formed by the council to bring back services in house. NY Highways took over the council’s £40 million a year contract with Ringway to maintain North Yorkshire’s roads.

Ross Bullerwell, managing director of NY Highways, said it was “well prepared” to “ensure we deliver a successful winter programme to keep the roads safe and clear for users”.

The council is also providing travel information to road users from 10 new weather stations on some of the highest and most exposed roads in the county.

Further information about when and where gritting takes place, grit bins and access to live road cameras images can be found here.

Behind the scenes of Harrogate’s new £6m food hall

If there’s one thing that Harrogate does incredibly well, it’s food and drink.

The district has some of the best producers in the country and there is no denying we are completely spoilt for choice when it comes to delicious Yorkshire fare.

So it comes as no surprise that excitement is ramping up for the launch of Harrogate’s huge new £6m food hall in Pannal, which overlooks the Crimple Valley.

The 48,000 sq ft building, which is simply called ‘Crimple‘, will include a butchery counter, an in-house bakery and patisserie, a floristry and a 160-seat restaurant.

Sustainability

And with a huge emphasis on sustainability, there are set to be some very quirky additions to the venue, including it’s own beehive and a reconditioned milk float, complete with milk on tap and refillable glass bottles.

Crimple has been owned by Graham Watson since 2013. With a personal investment of £4m for the construction, plus £2m for the fit-out, the business-owner has created the town’s latest foodie destination in a bid to showcase all the amazing produce the district has to offer.

The man tasked with getting the food hall up and running is general manager Chris Lidgitt, who gave me a sneak preview of the site.

He said:

“We want to be a destination site for North Yorkshire.

“We are proud of what we have done behind the scenes and we all know what it’s going to look like when it opens. We can’t wait to show off our hard work.

“Harrogate needs something like this.”

After two years of planning and more than a year of construction, the food hall is set to open its doors in the second week of November and will see more than 80 new jobs created.

Events space

If you have visited Crimple Valley before, you will be familiar with the antiques centre at the site. This has been completely knocked down and the food hall and restaurant has been built in its place. The garden centre will remain and the existing restaurant and terrace will become an events space.

An exterior computer-generated image of the new food hall.

The food hall’s timber-framed building, with its staggered roof, is eco-friendly and sustainable.

The striking design of the building makes reference to agricultural buildings through a series of interconnected barn-like forms.

A heat recovery system also provides all the hot water for the site and energy-saving refrigeration has been fitted.

Impressive

It certainly looks very swish when you drive past on Leeds Road and its even more impressive when you go inside.

When you first walk in, it’s impossible not to notice the sheer scale of the food hall.

Inside the new Crimple food hall.

The distinctive “saw tooth” roof makes it feel light and airy. The space will allow shoppers to move freely around a specially-designed layout, aimed at making it a relaxed and enjoyable foodie shopping experience.

More importantly the design of the roof allows for natural ventilation and hosts solar panels to feedback power to the grid. In addition, motorised windows keep the temperature constant without wasting electric on heating and cooling.

Butchery counter

One of the big draws will be a 12-metre-long butchery counter, which will have a selection of meats, including the more unusual T-bone and Tomahawk steaks and ox cheeks, as well as the usual cuts. It will also boast a glass-fronted dry-ageing meat fridge.

Chris, who has been in the food and drink industry for years and was a director at The Local Pantry, in nearby Pool, said:

“We will use the in-house butchery department and the produce from the store to supply the restaurant.

“A deli counter will offer cheese, which we are going to mature ourselves in a cheese maturation fridge – from three, six, 12 and 18-months-old.

“There will also be a quirky juice and coffee bar, offering fresh juices and smoothies, which will have a big ice well.

“There will be floristry and gifts, fresh fruit and veg and a bakery, where we will eventually make our own bread. Two bakers will bake in-house including cakes, tarts and patisserie items.

“There will also be a beehive in a sealed unit, which shoppers will be able to see. This will supply honey to sell in the store.”

Yorkshire producers

Food and drink from lots of local producers and independent producers from across Yorkshire will be on offer at Crimple. They will include Bracken Hill Fine Foods, Guppy’s Chocolates, Sawley Kitchen, The Yorkshire Pasta Company and The Original Baker. There will be meat from Robertshaw’s and bread from Cawa Bakery and Lancaster’s. Coffee will be supplied by Dark Woods Coffee.

There will also be food to go, including in-store produced ready meals, pizzas, and fresh fish, as well as a horticulture shop and a grain store.

Chris said:

“There’s a real emphasis on Yorkshire produce but also an emphasis on trying to be different.”

An interior computer-generated image of the new food hall.

Training and wellbeing tips to keep you going through winter

Even the most dedicated fitness enthusiasts can have a tough time in winter.

Cold days and long nights make it hard to get out of bed, let alone get the body moving, but there are some simple ways to stay motivated and train smart when the cold weather hits.

Personal trainer Liv Metcalfe is a coach at F45 Training Harrogate and is also assistant manager at the town’s Sweaty Betty branch.
She said:
“The goal is to remove as many obstacles as possible and make small changes that can make staying active easier until the warmer weather returns. At this time of year, exercise can also help to cope with seasonal depression.”

Here are Liv’s top training and wellbeing tips to keep you going in winter:

1. Layer up

When you train outside in cold weather, it’s really important to wear the correct clothing to stop you overheating or getting too cold.

We aren’t always great at dressing for the weather when it comes to training in this country. If you are too cold your muscles will seize up and you can injure yourself, but then if you get too warm that obviously isn’t great either.

So for example if you go running, I would recommend breaking it down to a fitted base-layer. Then you want a nice cosy mid-layer, which you want to be still quite fitted so it locks in the heat, but is still breathable. Then finally you want an outer-layer, which is water resistant but still light and breathable. You can then take it off if you are too hot and put it back on when you get cold. Layering is essential.

2. Stay safe

Wear reflective or bright coloured clothing when you train in the dark. Don’t wear black. Even just a hint of brightness would be better than a dark colour. For example wear a hat or headband that would stand out. Or gloves and trainers which are reflective.

3. Keep nourishing your body

It’s so easy in winter, with the dark, cold nights and mornings to just stuff your face with any old rubbish. But try nourish and fuel your body as much as possible. So for example go for something warming that will keep you full for longer, like porridge or overnight oats.

Also make sure you get your Vitamin D in, which we get from sunlight and obviously lack in this country in the winter months. So this could be in a supplement or from another source of food or drink. Also remember to stay hydrated, which can be easy to forget when the weather is colder.

4. Keep moving

In winter it’s so easy just to hibernate and think oh I’ll just wait for summer. But the best thing you can do for your health – both physically and mentally – is to keep on moving.

So when it’s cold, layer up, get yourself outside. Fresh air is always good for you no matter what the weather is like. Go for a run or a walk – even just 20 minutes will do you the world of good. You don’t have to exercise for hours, even if you just do 10 minutes of something, it’s better than just vegging out on the sofa in front of Netflix. It’s 10 minutes more than you would have done and once you have, I guarantee you will feel better as a result.

5. Make time for you

In winter it can feel harder to fit in training. It is often a busy time of year in the run-up to Christmas and life can get a bit crazy. Your exercise regime can soon end up being put to the back of the queue. When you get home after a busy day at work and it’s dark and cold, it’s difficult to motivate yourself. Equally it’s tougher getting out of bed on dark mornings.

But then we aren’t necessarily doing the things that make us feel good. So it’s about making sure you still make some time to prioritise yourself.

Don’t be afraid to take some time to step back from training if you need to, but use your time wisely.

Even if you don’t feel like training, rather than just getting home and binging on chocolate in front of the TV, get your coat on, get warm and go outside and see your friends for a hot chocolate instead. Make that time for you.

Liv’s top 3 Sweaty Betty winter picks for outdoor training

1. Glisten Seamless Long Sleeve Top

In winter it’s all about layers and I love this top. It keeps you warm but it’s still breathable. It’s made from natural bamboo and it has antibacterial properties so you don’t smell sweaty after you train.

2. Pathfinder Packable Gilet

I like it because it’s very lightweight but still warm – made with recycled feather down – and you can pack it away. It comes with a little bag, like a bumbag, so you can roll it up. You obviously can’t tie it around your waist if you get too hot while you’re out running, but you can put it in the little bag. Perfect for that layering!

3. Power Boost Reflective Workout Zip Through and Power High-Waisted Reflective Gym Leggings

They are breathable and have sweat-wicking, as well as being made with four-way stretch fabric. So they are fitted and still give you shape, but you can move really freely. What I really like about them is they are reflective. So there is that safety aspect for the darker nights.

 

Improving county bus services an ‘enormous challenge’, says transport boss

Improving bus services with more regular and reliable journeys across Harrogate and North Yorkshire will be an “enormous challenge”, the county’s transport boss has said.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, made the statement on Tuesday when the authority approved its £116 million Bus Service Improvement Plan, which aims to boost passenger numbers and cut car use.

The plan asks for £116 million of government cash over the next eight years to fund support for existing and new services, a simpler ticketing system, better information on journeys and other measures.

The aim is for services to cover the whole of England’s largest county – something Cllr Mackenzie said will be an “enormous challenge”.

He said: 

“Bus services are very important to us – we as a council spend over £24 million on buses to get our pupils to schools.

“We spend £1.5 million every year subsidising rural bus services, which are not commercially viable and would not run without us.

“We also spend over £7 million a year on providing 127,000 bus passes for free travel for people because of age or disability, or because they are carers.

“But the challenge we have today to provide regular and sustainable bus services throughout the vast geography that North Yorkshire County Council covers with its sparse population is enormous.

“That is why I welcome the national bus strategy.”

Under the government’s bus strategy, £3 billion is to be made available to make buses across the country cheaper and easier to use.

It is hoped these targets will be also met through so-called enhanced partnerships where councils agree to infrastructure improvements in return for better services from bus companies.

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Other proposals in North Yorkshire County Council’s improvement plan include half-price fares for job seekers and apprentices, a new website with information on services and more zero-emission buses.

Pannal park and ride

There is also talk of a park and ride scheme in Harrogate, which officials are looking into but have yet to bring forward any detailed proposals for.

There are two potential sites for this: land near Pannal Golf Club and another site near Buttersyke Bar roundabout, south of the village.

The Harrogate district has more zero tail-pipe emission buses than most places in North Yorkshire and it is hoped more will be provided through a £20m bid for government cash.

If approved, the cash will be used to make all of Harrogate Bus Company’s fleet zero-emissions, with 39 new buses coming to the district.

Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev in the north of England, which owns Harrogate Bus Company, has expressed his support for the bid, saying it comes at a time when he believes Harrogate is “ready to embrace more sustainable forms of travel”.

Mr Hornby is also one of several business leaders who will speak at a net-zero conference at Harrogate Convention Centre on Friday when the vision of a greener transport future will be high on the agenda.

Another aim of the improvement plan is to expand the rollout of the council’s on-demand bus service, YorBus, which allows app users to book and track services in Ripon, Bedale and Masham.

There have, however, been questions over why the service has been hailed a “success” after it emerged it has only attracted about three passengers per hour.

In response to this, Cllr Mackenzie said the council would listen to all feedback, but added the number of those praising the service exceeded the number of critics.

He said:

“We may or may not introduce it elsewhere, but so far the signs are very good.”

Covid infections in school children rise by two-thirds

Covid cases among school-age children in North Yorkshire have risen by two-thirds since the return of classes, new figures show.

Official figures from Public Health England show infections among all five to 19-year-olds in the county rose by two-thirds – or 66% – between the start of the school term on September 6 and the end of the month.

It comes after Louise Wallace, director of public health for North Yorkshire, last week said infections across all age groups in the county were being “driven” by school-age children.

Under new rules at schools and unlike previous terms, neither close contacts of confirmed cases nor bubble groups have to go home and isolate – only those pupils who test positive.

Other measures remain in place including twice-weekly testing, stepped-up cleaning regimes and ventilation in classrooms.

Nonetheless, there are still concerns over further disruptions to education as the virus continues to spread at high rates and during such early stages of the school term.

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This has prompted health officials at North Yorkshire County Council to offer reassurances that action is being taken and extra support remains on standby.

A council spokesperson said: 

“Our outbreak management hub is on hand to provide support and advice to schools and other organisations in the event of an outbreak.

“In some circumstances, previous measures used can be brought back for a temporary period if reducing mixing between groups is seen as necessary to prevent the spread of covid.

“Schools have outbreak management plans in place to manage any outbreaks and their covid risk assessments.

“The plans are continually being reviewed and updated.”

Will school restrictions come back?

The measures which could be brought back in the event of an outbreak include stopping the mixing of pupils at break time and the use of face masks, the council said.

These measures were in place during the previous summer term, but were lifted by the government as the school year ended.

Meanwhile, school children aged 12 to 15 are now being urged to take up their offer of a single Pfizer vaccine dose. Parental permission is required for these jabs, unlike those for teenagers aged 16 and 17, who were offered vaccines from August.

Speaking last week, Ms Wallace said she was hopeful that the recent rise in infections would ease in the coming weeks.

She said: 

“We are seeing an increase in the daily rate across North Yorkshire and we are slightly above the England average, which is quite unusual as we usually track it or are slightly below.

“But I am hopeful that this will start to settle and fall back in line as the next few weeks go by.”

Latest figures yesterday showed North Yorkshire’s weekly infection rate per 100,000 people currently stands at 434 – still above the England average of 331.

A breakdown of the numbers shows the Harrogate district has the highest infection rate in the county at 530.

This is followed by 468 in Scarborough, 448 in Hambleton, 425 in Selby, 392 in Craven, 281 in Richmondshire and 271 in Ryedale.