Doncaster mayor in 'work with us' plea to Government on potential Tier 3 talks

Government can force Doncaster into the highest level of Tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions and top figures admitted it was a matter of ‘when not if’ the borough is brought in line with places like Liverpool.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Doncaster’s elected mayor Ros Jones said she hoped it wouldn’t come to this but urged Government to work with South Yorkshire councils in order to come to a proper arrangement on things like funding.

Doncaster on a rolling seven-day average of 231 cases per 100,000 with over 4,000 cases since the pandemic began. There have also been 290 Covid-19 related deaths.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But the mayor revealed Government had not set out clear criteria for any particular area to enter Tier 3 despite requests from South Yorkshire figures.

Ros Jones is Doncaster's directly-elected mayor Ros Jones is Doncaster's directly-elected mayor
Ros Jones is Doncaster's directly-elected mayor

“We’ve asked Government to give us the criteria (for changing tiers) so we can ensure we monitor it very carefully but we don’t have it,” Mayor Jones said.

“We’ve also asked that should South Yorkshire be moved up into Tier 3 together, one council where case numbers are falling should be able to move down into a less restrictive band of measures.

“If we go into Tier 3, we are pushing for the greatest package - they've announced funding but we are one of the largest areas of deprivation and we could argue the same as any other area.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“If we move up, we need the bigger package of funds. The last package we got was not sufficient to cover all expenditure and on top of that we went through the floods last November which cost us and we didn’t get all sums reimbursed by Government.”

Officials from government departments will be advising South Yorkshire leaders over the coming days.

The mayor said on current projections, it was a case of 'when' and not 'if' the borough is placed in Tier 3 alongside other South Yorkshire areas.

Mayor Jones said Tier 3 did come with compensation for businesses but added the payment of two-thirds of wages was ‘not enough’ as the borough has more jobs on average that pay the minimum wage than other places.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The financial package they have offered is welcome and it is better than being in Tier 2 but the people who need it the most are those on the ground in minimum wage and low-paid jobs.” Mayor Jones said.

She added: “To be perfectly honest, two thirds of the minimum wage isn’t enough - it’s not good enough.

“If we go into Tier 3, the people and businesses need a similar package to what was offered at the start of lockdown in March at 80 per cent.”

Thank you to all who support local journalism with a digital or print subscription to The Star. The events of 2020 mean trusted, local journalism is more reliant than ever on your support. We couldn't do it without you. Subscribe here www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions so we can keep campaigning on your behalf. Stay safe.