A dedicated Covid Enforcement Team has been set up to deal with Covid-related concerns and complaints in Cornwall seven days a week.

The team, created by Cornwall Council, is working with businesses to ensure they are complying with the current restrictions and investigate concerns from members of the public.

The team, which works closely with Devon and Cornwall Police, Public Health and other organisations, includes environmental health officers, trading standards officers and licensing officers.

Its members are supported by colleagues in various other council departments, who are also helping businesses adjust to the new restrictions.

The team’s focus is to work with and provide support to businesses, with enforcement action only to be used as a last resort.

Rob Nolan, portfolio holder for Environment and Public Protection, said: “Compliance levels have been really high among Cornish businesses and we’ve found that most people want to do the right thing.

READ NEXT

“We want to thank businesses for their support, and we will continue to work with them as we make our way through lockdown and prepare for the run up to Christmas.

“This new set-up will enable us to respond quickly to requests from businesses, as well as dealing with concerns reported by the public.”

Since the start of the pandemic, Cornwall Council has received more than 4,800 Covid-related enquiries.

Many of these have been from businesses asking for clarification about the restrictions and seeking advice.

Mark Luxton, head of community protection, licensing and enforcement at Cornwall Council, said: “The Covid Enforcement Team are helping businesses adapt to the new rules and prepare for when the current restrictions are lifted.

“The officers will be visiting businesses and helping owners and staff members feel confident that they have the correct measures in place.

“The team will also be responding to and, where necessary investigating, complaints made by members of the public.

“We encourage people to report their concerns, but we also ask that you don’t jump to conclusions as there are some significant differences to the current restrictions compared to the previous lockdown.”

Business owners and staff can request support and information via the Business Regulatory Support Hub. The hub also provides weekly webinars to keep businesses updated on the latest guidance. To date these have been attended by more than 3,000 people across Cornwall.

Cornwall Council has a dedicated email address for all queries related to Covid-19 via covid19@cornwall.gov.uk

For general Covid-19 enquires call on 0300 1231 118 from 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.