Liberal Democrat Councillor, Roy Davies, complained about the shocking state of the Atlas Rd car park, which is used by some users of the train station. The area was occupied by travelers recently and left in a bad state. The Council had to clear it up at cost to the council tax payers of the borough. In addition most people who park there without paying are issued with a fine but during the time they were there no fines were issued.

Blackburn with Darwen Council are proposing to increase the Council Tax by the maximum 3.99% at the Council Meeting on Monday (1 March). Darwen East Liberal Democrat Councillor, Roy Davies described it as "a smack in the face".

He said, "With unemployment still high and the uncertainty over coronavirus, I think there could not be a worse time to implement any rises in council tax. This will be a smack in the face to Blackburn with Darwen residents who have endured so much over the last 12 months."

Blackburn with Darwen public health director, Professor Dominic Harrison, has given this coronavirus update to local media.

Next Monday, 22^nd February, Boris Johnson will announce a detailed roadmap out of lockdown. We also expect him to sketch out the roadmap to 'Pandemic Exit' over the next 12 months.

The High Court has ruled that the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, acted unlawfully. In a case brought by the Good Law Project and supported by Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, the judge Mr Justice Chamberlain ruled that the Health Secretary had acted unlawfully in not publishing contracts he had awarded within 30 days, as stipulated by law. As an example he had awarded contracts worth £15bn for PPE, but only £2.68bn had been published. The judge said, "The secretary of state's evidence provides a cogent explanation of his historic failure to comply … but this explanation amounts to an excuse, not a justification. It follows that, in my judgment, the secretary of state acted unlawfully by failing to comply with the transparency policy."

In the week ending 12 February 2021, the highest positivity rate was seen in the North West, followed by London. The North East, South West and South East had the lowest percentages of people testing positive for COVID- 19 according to the Office for National Statistics. The percentage testing positive were:

A report by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which has been leaked to the Guardian newspaper, has concluded that due to "unmet financial need" many poorer families have been unable to self isolate. The government set up schemes to give financial help to people but the study found in Blackburn with Darwen more people seeking financial help to self isolate had been rejected than accepted.

Blackburn Labour Councillor Hussain Akhtar was seen encouraging young people to walk on a dangerously frozen lake. Video footage of the incident is circulating on social media. Liberal Democrats have condemned his behaviour. Lib Dem Councillor Roy Davies said, "This is so irresponsible. The council is telling people not to walk on frozen water as it could be fatal and here we have a councillor encouraging it. He should do the honourable thing and resign." This is the second incident in a week where a Labour councillor on Blackburn with Darwen council has had to be censured. It follows the Labour Mayor being fined for attending an illegal gathering in contravention of Covid regulations.

Blackburn with Darwen mayor, Labour Councillor Ifakhar Hussain has resigned and suspended himself from the Labour group. This follows his receipt of a £200 fine from Lancashire police. Liberal Democrat Councillor, Paul Browne said, "He has done the right thing in resigning as mayor, but he should also resign as a councillor. Those in public office need to set an example. We can't expect the public to follow the rules if we don't follow them ourselves."

Blackburn with Darwen school children who are eligible can have vouchers over half term.

The vouchers can be used in both Blackburn and Darwen Markets and can be used at even more stalls than before. The new vouchers will be valid until 31^st March 2021.

It is funded by The Covid Winter Grant which was received by the Council last year and supports families and children and other vulnerable adults through the winter period to access food, support with utility bills and other essentials to help keep people warm and fed.

The Conservative government promised £1.5 billion for English homeowners to help pay for improvements which would reduce their carbon footprint. It would provide vouchers worth up to £5,000 or even £10,000 for some improvements.

The scheme is being administered by ICF an American consulting company. Delays in the scheme mean that by late January only 5% of the grant had been spent. Some people have been waiting months for the result of their grant application. The government has aid they will not roll over the programme into the 2021/22 financial year. This means that well over £1 billion promised for "green" initiatives will not now be used for this purpose. the government had planned on giving 600,000 of these vouchers. As of last month only 21,000 had been distributed.