THE last issue of Frome Times was our first one since lockdown and unfortunately, we are unable to use many members of our wonderful team of deliverers.
All young people who deliver our newspapers and are between the ages of 13 and 15 must have a permit from the local county council. Somerset County Council says our deliverers are not key workers and they will not issue permits for new deliverers, or allow those already with permits to work under the current conditions.
In contrast, Wiltshire Council says that delivery permit holders are allowed to work under the current conditions, so can deliver our sister newspapers – White Horse News in Westbury and Melksham Independent News. Our deliverers in Wiltshire have received full instructions on how to deliver their newspapers safely and have been issued with hand sanitiser.
Whilst Somerset County Council will not lift the ban, this poses a serious problem for our delivery. Last issue, we were forced to outsource the delivery to a company, but we understand there were problems is some areas and we apologise to anyone who had difficulties in receiving their copy, or if it was delivered late.
This issue, our distribution staff have contacted the families who have someone under 16, who would normally carry out a round. The majority of these families have agreed for someone else to deliver – either the parents or older siblings. Also, some of our deliverers who are over the age of 15 have agreed to carry out extra rounds. We cannot thank these families enough, who have rallied to help us get our newspapers back on the streets.
At the moment, we have no indication of how long we will be unable to use our usual team – thank you to all of them for their patience – and thank you to our readers for your forbearance.
If anyone aged 16 or over is interested in a part-time job every fortnight for a few hours carrying out a paper round in Frome, even on a temporary basis, please contact us at delivery@wiltshirepublications.co.uk or call 01373 452109.
