Should we improve communication of restrictions?

[Bletchleyite]

As a first thing, I would ask that this thread isn't derailed to argue about whether restrictions of any sort are necessary; there are other threads for that, so this thread is starting with the premise, whether you or I consider it to be correct or not, that any and all restrictions in force in any location in the UK are appropriate and correct. So I don't really want to get onto "no we shouldn't communicate about restrictions because they should be abolished", for example.

So with that over...

Personally, I'm quite well-connected and well-informed as regards the news. So I wouldn't have much of an excuse for not knowing or understanding any restrictions.

However, there are people in my family who just don't watch the news nor read newspapers - they consider that it's just depressing and so isn't interesting. Therefore, if restrictions change it is very likely they won't know about the changes. I'm sure there are people, such as older people, who are even less well-connected in this regard. This will be causing unwitting breaches causing spread, e.g. by going into each others' houses in local lockdown areas.

So how could we resolve this? Should we perhaps have teams of volunteers leafletting their neighbours, perhaps in multiple languages? The "boots on the ground" referred to by local authorities with regard to contact tracing?

 

[Yew]

I think it has to come from the top, no more "rules", "advice", "encouragements", and "guidance". Either it is the Law, or it is Advice.

 

[bramling]

As a first thing, I would ask that this thread isn't derailed to argue about whether restrictions of any sort are necessary; there are other threads for that, so this thread is starting with the premise, whether you or I consider it to be correct or not, that any and all restrictions in force in any location in the UK are appropriate and correct. So I don't really want to get onto "no we shouldn't communicate about restrictions because they should be abolished", for example.

So with that over...

Personally, I'm quite well-connected and well-informed as regards the news. So I wouldn't have much of an excuse for not knowing or understanding any restrictions.

However, there are people in my family who just don't watch the news nor read newspapers - they consider that it's just depressing and so isn't interesting. Therefore, if restrictions change it is very likely they won't know about the changes. I'm sure there are people, such as older people, who are even less well-connected in this regard. This will be causing unwitting breaches causing spread, e.g. by going into each others' houses in local lockdown areas.

So how could we resolve this? Should we perhaps have teams of volunteers leafletting their neighbours, perhaps in multiple languages? The "boots on the ground" referred to by local authorities with regard to contact tracing?

No way, I think that would just lead to more instances of people putting their own slant on things.

If we’re going to have restrictions (and it’s hard not to make the point that people are getting mightily fed up with it now) then they need to be communicated out from the government, and kept simple.

At the moment it’s got too complex, and perhaps the biggest problem is things keep changing - for example there’s been rumours all over the news this morning that overnight stays may be banned, so what does one do now if planning a hotel stay next week?

Much as I’m sick of hearing Boris’s voice (am I the only one who finds his way of speaking increasingly irritating and cringeworthy as time has gone on?), at least with Sturgeon appearing on a pretty regular basis everyone knows pretty much where they stand, whether they agree, disagree, like or dislike. Of course this would rely on Boris actually knowing what his own restrictions are, which seems to be a problem for a start!

The culture of leaking is pretty bad too, as it just leads to a swell of rumours, so no one knows where they stand. If Boris is “considering” something, why doesn’t he just come out and say that himself?

 

[farci]

It seems your good intentions have already been ignored by anther poster!

I run a community organisation focused on one neighbourhood in Glasgow and this is always a problem. Leafleting is effective when posted in local shops, post office, churches/mosques etc. Social media can help cascade the news when neighbours speak to each other. Covid has done wonders for neighbours helping neighbours so an offer to get the shopping can be accompanied by a 'quiet word' and a simple A5 printed sheet. Certainly the Scottish Govt has good summaries on their website whic can be used as source material

 

[Bletchleyite]

I run a community organisation focused on one neighbourhood in Glasgow and this is always a problem. Leafleting is effective when posted in local shops, post office, churches/mosques etc. Social media can help cascade the news when neighbours speak to each other. Covid has done wonders for neighbours helping neighbours so an offer to get the shopping can be accompanied by a 'quiet word' and a simple A5 printed sheet. Certainly the Scottish Govt has good summaries on their website whic can be used as source material

This was the sort of thing I was thinking of. Facebook ads probably help (as the people I mentioned above spend half their lives on that), but what others post on FB could be misleading.

With regard to leaflets I wasn't thinking of "make your own", but rather the Government could provide PDFs to print off, and volunteers to distribute them could be organised properly e.g. via the "NHS" volunteer scheme.

 

[DB]

This was the sort of thing I was thinking of. Facebook ads probably help (as the people I mentioned above spend half their lives on that), but what others post on FB could be misleading.

With regard to leaflets I wasn't thinking of "make your own", but rather the Government could provide PDFs to print off, and volunteers to distribute them could be organised properly e.g. via the "NHS" volunteer scheme.

I think the point is (In England anyway - Scotland is better in this respect) that the legislation itself is vague and badly-drafted, and has been amended so many times now that it's a total mess, andthe accompanying guidance isn't much clearer, and in some cases doesn't fully agree with the legislation. Basically, the government needs to sort this mess.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think the point is (In England anyway - Scotland is better in this respect) that the legislation itself is vague and badly-drafted, and has been amended so many times now that it's a total mess, andthe accompanying guidance isn't much clearer, and in some cases doesn't fully agree with the legislation. Basically, the government needs to sort this mess.

I think the 3-step thing is working towards that, isn't it?

 

[bramling]

I think the point is (In England anyway - Scotland is better in this respect) that the legislation itself is vague and badly-drafted, and has been amended so many times now that it's a total mess, andthe accompanying guidance isn't much clearer, and in some cases doesn't fully agree with the legislation. Basically, the government needs to sort this mess.

This is the thing, we’ve already got bits of paper stuck all round society - round my way even on remote footpaths in the middle of nowhere! The last thing we need is more.

Any plan to improve communications needs to go right back to the start of the process, which is Boris Johnson.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think it has to come from the top, no more "rules", "advice", "encouragements", and "guidance". Either it is the Law, or it is Advice.

I've just said this on another forum too - but there shouldn't be any advice (other than about protecting yourself, e.g. sanitising when you get home), just law.

 

[Achnasheen]

I can see this being helpful in local lockdown areas. Also maybe to highlight things like extended households to avoid social isolation for the elderly living alone? One worry would be that it might give some people a platform to become unofficial ‘enforcers’.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I think it has to come from the top, no more "rules", "advice", "encouragements", and "guidance". Either it is the Law, or it is Advice.

This is the approach I would prefer.

 

[kermit]

I think it has to come from the top, no more "rules", "advice", "encouragements", and "guidance". Either it is the Law, or it is Advice.

You have maybe inadvertently illustrated the complexity of the problem there - within two short and admirably concise sentences, there seems to be a contradiction "No more advice"......then "Either it is the Law or Advice". I'm not criticising you, I think I understand exactly what you mean, but constructing simple rules, quickly and from scratch to cover complex human societies, and then communicating them effectively, is really, really difficult! As an example, the focus of new restrictions in Scotland has been pubs, but there are significant population groups to whom, for religious or cultural reasons, that will make no difference at all.

 

[nlogax]

A straight dashboard with a clickable UK map or a postcode search tool to better understand current local or regional restrictions would be nice. Does one actually exist? My Google-fu is a bit off this week.

 

[farci]

With regard to leaflets I wasn't thinking of "make your own", but rather the Government could provide PDFs to print off, and volunteers to distribute them could be organised properly e.g. via the "NHS" volunteer scheme.

In England you can check out the resources channel from Public Health England for downloads:
https://coronavirusresources.phe.gov.uk/stay-alert-to-stay-safe-/resources/posters/

Within the ZIP folder you'll find the following assets in A4 and A3 sizes:

• Hi Res With Crop Marks PDF Posters
• Low Res Web Friendly PDF & JPG Posters
• Print Friendly White PDF & JPG Posters

Different creatives are available including:

• Face coverings - new refresh creative
• Distance - new refresh creative
• Face coverings
• Shop face coverings
• Handwashing
• Keeping your distance
• Limit contact
• Working from home
• At Home
• Travelling to work
• At Work
• Whilst exercising
• In transport hubs (in train stations, underground stations, etc.)
• Shop face coverings
• Youth School Distancing

Other creatives/messaging include:

• Detailed handwashing guidance
• Hand hygiene
• R rate
• Icon creative (hand hygiene, limit contact, being at home)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Oct 2020 ==

A straight dashboard with a clickable UK map or a postcode search tool to better understand current local or regional restrictions would be nice. Does one actually exist? My Google-fu is a bit off this week.

From Auntie to you wth love:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54373...ws_postcodelookuplocalcovidrules_coronavirus]

Coronavirus rules vary depending on whether you live in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Millions of people are also affected by extra local restrictions. Find out what the rules are in your area by entering your postcode below.

 

[nlogax]

From Auntie to you wth love:
-20201008-[bbcnews_postcodelookuplocalcovidrules_coronavirus]']-20201008-[bbcnews_postcodelookuplocalcovidrules_coronavirus]']https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54373...ws_postcodelookuplocalcovidrules_coronavirus]

Great resource - thank you! Should have known the Beeb would help clarify the confusion.

 

[Huntergreed]

As much as I disagree with her stance, I think Sturgeon’s communication surrounding restrictions has been pretty good and reasonable throughout (no 11PM “twitter announcements” and no laws published 15 mins before they come into force, as far as I’m aware)

 

[Andyh82]

There’s four groups of people

Those who know the rules, or maybe know an approximation of the rules, they’ll generally be following them, and even if they are getting some parts wrong, they’ll probably be exceeding the rules in another way, so for these people it’s probably fine

There are those who know the rules but think they’ll get away with it by not following them, pretending to be confused if asked. The way the media keep celebrating and championing confusion as an acceptable stance doesn’t help here.

Those who know the rules but don’t care less

Those who are oblivious to everything, you know like those people who turn up on the 27th Dec to catch a train and then cry blue murder, even though there has been extensive publicity saying there is engineering work for 6 months. There was someone in front of me in the queue to get into Costa today who when asked to scan the QR code, looked like it was the first time he’d ever been asked to do it, didn’t know how to do it, and it was as if he was being asked something alien. This was a young person as well, these people probably can’t be helped.

 

[DB]

There was someone in front of me in the queue to get into Costa today who when asked to scan the QR code, looked like it was the first time he’d ever been asked to do it, didn’t know how to do it, and it was as if he was being asked something alien. This was a young person as well, these people probably can’t be helped.

Not everybody is IT literate, and there isn't really an age element to this (contrary to what many seem to believe).

 

[brad465]

One of the big problems with communication has been the Government can't understand public and/or officials' opinions, so when they think up plans they leak them out (like yesterday/today with the apparent restrictions for next week), see what others think of them, then try and change them where necessary. But the leaking act takes officials like councils/police/MPs/affected businesses by surprise, so can't prepare accordingly.

 

[DelayRepay]

Wasn't there one of the local authorities (maybe in the West Midlands?) that sent groups of staff and volunteers out door knocking? I think the aim was to help spread the message to communities whose first language was not English, which was also the area where the virus was spreading. I think they got a positive response. I'm sorry but I can't find a source for this other than my memory of a news report.

I think reaching people who don't have internet access is important; they are potentially people who will be more vulnerable to Covid so perhaps it's even more important that they know the level of risk and restrictions in place in their area. My mum doesn't have internet access, so relies on what she sees on the news. But this is confusing for her sometimes, when 'advice' is presented as a rule, and when they are not specific about exactly where the restriction applies to ('Large parts of the North West' being an example).

 

[yorkie]

My basic answer to the question is 'yes'

I think it has to come from the top, no more "rules", "advice", "encouragements", and "guidance". Either it is the Law, or it is Advice.

I'll only agree to that if the outcome is no more stringent than the law.

For example, there was a period of several weeks where social gatherings of up to 30 were lawful, but the advice was to limit this to 6. If the outcome of any such simplification would have been that the limit was never greater than 6, I would absolutely oppose it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

For example, there was a period of several weeks where social gatherings of up to 30 were lawful, but the advice was to limit this to 6. If the outcome of any such simplification would have been that the limit was never greater than 6, I would absolutely oppose it.

That advice was pointless as everybody ignored it and is a great example of obfuscation of the message. If it was necessary to limit to 6, that should have been law. If it wasn't, it should have simply been 30 and leave it at that.

 

[yorkie]

That advice was pointless as everybody ignored it and is a great example of obfuscation of the message. If it was necessary to limit to 6, that should have been law. If it wasn't, it should have simply been 30 and leave it at that.

You can't really define "necessary" though; it's all guesswork and arbitrary.

But we all know that simplification rarely goes in the favour of the ordinary person, so it's a no from me!

 

[johnnychips]

I think I am like many people on here (or perhaps Rail UK users are better informed) and everybody in general, that I haven’t got a clue about all these rules.

I realise it personally in that the next forum meal I will be going to is limited to six, but if the area gets put into special rules, I will have to rely on @yorkie to tell me what they are!

I have been thinking of using my Senior Railcard for the first time, and I thought of Nottingham this Saturday. But I would have no idea if I was allowed to go, or what the restrictions would be if I got there. The rate of CV would not be one of my considerations.

Pea soup!

 

[Andyh82]

One of the big problems with communication has been the Government can't understand public and/or officials' opinions, so when they think up plans they leak them out (like yesterday/today with the apparent restrictions for next week), see what others think of them, then try and change them where necessary. But the leaking act takes officials like councils/police/MPs/affected businesses by surprise, so can't prepare accordingly.

There is no way around this

Announce something, people effected like local councils and organisations complain they weren’t told in advance to prepare

Brief relevant parties first, and then those people will leak it out, particularly if it’s an organisation that has no reason to play ball (I.e would a Labour Council really keep it secret), so the change ends up being announced before it’s announced anyway.

 

[Ian Cunningham]

As much as I disagree with her stance, I think Sturgeon’s communication surrounding restrictions has been pretty good and reasonable throughout (no 11PM “twitter announcements” and no laws published 15 mins before they come into force, as far as I’m aware)

Regardless of party politics I think that overall ScotGov has been pretty sure footed on communications. Nicola Sturgeon and Jason Leitch both use very clear and direct language unlike the vague, florid waffle that emanates from Boris

Rather than press leaks and late night Twitter, major changes are announced in statements to Parliament or at the (not quite) daily briefing and press conference (which is always the same time everyday) -at the very least we know when and where information will be release. The full transcripts of any statements are also published the same day - a very useful reference

On the website there is a update on stats at 2pm daily and a comprehensive spreadsheet (yes it's MS Excel!) of all daily data to date as well as comprehensive notes and guidance that is kept right up to date

Whether you agree with the message or not, the message is clearly presented and you know where you stand (unless you are a cafe owner with an alcohol licence just now...)

 

[Bantamzen]

This was the sort of thing I was thinking of. Facebook ads probably help (as the people I mentioned above spend half their lives on that), but what others post on FB could be misleading.

To be honest social media would be the worst way of doing it, the government are already making use of it for some of its messaging and even then it can quickly be twisted by users. It can quickly become difficult for many people to tell the difference between an officially sanctioned advert and something someone has knocked up with photoshop or a meme generator (yes I know you can tell if a post is an ad or sponsored post, but many people pay no attention to the status of posts they see).

With regard to leaflets I wasn't thinking of "make your own", but rather the Government could provide PDFs to print off, and volunteers to distribute them could be organised properly e.g. via the "NHS" volunteer scheme.

Hmm, might be an idea, but given the amount of crap that is distributed through our letterboxes you risk these simply joining the Dominos Pizza & Bob's Window Cleaning flyers heading straight for the recycling bin.

No I think we need to stick to the official means of using the TV news channels and newspapers, along with local authorities to deliver the messaging. We just need someone who isn't a blithering prat like Johnson to give clear, precise details. Of course it would also help if there were not a million different variations in different areas, and that they didn't change every few minutes...

There is no way around this

Announce something, people effected like local councils and organisations complain they weren’t told in advance to prepare

Brief relevant parties first, and then those people will leak it out, particularly if it’s an organisation that has no reason to play ball (I.e would a Labour Council really keep it secret), so the change ends up being announced before it’s announced anyway.

If you don't brief all concerned authorities in advance, you risk even more chaos. As for them leaking details, have you seen the government's record on leaks?

 

[Ian Cunningham]

Wasn't there one of the local authorities (maybe in the West Midlands?) that sent groups of staff and volunteers out door knocking? I think the aim was to help spread the message to communities whose first language was not English, which was also the area where the virus was spreading. I think they got a positive response. I'm sorry but I can't find a source for this other than my memory of a news report.

I think reaching people who don't have internet access is important; they are potentially people who will be more vulnerable to Covid so perhaps it's even more important that they know the level of risk and restrictions in place in their area. My mum doesn't have internet access, so relies on what she sees on the news. But this is confusing for her sometimes, when 'advice' is presented as a rule, and when they are not specific about exactly where the restriction applies to ('Large parts of the North West' being an example).

duncanp posted about that back in August here:

Local lockdown in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire - Discussion

Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that Bradford has gone from 25/100,000 to 35/100,000. How many measurements is that determined from, we'd need around 10,000 tests to even be able to detect such a small difference, and much more to be able to say that it's not simply an artefact of...

www.railforums.co.uk

I live in the Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, which has just been put on Public Health England's list of "areas of concern".

The infections are highest in and around Smethwick and West Bromwich, but two thirds of the wards in Sandwell have no infections at all.

The local council found out that the main sources of the outbreak were a factory in West Bromwich, and large multi generational households, from ethnic minority communities, many of whom did not speak English very well, if at all.

So the council hired some contact tracers who could speak Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and several other Asian languages, and sent them out into the community to speak to them, explain the rules, and tell them how to get a test if they have symptoms.

In the week or so since they did this, the infection rate has dropped by nearly 50%, so it is a good example of a local authority taking simple, targeted and effective measures, using their local knowledge.

Whether this approach would work in Lancashire and West Yorkshire depends on the exact causes of the outbreak there.

 

[Tetchytyke]

After a well-publicized issue with five welders (one of whom had Covid) breaking quarantine here, we have amended our messaging to make it very clear. Key workers are given a sheet detailing the rules, which they have to sign for, and for everyone else we have arranged for pre-recorded announcements on the ferry and planes as well as signage in the airport and the sea terminal.

For all the benefits of social media and online services, there simply is no replacement for leaflets or other printed material delivered right to the source. And if you really want to deliver your message, maybe get it translated into other languages.

As for online messaging, compare the clear and simple messaging on our government's Covid website compared to the absolute disgrace that is the Covid section of gov.uk. If you can find any clear Covid information on Gov.uk you're doing a damn sight better than I am.

Our Chief Minister's speeches are published online and in full, and stats are updated daily. Communications are clear and well-timed and changes are communicated clearly at defined times.

The English, by contrast, seem to float ideas a few days in advance to favoured journalists, see how much kickback they get, then announce something different three days later. Assuming Boris and his Cabinet of Cretins can remember trifling little details like where the north east of England is.