To report to cabinet on the response by Herefordshire Council to the coronavirus epidemic in the county and its impact on the council and the county.

The chief executive spoke on the report, highlighting the actions taken by the council independently and in conjunction with partners locally, regionally and nationally. Points noted included:

·         Challenges in sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE) with the council using around 18,000 facemasks per day, gloves, aprons and goggles were also being used where appropriate;

·         Local companies had adapted their manufacturing capabilities to produce hand sanitiser within a week of the council’s request;

·         The council was working closely with care homes and was in a comparatively sound position compared with other areas of the county, the situation was being closely monitored as Herefordshire was behind the peak curve regionally;

·         The council was making use of technology to hold virtual meetings and recognised the opportunities this presented in reducing unnecessary travel and reducing pollution from traffic;

·         Systems imposed from central government had generally been less effective than measures designed and implemented locally, this was being communicated back to the government;

·         The council had the lowest known staff sickness levels across the region;

·         Many staff had been redeployed to assist with the response to the virus, for example car parking charges had been suspended which allowed key workers to park as close as possible to their point of work and released enforcement staff for other duties;

·         In the long term it would be necessary to get a vaccine distributed across the county, in the interim full hygiene protocols including washing hands, social distancing and where appropriate in specific roles, use of PPE remained key tools;

·         The resource implications were enormous for councils across the country and the impact was still being calculated, councils were signalling that the additional costs could not be met indefinitely without extra funding and would be pressing the government in this regard.

Following the presentation by the chief executive the meeting observed a minute’s silence in remembrance of those who had lost their lives to the coronavirus.

In discussion of the chief executive’s report the cabinet noted that:

·         £45.5m worth of grants had been approved to businesses across the county, the council had been unable to reach a number of businesses that might be eligible for grants and would be sending letters out in the following days to encourage them to make contact;

·         Planning applications continued to be registered and validated, site notices had been suspended initially but had now been reinstated with appropriate social distancing measures for staff and the first virtual planning committee meeting had been scheduled for 12 May;

·         Close working with the care home sector had resulted in a relatively small number of cases in comparison with other parts of the country, a proactive approach was supporting care providers with infection control processes and the council had submitted its model to the Local Government Association as an example of best practice to inform work across the country, however Herefordshire was behind the regional peak curve;

·         The chief executive and other senior officers continued to provide regular updates to cabinet members.

In considering comments and questions from group leaders the members of the cabinet noted that:

·         All groups expressed their sadness at the loss of life and their pride in and gratitude for the work of council staff, emergency services and volunteers around the county;

·         There was recognition of the tremendous amount of work to be done to reboot the local economy, ward members with knowledge of local businesses who had so far not been in touch with the council regarding grants could forward details to smallbusinessgrants@herefordshire.gov.uk;

·         The vast majority of councils had not yet reopened household recycling centres as they were concerned about the unnecessary travel this might encourage, Herefordshire council was making plans on how centres might open including appropriate traffic management and safe working practices for staff;

·         There had been no increase in reported fly tipping since the closure of the household recycling centres and bin collections had been maintained.

The chairperson of the children and young people scrutiny committee expressed concern over the level of take up of schooling among vulnerable children. The director for children and families expressed his thanks to everyone supporting children and families and explained that although attendance by vulnerable children had increased since the Easter holiday numbers were still very low. The council was working with schools and other settings to encourage attendance. The council continued to provide transport where required but families were generally heeding the national and local message to stay at home.

The chairperson of the adults and wellbeing scrutiny committee welcomed the comprehensive report and extraordinary efforts by staff, residents, volunteers and key workers. She asked that the council consider how the good practice that had been developed in response to the virus could be captured and consolidated.

Cabinet members noted the need to look beyond the economic impact and the way that the council and health partners had worked together to tackle the virus. They highlighted:

·         The benefits of leisure and cultural services for physical and mental health with huge numbers joining the library to make use of online services during the lockdown;

·         Working with businesses, charities and the third sector to further develop the good relationships that had been established;

·         The need to continue rolling out broadband access, especially in rural areas, to improve connectivity;

·         The need for continued liaison with all councillors.

The leader proposed a recommendation that group leaders be asked to consider how the different groups on the council might work together to ensure that learning from the current crisis was captured. The recommendation was seconded by the cabinet member environment, economy and skills.

It was agreed that:

a)    cabinet reviewed the progress made in delivering the response to Covid-19 in Herefordshire and determined that group leaders be asked to consider how the groups might work together to ensure that lessons from this crisis were captured.