Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive

A presentation will also be made to Cabinet

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive that provided an overview of the Council’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; that ensured that Cabinet Members were fully informed on the impacts and mitigations; and were engaged in discussions on management and potential changes to affected services.

The Cabinet also received a presentation from Dwayne Johnson, Chief Executive on the Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic that provided information on:

·        The Council’s approach to the pandemic which included supporting the most vulnerable, working alongside partner agencies and businesses, communications with communities and planning for recovery

·        Governance arrangements in place which included membership of the Merseyside Resilience Forum’s Strategic and Tactical Groups; the establishment of Strategic and Tactical Groups for Sefton, supported by 12 operational cells; continued proactive communications with communities and the workforce; and strategic and tactical recovery planning that was underway

·        The immediate Council response to the pandemic following Royal Assent of the Coronavirus 2020 Act on 25 March which included an announcement of business grants and rate relief; agile working; virtual meetings; maintaining services – e.g. social work, cleansing services and on-line library services; the closure of some services – libraries; leisure services; Atkinson; the establishment of support infrastructure for clinically vulnerable shielding residents including emergency food support, basic care needs and delivery of medicines; staff volunteering to work in other departments; the ordering of significant amounts of PPE; and communications

·        Key statistics so far which included grants paid totalling almost £45M to over 4,000 businesses; support provided to  over 3,000 Sefton residents who were considered extremely vulnerable and  in need of shielding; 1,000 Sefton residents who had registered as volunteers and Sefton Councillors who had been actively been involved in contacting over 3,000 households; the redeployment of over 500 Officers to support alternative service areas to meet new or additional demands; almost 1000 lab-confirmed positive Covid cases in Sefton being reported; and tragically over 278 people had died in Sefton of Covid 19

·        Support for residents and communities and the Council’s workforce in relation to children social care and youth services; schools and early years services; adult social care; public health; the provision of temporary accommodation to over 140 homeless households; highways; cultural activities; economic and business support; Registrars; refuse services; Contact centre; shielded residents; Voluntary Sector partnership and support; and elected members visiting socially isolated residents

·        The economic impacts in Sefton which included 27,700 jobs furloughed in the borough as at 31st May 2020 and that financial support for 8,500 self-employed individuals had been provided; and details of the potential job losses in various employment sectors;

·        Core objectives for recovery planning which included the development and implementation of a recovery plan for the borough that supported delivery of the partnership 2030 vision for Sefton, the Council’s effectiveness in its role in that plan, including maximising opportunity for transformation and continuous improvement and collaborative work with partners to develop and implement this plan, ensuring prioritisation of shared objectives and the 2030 Vision; the return to local democracy of meetings of Planning Committee and Cabinet and work to restart meetings of Overview and Scrutiny Committees; supporting the implementation of strategies for our town centres and business areas; and the capturing and sharing lessons learned from the response and recovery;

·        The strategic approach to recovery which included addressing, in all areas, the key questions of what have we had to start doing that we will need to stop doing, what have we started doing that we want to continue with, what have we stopped doing that we need to restart and what have we stopped doing that we don’t want to restart; and continuing to work towards the 2030 Vision for Sefton; and

·        A progress update regarding recovery planning.

Decision Made:

That:

Reasons for Decision:

To outline the impact of COVID-19 on existing services and their current and future operations, along with the financial implications of these impacts and potential changes; and to ensure Cabinet Member visibility and continued engagement in response, recovery, and future financial planning.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

None.

Following on from the above report and presentation Councillor Maher, Leader of the Council, referred to the impact of Covid-19 and its devastating consequences on our communities here in Sefton; and tragically, that many Sefton residents had lost their lives due to the pandemic.

The Cabinet then observed a minute’s silence in memory of the 278 Sefton residents who have died from Covid-19.