Agenda item

Officer: Jo Negrini

Key decision: no

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To note the report and the activities of the Council working with partners to respond to the impacts of Covid-19 across Croydon.

The Chief Executive gave a presentation and stated that the council was still responding to the pandemic, maintaining the Gold and Silver command arrangements, and focusing on supporting the shielded community. The council continued to support the care homes, in particular with infection control, which had been a key focus throughout the whole pandemic response. It was also noted that the town and district centre had been safely reopened.

The Chief Executive explained that 90% of business as usual had been delivered throughout the pandemic, including March 2020, and the services that were closed were beginning to reopen. Bernard Weatherill House was opening from 1 July 2020, along with the libraries select and collect scheme and leisure centres. The first services to reopen were household waste and recycling centres and the registry office, all of which were compliant with the COVID-19 health and safety guidance.

The three key priorities were: shielded residents, and insuring the correct support was being given to the 14,814 identified residents; test and trace; and outbreak management.

New Local Government powers had been given from 18 July 2020 to minimise the virus’s risk to the public and prevent its spread. It was highlighted to Cabinet that the Council may now:? restrict access to, or close, individual premises (except where the premises form part of essential infrastructure); prohibit certain events (or types of event) from taking place; and restrict access to, or close, public outdoor places (or types of outdoor public places)?.

The Chief Executive further highlighted to Cabinet the financial issues the council was facing; financial issues had been identified before COVID-19 and 2020-21 was predicted to be a challenging time in terms of funding, and the council had large savings ambitions. It was noted that the Government was now backtracking on the COVID-19 funding commitments made. The Finance Review Panel has been established, and the staff reduction of 15% had begun. The majority of London councils were looking at emergency budgeting, and Croydon was in a similar situation, but had low reserves.

The Chief Executive concluded by noting the positive work which had come from the pandemic, including: the strong partnerships, particularly the joint work with the NHS and support given to shielded residents; the digital solutions, which ensured all vulnerable residents were connected within eight days; and the huge commitment from the voluntary community sector.

The Director of Public Health added that there had been relatively low reported cases in Croydon and the recent outbreaks across the UK were informing Croydon of how to shape their outbreak control plan to prevent an outbreak in Croydon. Public Health had been scenario testing too, in particular with high risk places: care homes, schools, places of worship and the NHS.

The Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs explained to the Cabinet that the council had been supporting the reopening of local businesses by distributing grants from the Discretionary Grant Fund, supporting the changes to street trading licences in regards to on street furniture, and establishing an Economic Sustainability Group to support the recovery process. The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share) noted that the Economic Sustainability Group had begun to look at deliverable ideas to help businesses, and also to help residents feel confident using public spaces again.

The Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care expressed that her thoughts were with all the families who were affected by COVID-19 and thanked the staff for putting residents first, before their own friends and family, to ensure the residents were protected and cared for. She noted the importance of social distancing to prevent a second wave within the borough. It was explained to the Cabinet that many challenges remain due to the damaged economy and livelihood. Social care was underfunded before COVID-19 and she hoped Government made a decision this year to support the most vulnerable going forward.

In response to questions from the Shadow Cabinet Members, the Director of Public Health explained that the local outbreaks were being monitored, and patterns were beginning to form; Public Health were working on range of scenarios, in particular around multigenerational residencies, care homes and high-rise blocks.

The Shadow Cabinet raised queries regarding local businesses still waiting for their grant and were suffering. In response the Leader stated that the council would not issue cheques through the post, as it was crucial to ensure a high level of diligence to ensure the money was received by the correct people, as anything distributed incorrectly would not be refunded. He added that Chris Philp MP had praised the council for their support of local businesses. The Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs further explained that all businesses who had applied for a grant had been approached and some were no longer operating, and a number of businesses were not a rate payer on 11 March 2020; she hoped these businesses would still be liable for a grant and each business was being worked with individually. The Shadow Cabinet member expressed that local businesses needed to be promoted and supported during this time, and he noted concern for Croydon being in the bottom 10% in the country for paying out the Discretionary Grant Fund.

The Cabinet Member for Safer Croydon & Communities echoed all the comments thanking the council and voluntary sector staff. She explained to Cabinet that there was a sub-group of the Local Strategic Partnership which was tackling inequalities, specifically in regards to health, and the council had begun formal consultation on tackling inequalities.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning explained that she had a meeting with young people regarding the Legacy Youth Zone and it was agreed that the creation of a social media platform for young people to raise their voices of concerns regarding COVID-19 would be beneficial. The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share) agreed with Councillor Flemming and echoed the point that young people played in important role during this time. He noted concern for the young people losing their transport passes.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share) explained that the safe reopening of town and district centres reopening had been important and that they were continuing to promote active travel across the borough; low traffic streets had introduced mph limits, residents were being encouraged to use bicycles, and a very positive response had been received to the new bike lane along London Road, outside Croydon University Hospital.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment & Air Quality noted that the withdrawal of free transport for under 18s transport was a temporary measure to prevent ridership, and he hoped to see this reverse once it was safe. He also expressed concern for the semi-segregated cycle tracks as these could cause tailbacks in quieter areas; he suggested environmental assessments could be completed to gage the effects. The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (Job Share) thanked Councillor Simon Hoar for his comments but noted that in some areas a range of different cycle route types were required to suit all abilities. He explained that he would monitor to see if drivers were using alternative routes along Brighton Road.

In response to a query raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care in regards to shielded residents, the Chief Executive explained that the Government had identified approximately 700 vulnerable residents and this was in addition to the residents the council supported during business as usual. The Chief Executive encouraged Councillors to continue referring residents to Adult Social Services if they had concern. The Director of Public Health noted that well-funded social care was so important and COVID-19 ad highlighted this/

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To note the report and the activities of the Council working with partners to respond to the impacts of Covid-19 across Croydon.