Council Status
The pandemic clearly requires a change in our ways of working and that is being accepted, with essentially 100% of the staff working from home. The overall response is managed through the emergency response structure with a number of management “Cells” with County, District and other agency staff each looking after a specific service area. Those who have been re-deployed to teams where demand is high are working enthusiastically and absence is lower than in normal times.
My impression is that the officers have risen to the Covid 19 challenge, the senior staff really have a grip on their areas, have a command of their subjects and, for the most part, are doing a good job. There are some services where it is difficult to be sure what issues exist and why. The spread of the virus in care homes is a case in point, but action to put the necessary testing in place has been taken and we are told that residents leaving hospital are assumed to have Covid until testing proves that they don’t.
The Government has reported the number of care homes which have suffered Covid 19 outbreaks. In Ipswich it is 70% and in Mid Suffolk 55% with some 91 deaths in care homes across the county between April 4th and May 1st. When scrutiny looks at quality of the response, we will examine these numbers and make comparisons.
The take up of school places for children of essential workers and those from disadvantaged families is low. That is a concern and the Children and Young People service is trying to establish if the numbers can be improved.
Latest Government advice is available here: www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Latest SCC information is available here: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/
Council meetings in the COVID-19 era
Council committee meetings ceased when the lockdown commenced but briefings switched online. However, the Government has made it legal to hold meetings online and formal council meetings are recommencing. We will be holding the first online Scrutiny meeting on Tuesday 12th May.
So far online meetings appear to work well, certainly briefings and pre-meetings, but we must ensure that the perception that we are losing vital democratic challenge does not grow. Members of the public will be able to participate via the system we are using, Microsoft Teams Live. The link will be published on the agenda. We are not using the popular Zoom that has some superior features but is believed to have security issues. However, I can attend your meetings by using Zoom on my own PC or the Zoom web app.
If meetings are cancelled, the Chief Executive will use her emergency powers to make any necessary decisions on behalf of the Cabinet/Council through the delegated decision-making process. Details of any decisions made will be published on the SCC website.
Finance
Clearly the County is facing a major financial risk, as is the rest of local government and business. It has paid up front for a number of the services it finances, like care for the elderly, to help the cash flow of the businesses concerned. It will of course suffer from reduced income for services it provides. The wholly owned companies, Vertas, Concertus and Opus are clearly at risk, but unlike the situation in some district councils, they are not a major element of county income. The largest risk must be, that as the economy has turned down by some 25%, people not protected by Government schemes will lose their jobs and cease to pay council tax. Business rates are at risk but have of course been waived for the year by the Government.
The finance portfolio holder is at present assuming that the Government meets it promises of support, but we are beginning to see action being taken by some councils, Ipswich for instance, to reduce expenditure by furloughing staff.
Suffolk County Council has received two tranches from the Government’s two £1.6billion support packages for local Government: £20.7m and £14m, a total of £34.7m to help with the council’s coronavirus response. However, the council is currently forecasting that the financial impact of the crisis will be at least £56m so more support will be needed.
Supply of PPE
Through one of the emergency response Cells, Suffolk County Council is supplying emergency PPE to all primary care providers and other services who are unable or struggling to source their own supplies. Questions about ordering PPE should be sent to PPE@suffolk.gov.uk. Information on who is eligible, and how to make an order, is available at: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/suffolks-response/personal-protective-equipment-for-frontline-workers/
PPE has been, as you are all aware, a major national problem but county councillors have been assured that although supply is rather hand to mouth no one has run out in Suffolk. We will be scrutinising the response later in the year but by then it will be too late for any action.
Street closures to protect walkers/cyclists exercising outdoors
To ensure that walkers and cyclists can exercise safely and maintain social distancing, my group are encouraging Suffolk County Council to close roads that are used by residents to get their daily exercise. The administration has indicated that it is willing to consider these closures and have already closed Ipswich Waterfront to through-traffic for 3 weeks. Government grants are available for these actions and as I wrote this on Saturday Grant Shapps was extolling the virtues of cycling and walking to work.
If you have suggestions for roads that could benefit from a temporary closure, please let me know and I will pass it on to the Cabinet Member.
Delay to review of Suffolk County Council boundaries
The Boundary Commission has announced that it will be delaying the review of Suffolk County Council’s electoral arrangements and division boundaries. The Commission was due to publish its draft recommendations and consult on them between May and July 2020, with the intention of implementing them and the associated reduction in councillor numbers at the 2021 local elections.
Given the delay to the consultation the new arrangements will now not be implemented until 2025.
Cost of post-16 Home to School transport increases by £90
As the Cabinet was unable to meet, plans to increase post-16 school transport charges were approved by the Chief Executive using delegated decision-making powers. The cost of mainstream post-16 school transport has been increased by £90, whilst the cost of post-16 transport for SEND students has increased by £30.
If families are concerned about their ability to pay they can apply to the 16-19 Bursary Fund. This is managed by post-16 providers and can support eligible disadvantaged young people with up to £1,200.
Increase in social worker pay
Suffolk County Council has agreed to increase the pay of children’s social workers to match that offered by neighbouring councils, in order to attract and retain skilled social workers in Suffolk. It is estimated that the pay increase will cost £1.4m and will be funded from council reserves.
I am pleased that the council has taken this step. The pay differential has been a problem for a considerable time and my group proposed this exact policy as part of our budget amendment in February.