Minutes:
The Chair welcomed the Leader of the Councillor and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources to the meeting. The Chief Executive had submitted his apologies but had offered to meet with both the Chair and Vice-Chair if there were any issues that they wished to discuss.
Members received a presentation, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, from the Director of Strategy and Partnerships on the Council’s ongoing response to the COVID 19 pandemic The Director outlined the content of the presentation, with particular focus on slide 5, and advised that Harrow had moved into Tier 2 of the Local Covid Alert Levels and that the situation was getting more challenging. In terms of the strategic response (slide 10), the expectation currently was that the situation would continue for a minimum of six months. He emphasised the issues of capacity and resilience of staff and flagged up that difficult decisions would need to be made in relation to the Council’s priorities. An update report would be given at Cabinet in November and officers were happy to report again to the Committee.
The Leader of the Council updated Members on the latest figures in terms of case numbers. Whilst the Council was in a good position in terms of dealing with the second wave, it should be acknowledged that staff had not had a break from dealing with the ongoing pressures of the pandemic. If infection rates across London did not reduce it was likely that Harrow, along with the other boroughs, would move into Tier 3.
In response to a Member’s question about moving between tiers of restrictions, the Leader advised that it had been agreed, across London, that it would be easier to proceed as one city to ensure commonality of communications and therefore Harrow would not seek a differentiated approach. He acknowledged that financial support in Tier 2 would be an issue. Currently, the Council was seeking to guide residents and businesses and was making preparations in terms of Adult Social Care and the community food offer but the detailed work on which services to either prioritise or close had not been completed. The Director added that services would need to be delivered within both financial and staff resources whilst at the same time continuing to keep staff motivated. Innovation in the way services were delivered may be required.
Concern was expressed in relation to the resilience and wellbeing of staff and clarification sought on the measures that had been put in place to address this. The Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development (HROD) explained that, in addition to the individual risk assessments and constant reviews, the staff Pulse survey would gauge the progress that had been made now that the level of support had improved by way of IT and the successful rollout of MS Teams. There was now a focus on wellbeing and mental health with a series of webinars due to be launched. It was recognised that staff maybe experiencing increased levels of anxiety and may also face issues such as domestic abuse, as had been highlighted as impacting on many people during lockdown.
The Director of HROD advised that the quality / levels of communication between managers and shielding staff was being considered but it was clear that managers were doing well in terms of encouraging and supporting a safe return to work of staff in that category. The promotion of more social interaction between staff by way of ‘coffee rooms’, networks around crafts and sports for example, and how this could be facilitated was also being considered.
Members asked a series of questions which were responded to as follows:
· all business continuity plans had been ‘stress tested’ in March on the basis of staff being off work due to COVID 19 .The roll out of new devices had assisted as staff would be able to continue working if they had to self-isolate and were not unwell. Business continuity plans were being reviewed again ahead of the next wave of the pandemic;
· during the first wave, staff were stretched and were therefore requested to take annual leave during the summer. It was recognised that annual leave was important in order to remain productive and staff were still being encouraged to take it;
· lessons had been learnt in terms of setting up the local testing site in South Harrow and this would be applied to future sites. Officers had tried to ensure that residents were fully aware that centres were ‘walk in’. The Chair indicated that it would be helpful to have details of the numbers tested included on the Councillors weekly update;
· the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) was a funding stream from government with the aim of encouraging people to go back to the high street. Members of the Committee had differing opinions and feedback from residents on the LTNs. The Leader advised that the widening of pavements would mean people could pass by each other safely whilst the virus was circulating but this would be continually reviewed;
· in terms of schools, there were ongoing assessments in terms of COVID 19 and the Council was working with the schools to support where they could;
· funding had been provided to assist with accommodating the homeless during the pandemic but this had now ended, although further funding might be forthcoming. Rules in relation to evictions had been relaxed but shelters could not be located in churches as they were not COVID safe. The Council had appointed a new Housing Manager who would look at this issue, together with the impact of mental health/ domestic violence/ family breakdown, but there was a shortage of genuinely affordable housing in Harrow . These issues would be considered by the multi-agency Homelessness Action Board. Members expressed the view that this should be discussed at the scrutiny leadership group.
The Chair thanked officers for the presentation and stated that it was pleasing that members of the Committee were concerned about the welfare of staff.
RESOLVED: That the presentation be noted.