Agenda item

Covid-19 Recovery Governance Framework

(To receive a report from Andrew McLean (Assistant Director – Transformation) and Dan Quinn (Assistant Chief Fire Officer), which provides an overview of the partnership approach and governance arrangements to manage Lincolnshire's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic)

Minutes:

During this item, Councillor C S Macey declared a personal interest as he worked in the tourism industry.

 

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Corporate Recovery, which provided an overview of the partnership approach and governance arrangements to manage Lincolnshire's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Members were advised that as well as serious implications for people’s health and public services, Covid-19 had impacted on the economy and the recovery approach would need to be considered against an uncertain economic backdrop, which was compounded by an increase in demand in areas of service activity such as social care teams, wellbeing services and infection control.

 

Lincolnshire had identified three phases of recovery: Phase 1, reset (stabilisation); Phase 2, redesign (economic and social renewal) and Phase 3, renewal.

 

The Board was informed of the strategic objectives that had been implemented; governance arrangements and local outbreak management arrangements, which were all set out in the report.

 

Members considered the report, and during the discussion the following points were noted:

 

·         Members raised concerns over the recovery of theatre arts following the Covid-19 pandemic and questioned how the Council would support the industry throughout the recovery process. In response, it was noted that the business and economy cell were engaging with the business community including the entertainment industry. The Assistant Director – Corporate Recovery agreed to raise the concerns of the Board with the business and economy cell to ensure that the theatre industry was being equally considered within conversations and engagement.

·         The pandemic had seen some opportunity to improve service delivery for the people of Lincolnshire as the country moved forward into the recovery stage of the pandemic as the 'new normal'.

·         There was recognition that there was reasonable provision for Covid-19 testing within Lincolnshire. The Chief Executive advised that there was a large testing site based at the Lincolnshire Showground, as well as some mobile sites across the county. The Council had raised concerns over the delay in obtaining test and trace data from a national to local level, as the delay in the Council obtaining the data was around two to four days. It was hoped that going forward, data would be also be provided to District Councils to enable councils to be more responsive. Assurance had been given by central government that local data would be available by the end of the day.

·         The Board commended the ways that the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum and other services had come together to form a fantastic partnership response to the pandemic.

·         Officers recognised that a second wave of the virus was a threat to Lincolnshire. An action plan had been agreed in the case of a second wave to ensure that all partners were as prepared as possible in the case of a local outbreak. Plans included reassuring communities and keeping residents and partners fully informed. 

·         Officers emphasised the importance of managing threats, risk and harm and communicating a clear message to the public about safe distancing in an attempt to avoid major incidents being declared like there had been in other areas of the country. 

·         Senior Officers were looking into ways that staff would return to office based working in the future. The transformational change programme would investigate the benefits of home working as part of the way that the Council delivered services. There was an ambition to fully understand how agile working could be used to support communities and staff efficiently and effectively.

·         The Business and Economy Cell had produced a recovery plan and was working with businesses to ensure that the tourism industry was supported during the recovery process.

·         The Board was advised that the Council would look to maximise support to all business, including those in the tourism sector, to help them to access support, utilising all opportunities to maximise investment in Lincolnshire. Officers were being proactive to communicate key messages to local businesses.

·         The Covid-19 pandemic had not resulted in a surge in reported cases of Domestic Violence in Lincolnshire, however there were on-going anxieties that incidents of domestic violence were not as visible as they were prior to the pandemic. Officers were working hard to ensure that the same level of support was maintained throughout the pandemic.

·         Officers welcomed Members views on how the Council could work more effectively with regards to the challenges posed by the pandemic and how the Council could work going forward.

·         Members emphasised the importance of working with communities and ensuring that community plans were in place to prepare for any future challenges.

·         It was agreed that a further report be scheduled for the meeting of the Board on 27 August 2020 to allow the Board to monitor the progress of the Council's recovery.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That the Board considered the report and provided feedback, as detailed above;

2.    That a further report be scheduled for the meeting of the Board on the 27 August 2020 to allow the Board to monitor the progress of the Council's recovery.

           

 

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