Agenda and minutes

Venue: Teams Meeting

Contact: Julia Cleary  Email: julia.cleary@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Note: Please note this meeting will be conducted in line with the The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020. 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Introductions

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting. The Scrutiny Manager will then read out a list of those invited to the meeting to confirm who is in attendance.]

Minutes:

Cllr Paul Sweet, Chair, welcomed everyone to the virtual meeting and advised it was being live streamed to the press and public. A recording of the meeting would be available for viewing on the Council’s website at the end.

 

Cllr Sweet advised that he was not expecting any exempt or restricted items on the agenda. 

2.

Procedure to be followed

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed, how questions are to be asked and any matters of meeting etiquette.]

Minutes:

Cllr Sweet advised that the planned agenda had been changed and other items listed would be deferred to a future date. The only item to be discussed will be the presentation on the Council’s preparation and response to the Covid-19 crisis. Cllr Sweet explained the protocol to be followed during the meeting for asking questions and reminded everyone that microphones should be muted and cameras off, unless they have been invited to speak.

 

David Pattison, Director of Governance, invited all attendees to introduce themselves to confirm they were present at the meeting as required under regulations issued by Government on the management of council remote meetings.

3.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence received.

4.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

5.

Update on the Council's response to the Covid-19 Crisis pdf icon PDF 9 MB

[To update Scrutiny Board on how the Council has responded and will continue to respond to the many challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis, to include:

 

·       Supporting Vulnerable Residents

·       Health

·       Children’s Social Care

·       Education and Schools

·       Front Line Services

·       The Financial Impact of Covid-19

·       The Economic Impact of Covid-19 and Providing Support to City Businesses

·       The Way Forward and Recovery

Minutes:

Cllr Sweet invited Cllr Ian Brookfield, Leader of the Council, to make some introductory remarks to members of the Board.

 

Cllr Brookfield thanked all attendees for participating in the meeting and commented on the important role of scrutiny councillors. Cllr Brookfield expressed his sympathies for local resident affected by coronavirus and highlighted the important role of the Council in supporting families.

 

Cllr Brookfield praised the work of many thousands of local volunteers who have helped people during the crisis.

 

Cllr Brookfield commented on the work done by John Denley, Director of Public Health, in leading the response in preparing plans based on previous disaster emergency scenarios. Cllr Brookfield outlined the range of support offered to residents and businesses, while acknowledging the economic challenges facing the City.

 

Cllr Brookfield stated that the Council will be looking at lessons learnt from the preparation of emergency response plans and members of scrutiny will have an important role in reviewing this work in future meetings. Cllr Brookfield added that as the City moves to a recovery phase there will be an important role for local councils in supporting residents in recognition of the long-term impact of coronavirus.

 

Cllr Sweet invited Tim Johnson, Chief Executive, to make a few introductory remarks to the Board.

 

The Chief Executive wanted to formally place on record his sympathies to residents across the City that have been affected by the pandemic.  The Chief Executive also praised the response from local residents and businesses to requests for help and donations of PPE.

 

The Chief Executive presented a slide which set out the timetable of the Council’s preparation for the pandemic to protect the most vulnerable considered to be at high risk and also the changes made at senior management level to deliver key services to support residents and businesses across the City.

 

Cllr Sweet invited attendees listed below to brief the Board on work done in their respective areas of responsibilities to respond to the crisis. A summary of a comments and or questions from members of the Board in response to individual PowerPoint presentations is included in the relevant sections.

 

Supporting vulnerable people

·       John Denley, Director of Public Health

·       Ross Cook, Director of City Environment

·       David Watts, Director of Adult Services

 

 

 

The Board invited Director of Public Health, John Denley, to give his prognosis of how the impact of coronavirus might impact on the City in the future and plans for managing the disease.

 

The Director of Public Health advised that five months ago it would not have been able to predict the epidemiology of the disease. The response at the time was based on previous plans for managing a flu pandemic but over time knowledge about treatment options has increased the options for managing disease. In the future, as knowledge about the disease increases so will new and more effective treatments for managing the condition will be developed that will allow for the better management of cases locally. This work will also be informed by a range of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Scrutiny - helping to shape the future and create new realities

[To consider the way(s) forward for scrutiny and how it can help to inform and shape recovery and what comes after]

7.

Scrutiny work planning

[To consider setting up a number of scrutiny working groups to focus on specific areas of post covid-19 recovery.]

 

8.

Next Steps

[The Chair to clarify the next steps and any recommendations that have been agreed by the Board.]

9.

Date of next meeting

[The next meeting of Scrutiny Board will be Tuesday 14 July at 18:00]