Agenda item

Update on the response to the Covid-19 Crisis and Plans for Recovery

[To receive a presentation from the Director of City Environment on the areas that fall within the remit of the Panel relating to the Council’s response to the Covid-19 Crisis and Plans for Recovery].

Minutes:

The Director for City Environment gave a presentation on the Directorate’s response to the Covid-19 crisis and the plans for recovery.  He thanked all the staff and teams across the City Environment Directorate for their work during the pandemic.  The key focus had been to maintain the frontline services.  A major priority had been to ensure public and employee safety.  Key checks and risk assessments taking into account all the relevant national guidance had been undertaken.  They used their work they had completed on business continuity to consider which services could still continue.  They had at one point closed the HWRCs (Household Waste and Recycling Centre) and markets and suspended bulky waste collections based on a wide range of considerations around Public Health and the safety of staff and residents. 

 

The Director for City Environment commented that as part of the shielding programme they had identified the residents which needed extra support during the pandemic.  On 23 March 2020 they had launched the “Stay Safe, Be Kind” hotline.  This hotline was crucial for vulnerable residents and provided support such as for emergency food parcels, help with shopping and medication and debt advice.  The Food Hub had been setup at Aldersley Leisure Village and was officially launched on 31 March 2020.  Staff had been redeployed to work at the food hub from across different Council departments.  Considerable thought had been given to the food parcels nutritional content to ensure residents could maintain a healthy diet during the pandemic.  In total 1.2 million meals were delivered by the Food Hub to approximately 7,500 people who were shielding.  They had also supported the City food banks and 800-1000 food parcels were now being delivered. 

 

The Director for City Environment remarked that a crucial workstream had been supporting vulnerable homeless people.  Within 72 hours a new hostel had been established within the City.  Over 150 people had been supported, with 100 of those successfully supported into appropriate, safe and suitable accommodation.  The hostel had been a good example of partnership working and considerable learning had been taken on board for future years. 

 

The Director for City Environment stated that there had been 230,000 customer service contacts since the start of March.  The entire contact centre staff of 103 employees had been working remotely.  The phone call abandoned rate was at 5% which was far better than their target of 15%.  The markets had begun reopening from the 9 May in a three phased approach.  The crucial part of re-opening the markets had been to ensure that correct social distancing measures had been put in place.  Occupancy and footfall to the markets was continuing to increase.

 

The Director for City Environment remarked that all general, recycling and green waste had continued throughout the pandemic.  The passenger transport service had supported the crews to ensure the waste collection workers were kept safe, meaning they did not all have to travel together in the same cabin.  The HWRCs had been closed but reopened on 11 May and 1 June.  Positive feedback had been received on the traffic and site management of the site.  He was pleased that the decision was taken to keep the parks open.  Enforcement Officers had been on patrol to advise and reassure the public. 

 

The Director for City Environment commented that it had been a very demanding and difficult time for the Bereavement Team.  Initial restrictions on cemetery visiting times had been relaxed.  Many services moved online, including death registrations.  At one point there had been 1200 births awaiting registration, as the Government had not changed the rules on how a birth could be registered. 

 

The Director for City Environment remarked that the Highways Team carried out significant work during the pandemic.  The Smart LED programme had continued with over 2,500 streetlights upgraded to LED with smart sensors.  They had successfully obtained funds from the emergency active travel fund.  This had enabled them to reshape the City Centre and provide more space for people coming into the City Centre.  Part of the money from this fund had been used to establish a new crossing to the Molineux football stadium on the ring road.  The School transport service had continued during the lockdown period, with about 40% of children who would normally use the service continuing to do so during the timeframe.  Everyone who needed to use the service had been able to do so. 

 

The Director for City Environment stated that the City had been allocated £234,488 from an ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) to ‘Reopen High Streets,’ which had commenced on the 15 June.  A team from across City Environment with support from partners had made alterations to shopping street layouts, introduced a one-way pedestrian system in the City Centre and worked with businesses to ensure they were Covid secure.  This had included producing publicity material to advise shoppers and support retailers, providing infrastructure where needed, marshalling spaces once retailers opened and liaising with street traders.  In the later part of the project, the team had also given out face coverings to the general public as the new rules were introduced in England.  The team had also supported Central Mosque in their plans to reopen and supplied barriers to control access.  When the hospitality industry was allowed to reopen in July, the team had supported them on plans for queueing and any other challenges. 

 

The Director for City Environment remarked that they were thinking about how they could deliver frontline services differently moving into the future and as to what residents expected from those services.  Licensing and Trading standards had been critical to ensure that people felt safe.  They were continuing to work on markets.  They were looking at the climate change commitments and how the pandemic had affected the outlook.  Customer services might change in the future, as would the housing and homelessness services.    

 

The Portfolio Holder for City Environment commented that it should not be underestimated the remarkable achievements of the Directorate over the last few months.  The City needed to be reimagined in the Covid-19 era.  He paid particularly tribute to the Food Hub, which had been remarkably successful. 

 

The Chair thanked all the staff, volunteers and Councillors that were involved in the Council’s response to the pandemic.  Members of the Panel paid tribute to the work that had taken place.  Members of the Panel gave particular praise to all the people that had worked at the Food Hub and commended the work of Colin Parr for his contribution in the management of the Food Hub.  The Portfolio Holder and Director also added their personal thanks to Colin Parr and the whole Food Hub team.  A Panel Member praised the staff of the waste collection service who were often working late into the evening collecting bins.  When there had been problems with the service, they were pleased with how quickly the problems had been resolved.  It was important to also remember that the pandemic was far from over and planning for the future needed to continue.   A Panel Member paid tribute to Officers of the Senior Management Team who had helped resolve important health issues for some of his constituents during the pandemic. 

 

A Member of the Panel asked about the work that had taken place with partners and if there would be a lessons learnt report in the future to ensure all the good work that had taken place during the pandemic was captured. The Director for City Environment stated that the Council had worked very effectively with partners on a number of projects, including helping the homeless.  They had worked very closely with the Police and the BID (Business Improvement District) on the reopening of the City Centre.  He agreed that lessons learnt was very important and they were trying to capture them.  Part of capturing the lessons learnt was through the Scrutiny process.  All formal decisions had been recorded.  They were trying to learn from the new ways of working and build them into the new priorities moving forward.      

 

A Member of the Panel asked if they were confident the waste service would have enough capacity if there was to be another lockdown.  The Portfolio Holder responded that the safe opening of the HWRC had been important to help relieve pressure.  He was proud that the garden waste collection service had continued, where some authorities had stopped this service.  The staff had been very committed to keeping the service running and adhering to any new Government guidelines.  Some staff had been redeployed from other Council departments to help keep the waste and recycling service operating efficiently.  The Director for City Environment stated that the general missed bin rate was about 1%. The team had worked long hours to ensure bins were emptied.  The waste and recycling team had received many compliments during the pandemic and he had recently received two personal emails from members of the public praising the service.  The staff supporting the front-line services were also critical to the smooth operation of services and he was proud of their work. 

 

The Director for City Environment commented that fly tipping statistically was at a similar level to the same time last year.  People were however more minded to report fly tipping and expect it removed more quickly than before.  They aimed to clear fly tipping incidents within 10 days. 

 

                  

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