Agenda item

Cllr Phil Bateman, Chair of the Review, introduced the report. Cllr Bateman explained that the review was undertaken in response to a period of heavy rainfall in May 2018 which caused flash flooding in parts of Wolverhampton.

Cllr Bateman advised that Scrutiny Board agreed to set up the review to investigate the Council’s response to the flooding and effectiveness of the emergency planning arrangements. The overall aim of the review was to make recommendations to improve the response of the Council to future extreme weather-related events.

There were specific concerns about the communications problems experienced over the weekend when key people could not be contacted by local councillors for advice and information needed to respond to calls from residents affected by the flooding.

The work of the review was supported by Dr Chris Bradley, University of Birmingham, who gave detailed evidence about issues of managing flood water in an urban setting.

Cllr Bateman commented on concerns expressed about the proposed changes gulley cleaning programme and the importance of drain clearance to reduce the level of flooding. Cllr Bateman commented on the responsibilities of Severn Trent Water (STW) and expressed concern about the delay in providing a response to present evidence to the review about the work done before and during the flooding incident. Cllr Bateman wanted assurance that STW would be monitored to check that it is meeting their legal responsibilities in respect of flood management work.

The Board welcomed the report and thanked Cllr Bateman and other members of the review group for their work. The panel commented on the importance of having a reliable communication system to deal with emergency situations. The Chair invited John Denley, Director of Public Health, to respond to the findings and recommendations in the review report.

The Director of Public Health outlined a range of changes to local emergency resilience arrangements in response to the issues highlighted during the review. The work was being done as part of a wider review of emergency planning and resilience responses. The Director Public Health outlined the key stages in response to an emergency incident and changes made to the out of hours cover arrangements. The new arrangements were tested, and the findings used to feed into a much wider review of the service.

The Board discussed the problems caused to homes as result of flooding and concern about the risks arising due to contaminated water entering homes. The Board discussed the issue of planning regulations and consideration was given to how flood risk will be managed when assessing applications for new developments.

The Board highlighted the importance of learning from the experience of neighbouring local authorities who are likely to have similar problems in managing flood water. The Board commented on the important community leader role of Councillors and the role that they can have in responding to calls from the public.

The Board commented on the responsibility of Public Health to monitor possible risk of groundwater contamination as a result of flooding and the importance of the Council working with the Environment Agency.

The Director of Public Health advised the panel of changes made to check and respond to emergency emails received out of hours to avoid the issue highlighted in the review report. The Board were advised that a Resilience Forum had been set up with representatives from across the City and of the progress made to develop an action plan. The Director of Public Health advised that that a WhatsApp distribution group had been set up to deal with communication problems experienced at the time. The use of social media would be in addition to existing communication methods to alert key people.

The Board commented that it was estimated that 50% of the population did not have access to social media and the majority of calls to Councillors over the weekend had used their telephone. The Board suggested that other means of alerting the public need to be considered.

The Director of Public Health acknowledged the importance of effective communication during an emergency and advised the Board that the Director of Communication was leading on this work to look at alternatives. Furthermore, the Managing Director was arranging a round of Ward visits to meet local residents to build relationships and communication links. The Director of Public Health acknowledged the important community assurance role of local councillors and invited members of the Board to contribute to future resident meetings.

The Board discussed the importance of gulley maintenance and related preventative work, to reduce the risk of damage from tree roots. The Board discussed the need for real time data on the level of flood risk. The Board were advised that residents can register for flood alerts on Severn Trent Water. The Director of Public Health accepted the issue of poor mobile phone reception areas and reassured the Board of the work being done to ensure a reliable service.

Resolved:

            The Board agreed to approve the recommendations of the review report.