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Report of Deputy Chief Executive – Transformation and Operations Author: Adrianna Partridge E-mail: adrianna.partridge@southandvale.gov.uk Wards affected: N/A |
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Cabinet member responsible: Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers (South) Maggie.Filipova-Rivers@southoxon.gov.uk Mob: 07850 141623 Cllr Helen Pighills (Vale) helen.pighills@whitehorsedc.gov.uk Tel: 01235 534446 Date: South: 10 March 2022, Vale: 8 March 2022 |
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Covid response update and next steps
Purpose of Report
1. To update Cabinet on the councils Covid-19 community and business support response activity to date, and on the agreed staff structure to continue the councils’ response and to progress the recovery programmes.
2. That Cabinet supports the principles outlined within the attached Oxfordshire Covid-19 Recovery and Renewal Framework.
Corporate Plan Measures
Background
4. The councils’ response to supporting residents and businesses through the pandemic, involved establishing a South and Vale Community Support Hub in June 2020, and the refocussing of council services to ensure that support could be effectively provided to residents and businesses throughout the pandemic.
5. Initially support for residents was very practical around contact, the collection of prescriptions and delivery of food parcels to members of the community who in the main were classed as clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) and had been advised to shield to limit their exposure to the Covid-19 virus by government. Grants to businesses were also issued at pace, to assist them to operate under Covid-19 restrictions. As the pandemic has progressed, the councils’ response has widened to a number of support activities.
6. A summary of the support activities undertaken is below, with more detail presented in Appendix One, Two and Three. These activities were delivered by South and Vale staff in co-ordination with partners across the Oxfordshire system.
· Grant schemes: researching, designing, establishing and administering the following grant schemes for individuals, families, Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and businesses:
o Emergency Assistance Grants (EAG)
o Winter Support Grant (WSG)
o Covid Support Grant (CSG)
o Household Support Grant (HSG)
o Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG)
o Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG)
o Omicron Hospitality, Leisure & accommodation Grant (OHLG)
o Test and Trace Support Payments (TTSP)
o Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF)
o Covid-19 emergency councillor grant (South and Vale)
o Covid-19 councillor grants (South only)
o Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Transportation Grant
o Co-ordination of Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) budget and bids
· Voucher support - distributing supermarket vouchers for test and trace support payments (TTSP) recipients.
· Welfare check calls - undertaking outbound calls to TTSP recipients and welfare check calls to those self- isolating and dealing with inbound referrals needing further support - calls, emails, webform.
· Community site visits – to support the national and local approach for the test and trace system and to check that CEV residents who had not responded to previous telephone contacts to offer support were ok.
· Food parcel provision - proving food parcels to support vulnerable residents.
· System co-ordination – organising mutual aid staffing requests to support health partners in the delivery of the vaccination programme.
· Quarantine Hotels - transporting PCR tests to/from quarantine hotels.
· Research and development – leading for Oxfordshire to support the system wide CEV recovery programme.
· Community food network - liaison with network partners and input into strategy work.
· Proactive communications - campaigns ran throughout the year supporting the practical response work of teams and engaged residents with Covid safety and support messages.
Current and future working arrangements
7. The councils’ role has evolved over time and currently the community support hub mainly provides direct support via a range of grant funded schemes to those struggling financially to afford food and basic supplies such as heating and power. Also, staff provide signposting advice and guidance to anyone in the community who asks for it regarding a wide range of issues such as wellbeing, mental health and financial support.
8. To support the national test and trace initiative Environmental Health staff undertake visits to those who have tested positive to encourage compliance with quarantine obligations and request the individuals make contact with the Oxfordshire test and trace team (OxLOCT). They have also conducted proactive district town reviews to check for general compliance levels and have provided guidance to businesses for the county wide ventilation project. Support for businesses is currently in place through the provision of advice and guidance, the discretionary Winter Support Grant and Covid safe networking events. Additional support for small businesses using COMF funding to provide an e-commerce platform is planned shortly.
9. Initially the South and Vale community hub was established up to the end of March 2021, then this was extended to the end of March 2022. However, given the ongoing nature of the pandemic and negative impacts on vulnerable residents, the structure as set out in Appendix Four has been extended to the end of March 2023 using COMF funding. Support capacity for other teams will be met by a combination of existing resources and additional staff funded through COMF.
10. The attached Oxfordshire Covid-19 Recovery and Renewal Framework as set out in Appendix Five sets out an approach for efficiently and effectively co-ordinating resources as appropriate, for recovery and renewal activities across the county. The framework for recovery and renewal is arranged around three key aims:
· Consolidating recovery and building resilience: Protecting key services and keeping social life and the economy open by sustaining our system response to COVID-19 and working together on addressing new pressures. This includes changes to service delivery as well as ways of working e.g. engagement with Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), businesses and key partners.
· Addressing the unequal impact of COVID-19: Proactively using qualitative and quantitative data and insight to identify the groups most impacted across a range of cross-cutting issues, beyond the immediate impact on health, and tackling impact with a focus on the total strengths and needs of individuals and families
· Supporting renewal: Identifying new approaches and activities underpinned by the lessons we have learnt to date, building Oxfordshire’s resilience, not only against future waves of the pandemic but also in terms of economic and community resilience to wider societal challenges including climate change and ecological impacts.
11. Across the three themes, two cross cutting priorities are recognised as needing to inform recovery and renewal thinking across the county:
· Climate change action
Championing climate action across the County as we work together to address climate change, build climate resilience and support nature recovery.
· Tackling inequality
Driving equal access and delivery of support across all local communities, narrowing health, social and educational inequalities and tackling poverty.
12. By supporting the Oxfordshire framework, system partners are committing to collaborate and co-ordinate where it is beneficial to do so, and therefore drive delivery through partnership working:
· Support for the framework will ensure continued system partnership working, established during Covid-19 and extending to recovery and renewal initiatives.
· Through partnership working, it has and will further enable aligned allocation and delivery of grant funding as quickly and efficiently as possible.
· System oversight will facilitate collaboration and wherever possible reduce duplication of delivery efforts and initiatives.
· It will enable Oxfordshire partners to work together to recover from the impacts of COVID and implement changes in the light of what we have learnt for our communities, organisations and partnerships.
13. The framework has been scripted by Oxfordshire County Council, but developed in partnership through the Silver system group, which includes representatives from public sector partners across Oxfordshire, and has been endorsed by the Oxfordshire system chiefs group.
14. In response to the framework being supported by Cabinets, officers will review existing corporate plan activities, and will assess how they align to the Oxfordshire recovery themes identified.
15. To ensure efficient use of resources and avoid duplication it is proposed to report progress on the councils’ recovery and renewal actions, by expanding the current Covid-19 Response and Recovery theme in the established quarterly corporate plan reporting.
Options
16. There is no legal obligation to support the principles of the Oxfordshire Recovery and Renewal Framework, however doing so is a positive action demonstrating the councils’ commitment to working with other public sector partners and the voluntary sector to support residents and businesses as they continue to adapt and live with Covid.
Climate and ecological impact implications
17. All activities included in the existing corporate plan delivery plans have been assessed for their climate and ecological impact, and there are not considered to be any additional adverse impacts by supporting the principles within the Oxfordshire Recovery and Renewal Framework.
Financial Implications
18. Any additional activities undertaken as a result of support for the principles of the recovery and renewal framework will be fully grant funded or covered by existing resources as set out in the Corporate Plan delivery plans. Where resources are not available, activities will not be undertaken. Therefore, it is considered that there are no additional financial implications by supporting the principles of this framework.
Equalities and Diversity implications
19. The Recovery and Renewal framework outlines the unequal impact of COVID and notes the need for additional analysis to fully understand the direct and indirect impacts. Activity already underway through the Oxfordshire system, for example on health inequality, vaccine outreach and support to homeless individuals, is directly addressing equality and inclusion as it relates to COVID-19. In the development and delivery of the themes set out within the framework and the progression of partnership planning and delivery activity, the assessment of the equality impact will be required.
Legal Implications
20. Supporting the principles of the Oxfordshire Recovery and Renewal Framework neither imposes nor infers any additional obligations on the council and it is therefore considered that there are no legal implications.
Risks
21. The only risk considered pertinent to supporting the principles or otherwise of this framework would be a possible reputational one amongst partner organisations were the councils not to support the framework and not take advantage of the opportunities and synergies that a partnership approach provides.
Other implications
22. There are not considered to be any other implications.
Conclusion
23. That Cabinet note the councils Covid-19 community support response activity to date and the agreed staff structure to continue the response and progress the recovery programmes, and that Cabinet supports the principles outlined within the attached Oxfordshire Covid-19 Recovery and Renewal Framework.
Background Papers
· Appendix One – Community Hub activity statistics to December 2021 (see below)
· Appendix Two – South business support grant activity statistics to December 2021
· Appendix Three – Vale business support grant activity statistics to December 2021
· Appendix Four – Proposed Community Support Hub Structure
· Appendix Five – Oxfordshire Recovery and Renewal Framework (separately attached)
