Agenda item

Oldham's COVID-19 Response

Minutes:

Councillor Shah MOVED and Councillor Fielding SECONDED a report which provided an update on the Council and its partners continued to monitor and manage the spread of the virus as lockdown restrictions were relaxed.

 

COVID-19 was still circulating across the UK and new cases were still being seen across Oldham every day.  There was a clear plan in place in case of an outbreak locally.  The report summarised those plans, demonstrated how the Council and its partners would collectively manage and prevent the spread of COVID-19 across Oldham’s communities.  Work was also ongoing to address the wider impacts of COVID-19, for example, the impact on Oldham’s economy and this would be considered in future update reports.

 

The report highlighted COVID-19 in Oldham with the number of cases, testing, hospital admissions, differences based on ethnicity and age and the number of deaths.  The data on testing and confirmed cases was being analysed and work was also ongoing to quickly identify any disproportionate impacts and potential hot-spots to allow resources to be targeted as detailed in Oldham’s Outbreak Management Plan. 

 

The report also highlighted equality and COVID-19 with analysis and data still being developed.  An Equality Advisory Group had been established to provide insight and expertise to help capture the voice of lived community experience and recovery planning.  The group was meeting regularly to anticipate and identify any discriminatory or negative consequences of the pandemic and help positively respond to any disproportionate impact COVID-19 had on communities. 

 

The report also provided information on Contact Tracing and Outbreak Management Planning which included Oldham’s approach to preventing and managing the spread as well as responding to cases and managing outbreaks.  The report highlighted “Reopening Safely” which including business, town centre signage and the Oldham Library Service.  The report detailed the significant financial impact on Oldham Council.

 

Question received from Councillor Malik:

 

“Can the relevant Cabinet member tell us how many children of key works and vulnerable children attended school and what is the picture across the borough to extending the offer to selected year groups from 1st June?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that Oldham’s schools and colleges had continued to open throughout the Covid period catering for vulnerable pupils and the children and young people of key workers.  Alongside this, home learning had been provided for those not attending school or college.  The exact numbers of vulnerable pupils and children and young people of key workers who attended varied on a daily basis according to shift patterns but built towards 1100 pupils before the wider reopening of primary schools started to take place on 1st June 2020 and had increased further since then as schools widened their opening arrangements.  Primary schools started their wider reopening from 1st June 2020 with all schools increasing the number of children attending.  This had also seen the number of key worker children attending continuing to increase since 1st June 2020.  The DfE guidance for secondary schools meant that the date for wider reopening was Monday, 15th June and then only for pupils in Years 10 and 12.  All secondary schools increased their face to face contact with pupils in line with the guidance.  The most recent daily attendance was just below 6000 pupils and included children of key workers, vulnerable children and those from other selected year groups.

 

Question received from Councillor Davis:

 

“Oldham Council is committed to an inclusive economy and this Council now spends almost 60% of its money locally which is fantastic.  To be truly inclusive, however, residents and local businesses need to play their part too and I know that many in Failsworth, where I live and represent, are keen to.  However, Covid 19 could have a huge impact on local businesses and how many are left after this crisis.  Could the cabinet member confirm how much money has been paid out to individuals and businesses with an M35 post code via the various business grants and support schemes available?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that the Government had provided various financial packages to help support local businesses to survive the lockdown period.  It has not been sufficient to help all local businesses, however, through the Small Business Grant, the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Grants and Discretionary Grant figures, the following was confirmed for the M25 postcode:

·         373 businesses had received the Small Business Grant amounting to £3.73m

·         57 businesses had received the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Grant amounting to £1m

·         13 businesses had received the Discretionary Grant amounting to £4.87m.

 

Question received from Councillor Alyas:

 

“Oldham Council reorganised services very quickly to provide support to vulnerable residents.  Can the relevant Cabinet member outline what was the impact of the work done by the staff in the Community hubs, how effective this has been, and how this might affect the way we work and provide support to the most vulnerable in the future?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that in March 2020, the Council was given a statutory duty to coordinate food, self-care, medical supplies and other forms of necessary assistance to vulnerable groups in response to the pandemic.  Within days, the Council, in partnership with Action Together, had mobilised 5 hubs to coordinate food, medicines, mutual aid, volunteering and community intelligence and an emergency helpline to act as a front door and triage.  Behind this was a comprehensive food distribution network led by Oldham Food Bank and Action Together with support wrapped around from the Council and Oldham Community Leisure (OCL).  The Council quickly recognised that this work needed to go beyond the statutory duties and by week 3 the group had started to co-ordinate clear referrals for vulnerable groups from both the Helpline and the 5 hubs to ensure wider need was being met.  This included Age UK, CAB, Housing Providers, Early Help, Mental Health, Benefits and Advice and Welfare Rights.  As well as Community Pharmacies, Community Health and Adult Social Care, GPs and Schools.  In addition, a wide range of voluntary sector and crisis support had also begun to align to the hub model with the coordination of white goods, furniture, transport and donated items being coordinated between voluntary sector, public services and businesses to complement the food offer.  As of last week, the Council had helped 6,253 residents through the COVID helpline, delivered 5,800 food parcels and sent 17,448 letters to over 70s to check that they were safe and well.  As time goes on calls to the helpline were dropping, but the needs of people were getting more complex and the hubs were taking more from the Helpline, referrals were 50% a month ago, but 68% of calls were now going through for more help.   At the start of the pandemic, the need was coming from people that were isolating, but much of the need now was for people who were in economic crisis and were struggling to cope.  The Council was therefore trying to get more services formally aligned to the hubs to best respond to the needs in the transition from lockdown.  The needed to be done at the same time as being to revert back to crisis mode if needed, such as in the event of a winter lockdown.

 

Question received from Councillor Stretton:

 

“The Government has now announced that extra Government help for people who have been shielding will end on the 31st July.  Has the Government offered any funding to help local authorities support the most vulnerable when central support ends?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that on 10th July the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) advised the Council of its share of £63 million of funding intended to help local authorities to continue to support vulnerable people in communities and those struggling to afford food and other essentials over the coming months due to COVID-19.  The funding allocation model had distributed funds to local authorities on the basis of population weighted by a proxy measure of need, the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for the authority area.  The Council’s allocation was £361,208.27.  The grant funding had to be spend within the 2020/21 financial year, but the Government expected that the majority would be used within 12 weeks of receipt of the funds.  The grant had not yet been received and as the Council was only notified of the funding a short time ago, the arrangements for the distribution of the funding was still being developed.

 

Question received from Councillor Williamson:

 

“As members will be aware, exactly one month ago today, the Government made it a legal requirement of passengers that they wear face coverings on public transport with few exemptions.  Commendably, many passengers comply with this requirement, but regrettably some do not.  It is impractical for tram and train drivers to enforce this measure, and for bus drivers and other train and tram staff to do this entails endangering themselves.  Many thousands of our residents travel to work on our buses, trams and trains; other travel to school or enjoy time on leisure pursuits.  They all have the right to be safe.  I would like to ask the Cabinet Member several questions relating to this issue:

·         How is this Council working with Transport for Greater Manchester, the bus, train and tram operators and the Police to educate the travelling public about the requirement to wear face coverings, and where the message is not heeded, enforced?

·         I understand that tram regulations need to be changed for the law to be enforceable.  When will this happen?

·         Is further consideration being given to introducing contractors on trams to aid enforcement?

·         Are there plans to distribute free face coverings to passengers without them at the major tram, train and bus stops, as has taken place at major railways stations elsewhere?

·         And finally, is there any mechanism by which a passenger might apply to Transport for Greater Manchester for a legal exemption from wearing a face covering on one of the grounds listed in the legislation, in order that they be issued with an official letter or card which they might show staff or other passengers if challenged for not wearing a face covering?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that the Council continued to work closely with TfGM and following concerns raised by operators and members of the public, and reflected a change in approach nationally, TfGM and partners, under the TravelSafe Partnership, moved to a more proactive phase of engagement, specifically by undertaking a ‘Week of Action’ and through more high profile and visible patrolling.  Launching on 16 July, this would see a ‘step-up’ in the operational response and involved GMP, British Transport Police, TfGM and partner staff.  The intention was for an education and engagement approach to be maintained in a more visible and proactive manner, however, warranted officers would be present and able to eject people from public transport where necessary.  The Regulations were made under the Public Health Act 1984 and were already in force.  There was not an intention to provide free face coverings as the wearing of face coverings was becoming a more general requirement and relatively easily accommodated b the use of a scarf or other piece of clothing.  The Government exemptions were clear and the point regarding documentation would be taken to TfGM for their views and consideration.

 

Question received from Councillor Hamblett:

 

“Can the Cabinet Member please tell me:

·         How many Oldham residents availed themselves of the testing service offered by the Army mobile Track and Trace Unit in the Town Centre?

·         Do we know how many of the attendees used public transport to get there?

·         Where attendees who used public transport to attend and tested positive provided with alternate transport to get home, or did they have to return home the same way?

·         Has any consideration been given to operate this mobile Track and Trace Unit from district centres on a rotating basis rather than simply Oldham Town Centre in order to allow local people to use the service without recourse to public transport?

·         Has any approach been made to non-military bodies to operate a similar service increasing capacity and service regularity?  I am thinking of the British Red Cross and the St John’s Ambulance Brigade.”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that the Council did not know how many residents availed themselves of the testing as this information was not provided to the Council.  The Council did not know how many of the attendees used public transport.  The mobile unit testing was for those who had symptoms and people with symptoms were strong advised not to use public transport for any purpose including going for a test – according to national guidance.  The mobile testing unit only took samples which were then sent to laboratories for testing.  As a result, it was not possible to tell if people tested positive until the samples were tested and this could take up to 72 hours.  However, the mobile unit testing was done for those who had symptoms and those with symptoms were strongly advised not to use public transport.  There was now an additional testing option provided by Deloitte commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care which could be used flexibly.  A successful pilot period had just been completed at the Oldham library.  Plans were being developed to use this as a ‘pop-up’ testing unit on a rotating basis around Oldham to ensure easy accessibility and respond to population needs.  An approach to non-military bodies to operate a similar testing service as the military was not being considered currently.  This was because the determination as to who carried out tests was decided at national level.

 

Question received from Councillor H. Gloster:

 

“Now that lockdown has eased, more and more people are going out to shop or take leisure activities, sometimes a considerable way from home and for a considerable length of time.  And this brings us to a major biological challenge that we all face on a regular basis – the need to answer the call of nature.  Some local authorities have already opened their Council-owned facilities.  I would like to ask the Cabinet Member what plans we have to open ours in parks and district centres, and when does she envisage the Community Toilet Scheme will be fully operational?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that she agreed that it was important that facilities be opened.  The Council was working with Public Health to determine what steps needed to be taken to ensure that toilets were open in a safe manner.  It was intended that when everything was in place, and consumables could be replaced regularly, particularly soap dispensers, to open them from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm each day starting from Tuesday, 21st July.  In addition, the businesses that had signed up to the community toilet scheme were being approached to safely open their toilets at the earliest opportunity.

 

Question received from Councillor Taylor:

 

“Some of the narrative in the public domain is unhelpful and targets certain communities, is this a myth or something that is of concern to us in Oldham.”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Response responded that unfortunately, even at the height of the pandemic that had brought communities closer together, there will always be those who sought to divide.  The reality was that the vast majority of Oldhamers, regardless of age, ethnicity, area, had followed public health guidelines and had done everything to reduce the spread of this virus  There is absolutely no evidence that any area or community had not done their bit.  The data that the Council now had access to showed that BAME communities seemed to be more vulnerable to coronavirus.  There were a huge number of potential causes for this differential impact but what was known was that where there were higher numbers of cases there was also higher levels of poverty.  The everyday inequalities Oldham’s residents faced were making them more likely to be victims of this virus – whether because they were more likely to live in larger households, in more cramped conditions or because they were more likely to work in occupations that brought them into contact with large numbers of people.  Councillor Shah added that this was not about people’s compliance with guidelines – it was about the lives people lived and the additional risk that posed.  The focus must be for the underlying inequalities to be eradicated.  The Council was working hard with partners and the third sector to create a fairer Oldham, working to reduce poverty not though tokenistic one-off projects but by redesigning services so that their focus was always on reducing poverty and inequality.  Everyone was urged to ensure not to enter into a divisive ‘them and us’ narratives about the impact of COVID but seek to understand more about the underlying causes.

 

Question received from Councillor Shuttleworth:

 

“COVID-19 has highlighted inequalities within our communities that really need addressing.  What is the Council and the Cabinet Member for Covid-19 Recovery doing to protect residents that are already vulnerable through poverty?”

 

Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Covid-19 that the Council had recognised that this pandemic has disproportionately impacted those with protected characteristics which included those individuals and families on low incomes.  An equality impact assessment had been produced which aimed to identify and mitigate the impact of COVID 19 across all communities and also outlined the steps that Team Oldham services had put in place to address and reduce the impact.  The council had put in community hubs and a helpline since March which had provided a wrap around support service for any Oldham resident who had needed it including those in poverty and those on a low income.  The hubs had been making referrals into the welfare rights service who assisted residents to access the government hardship fund and other grants.  Free school meal vouchers had been made available and lunches provided those who attended school.  Recently a poverty workshop had been held with senior leaders from across Team Oldham to explore how to better coordinate work across the system.  Following on from that, an action plan was being developed to outline priorities in the short, medium and long term.  The action plan will build upon the learning and experience from the COVID-19 response and reflect the additional challenges on the Council’s services as the economic impact of the lockdown were felt.  Lived experience would be at the heart of the report, working with partners and directly with people experiencing poverty to inform future services planning and delivery.  Poverty Truth Commission, working alongside the Action Together would be central to this work going forward.

 

Councillor Garry asked when visits to the hospitals will be allowed for residents to visit friends and family.

 

Councillor Shah responded that access to the hospital was based on safety for patients.  This was not about the hospital being awkward, it related to safeguarding family and residents during the pandemic.  This was also led by national guidance.  There had been conversations and was constantly under review.

 

Councillor Shah exercised her right of reply.

 

RESOLVED that:

1.         Oldham’s Partnership Response update to the COVID-19 pandemic be noted.

2.         The questions and responses provided be noted.

Supporting documents: