Agenda item

Councillor Chauhan MOVED and Councillor Shah SECONDED a report which provided an update on how the Council and its partners continue to monitor and manage the impact of COVID-19 in Oldham.

Council was informed that most remaining Covid restrictions were lifted on 24^th February 2022. Although the sense of 'getting back to normal', was welcomed it was still evident that Coronavirus was and still circulating in the community and workplaces. Given Oldham’s experience of COVID-19 to date, the Council’s response was well established and wide in scope and as such was well placed to be able to adapt as needed.

As of 3^rd March 2022, there had been 73,654 cases of COVID-19 identified in Oldham; the weekly infection rates were running at around 136 cases per 100,000 people. This was currently the lowest rate in England. However, changes in testing policy mean that recorded case rates were likely to be below the true level of infection. In understanding case rates it should be noted that testing rates in Oldham were lower than the national average.

In the seven days ending 3^rd March White/White British was the ethnicity with the highest case rate. Over the same period Saddleworth South was the ward with the highest case rate (339.2 per 100,000 population) and Coldhurst had the lowest (44.8 per 100,000).

There had been 900 Covid-19 related deaths in Oldham (up to 3^rd March 2022). The number of deaths from Covid-19 has slowed significantly since the start of the vaccination programme, with 1 Covid-19 death in the last seven days (up to 3^rd March 2022).

Increasing vaccination uptake remained the primary focus of the local response. Over 168,000 Oldham residents had received their first doses (77.2% of Oldham’s eligible population) and over 156,000 have received second doses (71.7% of Oldham’s eligible population), with an additional 110,370 booster shots or third doses delivered (54.4% of Oldham’s eligible population). As the vaccination programme evolved in Oldham the number and range of settings where vaccination clinics are provided has widened substantially, informed by feedback from residents. Vaccinations have been delivered in GP surgeries, pharmacies, the hospital, and community venues. In addition, vaccinations for 12–17-year-olds have been offered in education settings.

Councillors asked the following questions:

Councillor Al-Hamdani asked:

There has been a backlog on isolation payments in Oldham. Applicants were being told that they would receive payments within 21 days, but many were having to wait much longer.  What percentage of payments were not made within 21 days? What is the longest any one person for whatever reason has had to wait? What is the current number of applicants still waiting for payment?

Councillor Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded that Test and Trace Support Payments were designed to support residents on a low income who would lose earnings because of self- isolating. There was a huge increase in applications because of the rise of the Omicron variant in recent months which affected the administration of Test and Trace Support Payments not only in Oldham but for Local Authorities across the Country. Oldham received an average of 297 applications a month over the September to October 2022 and this increased over Christmas to a peak of 1,297 applications in January 2022. This has inevitably impacted on processing times which are currently averaging 6 weeks. The Council did not set a benchmark of 21 days so performance to this timeline has not been recorded. The longest time to process a claim was an exceptional case which was received during the pilot Test and Trace scheme in Sept 2020, the claim was closed due to lack of sufficient information to assess the case and following multiple follow up activities was reopened and paid in January 2022. This is not representative of normal timescales.

The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme ended on Thursday 24 February. We have increased resources on the team to clear all outstanding work as quickly as possible. The Council currently has 634 applications which have yet to complete the application process, 544 of which are awaiting further information from the resident to verify the claim.

Councillor H. Gloster asked:

How many free tests have been given out in Oldham each month, and what will be the cost to residents of having to purchase these once free testing disappears? Does Oldham have a plan for maintaining preparedness for distributing free tests should there be a stronger strain of Covid in the future, and free testing be reinstated?

Councillor Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded that since the 1st April 2021 until 28th February 2022, Oldham Council have distributed 99,462 boxes of free LFD tests through our community settings. This is the equivalent to 1,763,349 individual tests. In addition, Oldham has delivered 44,905 on sites tests through the Councils commissioned services including our outreach provider and participating pharmacy’s – these have been free of charge to residents and have included assisted testing available for residents that cannot test themselves. The national website has also taken orders online and delivered 90,791 boxes to Oldham postcodes. Oldham Council will not be able to sell test kits, but a number of commercial routes have emerged with varying prices. These appear to range from around £2-£4 a test currently. Should Oldham Council have access to free test kits in the future, all our distribution methods such as libraries, leisure centres and other community settings remain in place ready to help support those who live, work and visit Oldham. Our ability to deliver onsite testing provision in the future is currently being reviewed. Any national policy to reinstate free PCR testing would be supported by the Local Authority, although the test sites are not commissioned or delivered by the local authority.

Councillor Murphy asked:

Will Oldham Council be reintroducing face-to-face services for residents who are not comfortable online, at the one-stop-shop at the Civic Centre once the restrictions are removed?  If this has not been decided, how does that fit with the Council's equalities strategy?

Councillor Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded

That he service continues with access and support through crisis drop ins, signposting, self-serve PCs and free phones at the Civic Entrance and on an appointments basis via the Council’s Support and Inclusion Team, but we recognise there is more help needed and therefore work is currently underway to enable Access Oldham to reopen in order to provide a public space where residents can physically access support when they are in crisis, are vulnerable and/or need some direct support to help them access services digitally.  The service will offer both pre-arranged appointments and a facility to see residents on a drop-in basis. Residents will be able to seek support such as advice on Council Tax, Housing Benefit, debt, wellbeing or emergency support issues. Free internet and telephone access to Council Service will also be available.

Councillor Hamblett asked:

Will the council still be able to support families who are struggling due to Self-Isolation if they are extremely vulnerable or vulnerable and are shielding if they have covid symptoms? Will the council be able to commit to support our NHS colleagues in ensuring those working on the front line or high-risk jobs are not having to pay for LFT or PCR tests themselves should the government choose to no longer make them chargeable?

Councillor Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded it was recognised this is a tough time for families in Oldham, but we can help.  We’ve all faced difficulties, coming out of the Covid pandemic, the rising cost of basic goods and even the ability to heat our homes.  That’s why Oldham partners are working together to offer residents and families a little more help.

We've put together a range of support and guidance that can be accessed through the Oldham Council Website – We Can Help https://www.oldham.gov.uk/wecanhelp  or alternatively residents can always ring us via the Oldham Helpline - 0161 770 7007  (9am – 5pm on weekdays).  From the 1^st April, the Council is unlikely to have access to test kits in line with the governments ‘living with covid plan’. In preparation for potential changes to free testing for NHS staff, the Council has been encouraging NHS organisations such as Royal Oldham Hospital to encourage their staff to make use of the free test kits currently available via the government website, also available free of charge in Oldham Libraries and Leisure centre until the end of March. Just in case NHS organisations no longer have access to free test kits after March, Oldham Council delivered their remaining stock, which was a sizable quantity of LFD test kits, to Royal Oldham Hospital on the 15^th March 2022.

Councillor Hamblett asked:

Covid grant fraud diverts much needed money away from protecting jobs and businesses in Oldham. Given that HMRC have estimated that the rate of fraud in some national covid relief schemes runs at 9% with over £5.5bn lost, can the Council comment on whether they have been given extra resources to investigate fraud and recover funds, can they estimate the rate and amount of fraud for council administered covid relief schemes?

Councillor Chauhan Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded that the Council has received funding to administer all the Government COVID Business Grant schemes. When administering such schemes, the Council developed robust assurance processes that balanced prompt payment to businesses against obtaining appropriate evidence to minimise the risk of fraud and loss. Local Authorities have been given discretion as to the levels of pre and post payment checks carried out. This Council undertook comprehensive checks using the Government Grants Management Function Spotlight system (a tool to detect potential fraud pre-payment) and undertook appropriate bank account verification checks – the aim was to minimise fraud loss and protect tax-payers money.

Pre-payment checks via the “Grants Management Function” Spotlight system highlighted 53 (1.17%) of all applications made for all schemes were from dissolved or liquidated companies. As a result, these grant payments were refused at source. A further 46 (1.02%) of cases have been referred for further investigation for alleged fraud. In total 99 (2.2%) of cases were either refused at source or continue to be investigated for alleged fraud.

RESOLVED – that the contents of the report be noted.