Agenda item

To receive the report of the Chief Executive, which provides the Cabinet with an update of the action taken by the Council as a result of the COVID 19 national emergency.

The Group Director, Community and Children’s Services presented the Cabinet with an update of the action taken by the Council as a result of the COVID 19 national emergency.

The Group Director assured Members that the Council would continue risk assess in order to move forward slowly and safely, in line with Welsh Government regulations. The Group Director referred the Cabinet to Section 5 of the report, where a list of the proposed service areas due to open in the following 6-8 weeks was listed.

Members were then referred to Appendix A of the report, which contained detailed service recovery plans of each of the Council’s Services. The Group Director advised that the information was being developed further to support the compilation of Corporate Plan Priority action plans for 2020/21 and to ensure the Council meets is statutory reporting requirements under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.

The Group Director took the opportunity to thank the Cabinet for the support provided to the Social Care sector during the pandemic.

The Leader firstly took the opportunity to thank all Council staff, in particular those on the frontline, for their work throughout the pandemic.

The Leader noted that throughout the pandemic, the vast majority of Council services had continued to run but in a different way, such as emergency childcare hubs and business grants. Looking to the future, the Leader stated that many Council services could look different, whether that be temporarily due to the virus, or because the period had evidenced that services can operate differently.

The Deputy Leader echoed the Leader’s comments and thanked the Council staff for their contribution in such an awful time. The Deputy Leader commented on the need to continue to provide advice to the community, especially on matters such as small group gatherings. The Deputy Leader spoke of the proposal to increase the number of mourners at funerals and cremations, commenting that it would be vital for families. Commenting on the vast amount of community support shown in the difficult times, the Deputy Leader added that it would need to be built upon moving forward.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Inclusion Services extended her praise to all departments during the pandemic and thanked the education team for the huge amount of work put into creating guidance for schools.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services extended her thanks to the Social Services officers and was pleased to note that the respite service would be provided again, commenting that it is vital in keeping families together and children out of statutory services.

The Cabinet RESOLVED:

1.    To consider the summary Service Recovery Plans and approve the proposed way forward;

2.    To consider the list of services proposed to be reopened, in full or in part, over the next 6 - 8 weeks and approve that the restrictions are lifted; and

3.    That a further report on the lifting of further restrictions is presented to the following Cabinet meeting.