Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 30 July 2020, be received and approved as a correct record.

The Chairman welcomed everyone present to the second meeting of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Scrutiny Panel, including all members of the Council’s Corporate Leadership Team and the Chief Executive. The Chairman commented that such attendance proved testament to the importance the Council had placed on the work of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Panel.

The Chairman reminded Members of the previous meeting of the Panel, at which the establishment of a work programme was approved setting out the Panel’s meeting dates for the remainder of 2020 along with the focus theme of each upcoming meeting:

As set out within the work programme, the focus of the Panel at this meeting would be local recovery themes in discussion with the Corporate Leadership Team.

The Vice Chairman provided Members with an update regarding the ‘Key Worker Memorial’ identified as a priority at the first meeting of the Panel. Reiterating sentiments from the previous meeting, the Vice Chairman reminded Members that the memorial would be aimed at all key workers and volunteers, not strictly NHS workers. The early stages of exploring work required to support the development of a permanent memorial took place through initial meetings held with Council Officers to discuss funding, location, and opportunities for partnership working.

The Vice Chairman assured Members that meetings regarding the memorial would continue over the coming weeks to establish the appropriate steps to be made, with updates to be provided to the Panel.

The Chairman then invited the Chief Executive to address the Panel with an overview of the Council’s position during the immediate response to the pandemic.

The Chief Executive commented on the difficulty of summarising the past six months through unprecedented times for communities, organisationally, and nationally. The Council quickly identified the primary consideration during the pandemic – the impact on the people of Ashfield. It was established that the Council would focus on maintaining vital services throughout the crisis, and through working as ‘one council’ this was achieved.

Employees were quickly redeployed to areas most in need, with over a hundred volunteers within the Council. Staff had been exceptional during this period, going above and beyond to work outside of comfort zones to deliver essential services. New working conditions had also been embedded that would have a lasting effect on the organisational culture of the Council moving forward. Council Offices remained open for employees that needed to come in with social distancing measures quickly implemented, such as one-way systems, clear signage, and hand sanitising stations. Thanks were also extended to Members for the support they have offered throughout the crisis.

The Council led on delivering humanitarian aid in Ashfield, such as delivering food  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP.5