Agenda item

The Commission has asked for further information about the Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic:

·       Andrew Hunter, Director: Planning, Place and Regeneration will be attending to discuss the Council’s proposed Renewal Strategy; and

·       Stuart McKellar, Director of Resources will be attending to discuss the severe pressures and risks on the Council’s budget.

Members of the Commission will be able to provide input into the proposals as well as seek clarification on the measures being taken.

The Commission had asked for further information about the Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and Councillor Heydon, Executive Member for Transformation and Finance had been invited to attend. Stuart McKellar, Director: Resources attended the meeting to discuss the severe pressures and risks on the Council’s budget. Andrew Hunter, Director: Planning, Place and Regeneration attended to discuss the Council’s proposed Renewal Strategy.

Following the financial presentation it was discussed that:

·         there was a high level of uncertainty around the ongoing support being provided by central government

·         existing pressures were exacerbated by the pandemic

·         Bracknell Forest Council had closely followed central government guidance and support

·         planned changes to the local government funding system had been pushed back to 2022

·         budget monitoring was a constant process

·         although it was a challenging future financial position, this had been predicted and prepared for, over a number of years

·         the funding from Government related to income losses was intended to cover 75% of lost income against budget, after a 5% threshold. The detailed arrangements for the calculation were not yet clear

·         all costs incurred on the Covid-19 response had to be accounted for and it was expected that any unspent Government funding would need to be returned

·         further funding would be available for establishing local test and trace procedures, but it was unclear whether this would cover the whole cost

·         there were no voids currently in the Council’s commercial investment properties

·         the largest financial impact to date had been within contract services i.e. leisure and car park incomes followed by adult social care, then children’s social care and education

·         the work of transforming services was ongoing as the Council recovered and reviewed its priorities and how services were delivered

·         a detailed financial report was being finalised for consideration by the Executive on 25 August

·         the report would contain answers to many of the details being requested by Overview and Scrutiny Members and they would be able to discuss further at the next Commission meeting on 15 September 

Regarding the Renewal Strategy it was discussed that:

·         Renewal was the final stage in the Pandemic response and outbreak management would become business as usual in the medium term

·         the Council was looking to integrate services, using opportunities form the Covid-19 response, involve community and voluntary services

·         a reassignment pool of staff was created to support the Covid-19 response for example diverting staff to the community response, Forest Care and Crematorium and PPE distribution

·         as new pressures arose in different areas it may be necessary to redeploy others to cover emerging pressures

·         there had been a continual learning process to pick up opportunities and assess performance, resolving and checking throughout. There would be an opportunity to review and understand lessons learnt but generally action to improve responses was taken when identified.

·         management teams were identifying transformational opportunities and what new ways of working should continue within their services

·         services had quickly identified remote working solutions such as how to undertake site visits remotely

·         Partnership working had been enhanced for example within Health, working with Berkshire colleagues and within the Local Resilience Forum which also brought opportunities for further joint working

·         a residents’ survey had been undertaken and work by the Community Engagement team to reach people requiring support, this meant that people requiring support were being identified through social care, welfare claims, data as well as the survey

·         the wellbeing of all residents including children was a priority within the renewal strategy

·         work was ongoing with staff to monitor satisfaction rates with the new working arrangements, anecdotally teams had been socially distancing in local parks Microsoft Teams was delivering focused meetings with no time lost to travel

·         the covid-19 risk within the Council’s risk register had been reviewed every few weeks as the pandemic progressed

·         work to develop the Deck within the Lexicon had not commenced but although it would be understandable for financial investors to be cautious, they were still committed to the Lexicon

·         the legislation currently in place precluded formal meetings being held and there was a clear differentiation between workplace Covid-19 secure provisions which would enable small numbers of officers to work at Time Square and those for digital meetings. These appropriate controls were to stop community transmission and remote meetings were the safest way for discussions to be held.

The Vice-Chairman thanked Councillor Heydon, the Director of Resources and Director: Place, Planning and Regeneration for attending the meeting.