-
Agenda item
Recovery and resilience update
(Chairs update)
Minutes:
The Chair commented that he and the Committee thought it premature to think about recovery, due to the pressure of the second wave of Covid-19 and the need to focus back on response.
Cllr Forward invited Jane Hartnell to outline the response and recovery efforts to date. The Leader thanked officers and Councillors for all their continued work and support during this period.
Jane Hartnell said we are 75% focussing on response and 25% on recovery. We are communicating with local people regarding the updates from Government, some are very difficult and hard to explain. Environmental Health deal with outbreaks on a regular basis and are out at weekends giving support and advice. Corporately we are preparing for winter, poor weather, a second wave of Covid, and the potential for staff to be ill. Staff have been told that they will continue to work from home for 6 months. Those who struggle at home are able to come into MMH in line with social distancing measures.
The Chair thanked the Environmental Health Team and all officers for their continued work on behalf of Hastings.
Cllr Foster asked a question about Track and Trace and whether we are offering free flu jabs for staff or encouraging them? Jane responded that everyone is encouraged to use the app. It doesn’t give names and addresses and tracks the movement of the phone. Frontline staff have access to a flu jab and other staff are encouraged to get one. However, there is a shortage of the vaccine.
Cllr Rankin asked what staff morale was like and what kind of pastoral care is there available to staff? 60 staff can be accommodated in MMH. The number does change over the week. There is a mental health training course available to staff, which they can take before coming into the office. Over the summer months there was a staff survey and morale were quite good. More staff are happier working from home, it is easier for some. A series of staff briefings is scheduled to take place to engage staff. Christmas will be a challenge, but we will do plenty to keep staff morale up.
Cllr Levane asked whether the work of the Hub would continue. East Sussex Chief Executive’s met regarding the work of the Hub, concluding that the hub model is useful but does need to be funded appropriately.
Cllr Andrew Battley asked if staff are taking their time off to get some rest during this very stressful time. Jane issued an instruction earlier in the year that staff take a least a week’s leave before end September. Staff were also given an extra day’s leave with the agreement of the Leader and Deputy Leader. There is a suggestion that 12.30pm-1.00pm every day will be blocked out for a break. Meetings are running on, whereas there was time between meetings when at physical in the office. The Chair thanked Cllr Battley for the question and the systems that are now in place.
Councillor Fitzgerald said that staff have been working incredibly hard during the outbreak. A lot of small businesses have struggled during this time but have worked hard with the Council to ensure they are putting the measures in place that are required.
Councillor Chowney – Met with representatives from the language schools with Jane and Kevin Boorman. They would like to extend our discretionary scheme, so those working in the language sector could continue their work. There is a £500 grant for those who are isolating and on a low income. This will be administered by the council.
Councillor Forward said we will rise to the challenge and administer the grants to those in need. Continue to support the residents and businesses as we have done. We really have come together to work in partnership. We need to be properly funded and continue to lobby at the highest level. Our local MP has said she believes the council has been doing a great job and thanked us.
-
My council
Contact
Got a question about democratic services?
Content
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Democratic Services team.