Agenda item

S Marshall thanked all DBC staff for their dedication, professionalism and contribution in ensuring our community have stayed safe and services have been able to continue as normal. She ran through some key points within the report and welcomed questions.

The Chairman asked how well prepared we were for a second wave of coronavirus and another lockdown. S Marshall advised we had continued with IMT (Incident Management Team) throughout the pandemic and will continue to meet to ensure preparations were in place for the pressures that winter will bring. She said various restrictions are inevitable and we had heard from the government yesterday about the three-tier model. We also continue to work with our various colleagues across the county. She stressed that it shouldn’t be referred to as another lockdown but as localised restrictions, unless the government decide otherwise. She said it was going to be a difficult winter and we shouldn’t underestimate the scale of the impact on services but financially we’re in a robust state, and in terms of officer planning we’re as prepared as we can be. 

Councillor Tindall asked if we had any contingency plans in place if the leisure centres had to close again due to localised restrictions. S Marshall advised that the government had announced support packages within areas that were experiencing localised restrictions so we would have to wait and see what was made available. She added that we had built up a good working relationship with Everyone Active so she was confident that we could work through the issues together.

Councillor Tindall expressed concern with the change in Universal Credit payments and the extra pressure it would put on our staff. S Marshall explained that the housing and revenues and benefits teams were working closely with our residents to ease the financial struggle where possible. She felt the teams were extremely hard working and were experienced enough to deal with the heavy workload. Councillor Tindall expressed his gratitude to all the staff for continuing to provide a good service to our residents.

J Deane ran through the key financial areas within report. He welcomed questions from the committee.

Councillor Adeleke questioned if any additional pressure had been put on the government by local authorities as there was no end to coronavirus in sight. J Deane advised there were various organisations pulling together to put pressure on the government and there were several councils that were in a really difficult financial position which was pushing a lot of conversation.

Councillor Adeleke asked how long DBC would continue to be in a strong financial position if the current situation continued for longer than expected. J Deane said that was a difficult question to answer but felt we would be in a better position than most other councils.

Councillor Chapman sought clarification on the projected loss of garage income. J Deane advised that garage income was entirely dependent on the disposal income residents have and at the moment we have no idea on the severity or duration of the recession. He suggested that although garages were holding up at the moment we could see a drop at any time so we had to be prepared for the unknown.

Councillor Townsend sought clarification on the support given to the leisure centres. He said the email that had been circulated to members after the last meeting only covered one element of the supplier support package but didn’t give a full picture. J Deane said he would provide a summary to Councillor Townsend via email.

Action: J Deane

The Chairman asked if officers were visiting premises in the borough to ensure they’re complying with Covid-19 restrictions. J Deane advised that the Environmental Health team had been targeting businesses where it had been suggested they weren’t complying with restrictions and social distancing. The team have also been working with HCC to track down where there may have been a localised outbreak of coronavirus within the borough.

The Chairman thanked the officers for a very good and detailed report.

Outcome:

The report was noted.