Agenda item

The Cabinet is asked to consider and comment on the Council’s response to the Covid-19 emergency as set out in the report.

Scrutiny Committee Chairmen and each of the main Opposition Group Leaders will be invited to speak for up to three minutes on the Council’s response to the Covid-19 emergency.

Cabinet Members may respond to comments made and the Leader may sum up the discussion.

40.1     Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Executive. The report was introduced by Cllr Amanda Jupp, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health who advised that case numbers were increasing and a three-tier system had been introduced nationally. Laboratory capacity had been increased in Sussex and track and trace support, once set up, would make managing the pandemic at local level easier. A joint winter planning document devised with health services had been submitted to NHS England who had praised the plan as an exemplar and the best in the region.

40.2     Dr Stephen Horsley, Interim Director of Public Health provided an update on local case figures and work on infection control. Lucy Butler, Executive Director for Children, Young People and Learning provided an update on the changing situation in schools in the county and provided figures of cases and attendance levels at schools.

40.3     Cllr Bryan Turner, Chairman of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee noted that, although case numbers were increasing, they remain lower than the majority of the country and welcomed this. He highlighted that some care homes were not allowing new admissions or visitors and considered how passported funding to those homes could increase confidence in dealing with patients with the virus.

40.4     Cllr Joy Dennis, Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee noted the Committee was reviewing the impact of Covid-19 including additional cost pressures and that lobbying of the Government should continue in order to press for greater financial assistance. Covid-19 had impacted business as usual performance indicators and temporary measures had been introduced to reflect the change in challenges.

40.5     Cllr Stephen Hillier, Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee felt the response of WSCC to the pandemic was positive and had found the updates from Public Health and Education and Skills to have been timely and helpful. He noted that at its next meeting, the Committee would be considering the impact of the pandemic on children and educational outcomes.

40.6     Cllr Steve Waight, Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Service Scrutiny Committee referenced the HMICFRS inspection of WSCCs response to the Covid-19 pandemic and that scrutiny would await the outcomes from both this and the next full inspection to provide feedback to Cabinet in the intervening period.

40.7     Cllr Dr James Walsh, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group noted that an effective track and trace system was crucial to control the virus.

40.8     Cllr Michael Jones, Leader of the Labour Group felt the testing capacity did not enable track and trace as an effective mechanism. He highlighted the different rates across the County and asked if this was being explored. He raised the economic implications across the county and questioned how the discretionary funding allocation was being advertised.

40.9     Cabinet Members and the Chief Executive responded to the points raised in discussion. The Leader summarised that as the county entered a second wave of the virus, it was still recovering from the first, with further unprecedented challenges expected. Lobbying to government had increased and conversations were taking place with Members of Parliament who were keen to understand the local challenges.

40.10  Resolved – that Cabinet notes the update and discussion, including comments from Scrutiny Chairman and Minority Group Leaders in the council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.