Issue - meetings

As set out under Rule 19(a) of the Scrutiny Procedure Rules, this decision was exempt from Call-In as it was deemed urgent to enable the actions and proposals in the report to be implemented immediately without any delay, which is important given the fluid situation with covid guidance and the need to respond and adapt.

Cabinet had before it a report which set out Oxfordshire County Council’s approach to post COVID-19 planning and recovery following the national period of lockdown and a prolonged period of operation within an emergency response context.

Councillor Liz Brighouse explained that in moving forward from the past 5 months where Corona Virus had dominated the lives of people across the world, there was a need to build on the commitment of all those public sector workers who had given so much to treat and care for those suffering from the virus, those who had kept us safe, those who fed us and those who continued to educate our children or were just there as a friendly voice on the end of a phone. That goodwill must not be squandered, and we must recognise and mend the cracks in our public services which became so visible.  Referring to the tragic death of George Floyd in the US which had prompted waves of protests across the world, in Oxfordshire despite the threat of COVID many people went onto the streets and into the Parks to call for an end to racism and discrimination against the black community. The BAME community had suffered disproportionately as a result of COVID and many children from that community will have fallen even further behind in their educational attainment.

She welcomed the statement from the Leader in relation to Black Lives matter and believed that the approach in the document could pave the way to an Oxfordshire which was Inclusive, Diverse and Thriving. Many of the pillars were in place in the Corporate Plan and the Director of Public Health Report, although some of the objectives would need to be reprioritised. The suggestion to prioritise Health Checks in our BAME Communities was welcome as was work with vulnerable children and families. Revisiting and reprioritising needed to be undertaken urgently. It was important also to continue and learn from the work which was being done in Banbury as a result of the DPH report. Working together and with and not just for Communities had to be the norm.

The lockdown had changed working and travelling patterns.  Inevitably some people would be going back into offices, but as this report considered, there was a need to ensure that the digital technology which had been developed was used and that innovative ways of delivering services took priority, to ensure that no one was digitally homeless. In education, children should have Chrome Books etc, and access to the internet. We had already considered how technology could be used to access and deliver services and that now needed to be accelerated.  It was important that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49