Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2021/074

Contact: Robin Rogers, Programme Director COVID Response Tel: 07789 923206

Report by Chief Executive (CA6) 

On 26 December 2020, Oxfordshire entered local Tier 4 restrictions in response to a rise in COVID-19 case-rates and pressure on the health system. A broader national lock-down was reinstituted from 5 January. As part of an integrated systems response, Oxfordshire County Council has continued to play a critical role in leading the ongoing local response to COVID-19 and in supporting residents to maintain their broader health and wellbeing.

The impact of national, local and individual efforts has brought case rates back to low levels. As a consequence, national restrictions are being eased through the Roadmap period. As we reach the end of the originally planned Roadmap period, this report describes the current local COVID-19 situation. It summarises the response to COVID-19 over the past six months, describes ongoing activity and includes a description of the recovery status of Council services. It goes on to set out the requirement to maintain and adapt COVID-19 capacity and management structures as the context in which we work continues to evolve rapidly. Finally, it recommends that the local and organisational lessons learnt from the pandemic should be used to help direct long-term recovery planning and inform future corporate direction.

An announcement on the planned 21 June lockdown step is due on the evening of 14 June after the publication of this agenda. The report will therefore be published as a late paper in order to accurately reflect the updated position.

Recommendations in the Additional Papers agreed

Cabinet had been asked to consider a report describing the current local COVID-19 situation, summarising the response to COVID-19 over the past six months, describing ongoing activity, including a description of the recovery status of Council services, setting out the requirement to maintain and adapt COVID-19 capacity and management structures and recommending that the local and organisational lessons learnt from the pandemic should be used to help direct long-term recovery planning and inform future corporate direction.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of the Council, prefaced the discussion by acknowledging that everybody had been impacted by the pandemic and that everybody knew somebody who has been seriously ill or sadly died as a result.  She was aware of the particular impact of the lockdown on children and young people.

The Leader thanked all the people around the county who had contributed to the tremendous community efforts to support the vulnerable and isolated.  There was much to learn in how communities pulled together to look after each other.

The Council and its staff had worked tirelessly to limit the spread of the virus and to support our colleagues in the NHS.  The Council had to innovate and adapt to continue to deliver essential services and the Leader commended all those involved.

Robin Rogers, Programme Director Covid Response, introduced the report which looked back on the last phase of the pandemic, from late 2020, and looked ahead at the road map out of lockdown.  It was reporting on the response of the Council and its partners in the Districts, City, NHS, voluntary sector and the business sector.

While responding to the pandemic, the Council was continuing to deliver essential services – sometimes in a different way.  The report summarised the resource implications and also outlined plans for further recovery and how the lessons learned could be incorporated into long-term planning and strategy.

RESOLVED: to note:

(a)      the latest public health situation with regard to COVID-19, the management arrangements in place and the resource impact of the pandemic as set out in this report;

(b)      the joint Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council programme of activity underway that continues to respond and adapt to the pandemic as set out in Appendix 1;

(c)      the summary of COVID-19 service impact set out in Appendix 2;

(d)      the plans set out from paragraph 35 for recovery planning and for further understanding the lessons learnt for the organisation from the pandemic and agree that a programme of engagement with the Performance Scrutiny Committee, all council members and key partners should be developed in consultation with the Leader, Deputy Leader and Chair of the Performance Scrutiny Committee.