Minutes:
Under the provisions set out in Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) the Chairman of the meeting was of the opinion that the following item - COVID Update Post Prime Minister’s Announcement could be taken after Agenda Item 8 as urgent business in view of the recent Government announcement and developing national situation.’
Council received an update from the Leader of the Council as follows:
“When I suggested this debate at the end of last week, I thought we would be discussing the different Tier levels in Oxfordshire. Obviously, that has changed following the announcement of the National Lock down by the Government on Saturday.
However, what has not changed is my thanks and support to Ansaf our Director of Public Health who has been invaluable in his work over recent months. He has been ably assisted by his deputy Val Messenger along with all the Public Health team. Also, I have to thank the amazing hard work of our CEO Yvonne Rees who appears to be working 24 hours a day and making sure I know that by phone calls/emails at all time of the day and night.
The residents of Oxfordshire owe Yvonne and Ansaf a huge thank you for all their hard work and commitment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff who have worked exceptionally hard over the recent months.
We were moving into the recovery phase but that work now has to be changed as now staff will be focusing on supporting our residents especially the vulnerable in Oxfordshire. I know staff will rise to the occasion despite the fact that many are almost running on empty due to their hard work over the recent months. There is a packed agenda for business as usual. I cannot say how proud I am to be Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with the dedication and hard work of both staff and members.
The move to a national lockdown has been triggered by following the scientific advice which is what we were doing locally with our recommendation to move the whole of the county to Tier 2. It was about following the data trends as the virus was spreading across the age groups in all districts across the county.
The virus does not respect boundaries therefore we have to consider what is best for the majority of Oxfordshire. The virus does not suddenly stop just past the Park & Ride on the Botley Road Likewise on Old Road it does not simply disappear as you cross the bridge into South Oxfordshire.
I realise that would impact on some communities that have little or no connection with Oxford however it’s important that we do our best to reduce the spread. I know there will be an economic and general health impact but by following the scientific advice at an early stage could have reduced the need for longer stricter messages.
This is as much about protecting the economy as well as resident’s health as the 2 go hand in hand. I speak as somebody who ran a couple of small businesses for 30 years and fully understand the pressures that go with running small businesses which are the backbone of the economy. However, I understand the need to protect the NHS and resident’s health. The NHS were just starting to reduce the back log of operations and that must continue to protect the health of the nation.
It is important that Test, Track and Trace is improved so that we have the tools to carry out the function. Locally we deliver the system far better than at a national level however we need the funding to deliver the service especially as it would mean ramping up our local operations to deal with the sheer volume of data that comes in. at which level that is done is always a challenge perhaps the Local Resilience Forum level is the best for the volume with real time information passed down to local Directors of Public Health.
Whilst I know that we in Oxfordshire are prepared to take on Test, Track and Trace some areas might not have the capacity and it’s important that Local Government work as 1 to deliver the service.
When we come out of the National Lockdown my current understanding is that we’ll return to the Tier system again. I cannot prejudge what the data will say in December however I can assure you that we as a council will follow the scientific advice from our Director of Public Health when we come to make recommendations about which Tier level should apply to Oxfordshire.
I will try to answer questions but as all the regulations have not yet come out there will be some gaps however the CEO and her team are making notes of the meeting so once answers are known they will be provided. We can all play our part by ensuring we follow the rules so that we save lives and protect the NHS.
The Council thanked the Leader for his update and thanked staff across the board for their ongoing Commitment. During debate, wide support was given to the update from the Leader and it was widely acknowledged that a well-informed local response was more effective than a National response and that local test and trace would be better devolved to local systems, to enable swift action following scientific evidence.
The following point were also raised during discussion:
· Were Central Government going to recompense local government for their work during the crisis?
· Council thanked researchers from Oxford on their work into treatments and vaccines.
· Members wished to see Granular data on OCC Website.