Minutes

None.

There were no declarations of interest.

LindaJackson provideda verbalupdate outliningthe council’son-going responseto Covid-19. Thethree keyareas werethe borough’sinfection rate;testing strategy andthe implementationof masstesting forpeople whowere asymptomatic;and the vaccinationstrategy currentlybeing ledby theNHS. Inthe pastseven days506 infectious caseshad beenrecorded andthe mostrecent figureof 439.1indicated a reductionper hundredthousand ofthe population.At thepeak ofthe secondwave, this figurewas closerto 1000per hundredthousand ofpopulation. The positivityrate was 15.8%,so thatfor everyone hundredpeople, 15.8%had testedpositive. Linda Jacksonoutlined thecouncil’s activitieswhich includedsupport forlocal business throughoutthe pandemic,remarkable workaround socialisolation, freeschool meal vouchersand workwith communityand voluntarysector mutualaid groups,and the CommunityAid Network and referrals to thefoodbank had increased significantly.

Linda Jacksonhighlighted threekey elementswhich combinedto forma Covid defence.First, thecommunity neededto continueto socialisolate, goingout only whennecessary. Therewere three,mass testsites andfive pop-upsites located acrossthe boroughfor asymptomatictests. Additionaltest optionsincluded free hometesting kitsand lateralflow test.A thirdelement wasthe NHSdelivery ofthe vaccination throughprimary carenetworks acrossthe boroughat keysites inWhite City, Shepherds Bushand ParsonsGreen according to theeligibility criteria.

The targetfigure forcompleting vaccinationfor thesegroups was14 February2021 and whichincorporated theimpact oflower thanexpected vaccinetake up.There was significantwork beingundertaken locallyto addressthis andstrong encouragement toaccept vaccineappointments asand whenthese wereoffered. H&F clinical commissioning group was allocating suppliesof the vaccines locally.

Victoria Brignellcommended LindaJackson andH&F colleaguesfor theircommitment toprotecting residentsand toensure continuityin services.Clarification was soughtregarding vaccinationarrangements forcarers andpersonal assistants

employedby disabled peopleunder thedirect payment programme. Itwas confirmed that allpersonal assistants hadreceived aletter thisweek and thosewho weredirect payment recipientswould beasked toconfirm thenumber anddetails ofpeople they employed.

ACTION: For the Director of Covid-19 to providefurther detail aboutthe council’s response to Covid-19 at thenext

meeting ofthe Committee

Echoingearlier comments,Councillor Lloyd-Harriscommended thestrength ofthe council’s responseand thankedsenior officersfor theirwork, undertakenin challenging anddifficult circumstances.Clarification wassought aboutthe hesitancy abouttesting incare homes.Linda Jacksonconfirmed thattesting wasrequired ifa care homewanted toremain openbut clarifiedthat vaccine“hesitancy” wasan issuenationally. LisaRedfern confirmedthat approximately94 peoplehad receivedthe vaccine atH&F carehomes butthere werealso smaller,supported livingunits to includewithin this.Staff takeup hadbeen encouragedand generallythis hadbeen positive. A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Corporate Overview

Emily Hill provided a corporate overview of the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). It was clarified that Appendix 4 fees and charges was not relevant to the report as this referenced fees and charges determined outside of the council’s policy which was, for both adult social care and children’s services, to freeze these without exception. Setting out the overall financial context it was explained that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) had for the past ten years advocated for austerity with a challenging reduction in revenue funding. Core spending power for revenue activities had seen a slight increase of 4.5% compared to 2010/11 but the current financial position was significantly worse in real terms.

The council needed to make significant savings whilst concurrently managing a growth in budget for demand led services in Social Care and Children’s Services. This has been difficult and required a draw on reserves for funding unexpected levels of demand and a corresponding reduction in the level of reserves which also needed to be maintained as a safety buffer. It was noted that a fees and charges compensation scheme would partly fund council tax and business rate losses, with local authorities meeting the first 5% followed by 75p in the pound there after. The remainder would need to be met by the council.

The economic impact of Covid-19 highlighted a significant reduction in business rates currently expected in the future which represented a funding risk to the council. A Covid specific six-month contingency budget was in place to address the level of associated risk which had also been increased to reflect this.

Children’s Services

Jacqui McShannon outlined how the council’s ambitious plan for Children’s Services (CHS) would be underpinned by high aspirations for the borough’s children offering protection from harm, abuse and exploitation, and be supported in their learning with equitable access to education. CHS was a highly regulated, demand led service and Jacqui McShannon commended the work of community partners. The current uncertainty, historic and current budget pressures meant that the service was having to meet increased complexity of need with higher numbers of adolescents at risk. About 1300 children were supported through social care with a range of needs including 100-50 with complex high needs and who also required a protection plan.

Tony Burton provided a breakdown of the allocations which included in excess of £46 million as the general fund budget within services for children (including children with disabilities) and young people and education. The overall income budget was just under £95 million which included £48 million of the delegated maintained and special school grant budget. Within this, the high needs special grant would be significantly increased at £26 million. There would be an allocation of £16 million for early years learning with a targeted offer funnelled through nurseries, schools and child minders. The key focus was to protect frontline services with cost reductions predicated on achieving high quality, value for money services. Cost pressures included non-placement expenditure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.