Agenda item

The Chairman said that a great deal of work had gone into putting the Recovery Strategy together and she thanked officers for doing this.

The Income and Opportunities Manager said it was important to recognise the response phase of the outbreak of Covid-19 where the Council had supported the communities, particularly in setting up The Hub which had provided 810 emergency food boxes to the shielding and vulnerable residents, and the support to home rough sleepers in emergency accommodation.  He said this had shown the One Team approach to support the community.  Staff had been redeployed to new roles and had worked long hours.  He also recognised the community and Town and Parish Council support, working in partnership with the District Council to support residents.

The Income and Opportunities Manager said the recovery plan was aligned to the Avon & Somerset Local Resilience Forum (LRF) and the SSDC Communities of Practice workstreams.  A staff questionnaire had been completed. and its results would support the workstreams.  Best practice from other Councils both locally and nationally was also helping to shape the recovery strategy and working with Portfolio Holders to develop Action Plans.

In response to questions from Members, the Income and Opportunities Manager and Director for Support Services advised there were currently 16 rough sleepers placed in emergency accommodation and 22 had been moved to permanent accommodation or family and friends.  There had been were 6 or 7 people who had refused the offer of emergency accommodation through personal choice and alternative support had been given to them.

During discussion it was noted that:-

·         Village halls, playgrounds and community centres needed to be re-opened with confidence to the public and some may remain closed for safety reasons.  Risk assessments of the venues would be completed.

·         Environmental measures would be part of the recovery process.

·         To prioritise the economy, SSDC were working with a number of partners across Somerset to match people with jobs.  They were working with Yeovil College, the Business Rates Retention Scheme, and the Redundancy Taskforce to help people who had lost their job due to the pandemic.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee advised that the Income and Opportunities Manager had answered the majority of their questions at their meeting and clarification on a number of points raised would be circulated to members shortly.

The recommendations were proposed and seconded and unanimously agreed by Members.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman and Councillors congratulated officers on the work they had undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic.