An update from the Managing Director.
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Service Delivery introduced the item. He warned against complacency over COVID-19 and stressed the importance of continuing to adhere to guidelines.
The Managing Director gave a presentation on the current COVID-19 situation and the Council’s response, beginning with an update on local cases. The Committee was advised that the COVID-19 infection rate in Surrey was 230.4 per 100,000 – similar to the rate for the South East (235.0) and lower than the national rate (260.0) – and the Guildford rate had decreased to 199.3 per 100,000. The Managing Director advised that in the previous week there had been 2,756 new cases in Surrey, of which 297 were in Guildford. The meeting was informed that as at 1 February there were 1,720 registered COVID-related deaths in Surrey, with 134 in Guildford.
The Managing Director advised the meeting of key COVID-19 issues: the national lockdown; support and services for the most vulnerable; business support; Council services; staff sickness; and mass vaccination. The Committee was advised of continuing help for the most vulnerable residents in the Borough. The Managing Director confirmed that the Council was administering eight grant schemes to support businesses. The meeting heard that all essential Council services were being maintained. The Managing Director referred to the work of the COVID safety marshals and the police. With reference to staff sickness, the Managing Director advised that the rate was lower in 2020 than in 2019. The meeting was advised that there were four mass vaccination sites in the Borough: Superdrug, Direct Pharmacy, Royal Surrey County Hospital, and G Live. The Committee was informed that nearly 16,000 vaccinations had been delivered at Royal Surrey County Hospital by 27 January and 6,300 provided at G Live, with the first four priority groups on track to receive their vaccinations by mid-February.
In response to questions, the Director for Resources indicated that the Council’s expenditure on COVID-19 response was in excess of the £1.8 million grant received from the government. She advised the meeting that the Council had so far spent £2.9 million on the response and was forecast to spend £5.4 million by 31 March 2021. She confirmed that local authorities had up until now spent significantly more on responding to the pandemic than they had received in government support.
In response to questions, the Corporate Public Health Co-ordinator stated that Surrey’s Director of Public Health undertook in depth analysis of the variations in COVID rates locally and the information gathered informed the local response to the pandemic. She confirmed that all care homes in the Borough were expected to have received vaccination visits by mid-February.
In reply to a question from a Committee member, the Managing Director indicated that the value of consistent public communications about local vaccinations was being addressed. The Leader of the Council indicated that if Councillors had specific queries about the vaccination programme he and the Deputy Leader of the Council would be able to raise them at an upcoming meeting with Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group.
The Chairman thanked the Managing Director and other officers for attending and answering questions.