Minutes:
(1) Emma Raducanu
Councillor Peter Morgan, Portfolio Holder for Renewal, Recreation and Housing, had given notice that he wished to make a statement. As he was not able to attend the meeting, the Leader made the statement on his behalf. The Leader explained that, having watched Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon Councillor Morgan had already asked the Mayor to send congratulations on behalf of the Council, and also to congratulate Evelyn Davis of Bromley Swimming Club for her swimming achievements, and to wish good luck to Dina Asher-Smith at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
(2) Holiday Activities food Programmes Grant
Councillors Angela Wilkins and Simon Jeal had requested a statement from the Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families on the arrangements made to distribute the Government Holiday Activities and Food Programmes Grant allocated to the Council for the summer holiday period and to give an update on progress to date.
The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Kate Lymer, explained that, due to Covid-19 restrictions and the lateness of the funding, activities at Easier had been limited to looked after children. For the summer, with more time to plan and a dedicated coordinator in place to organise and publicise the activities. The programme would be run out of the four youth hubs, but with much more activities now that the restrictions would be eased. The six Children’s Centres would also be offering activities throughout the summer, there would be a community fun day in Mottingham and voluntary organisations would be offering a range of events including a month-long sports summer camp for nearly a hundred children a day at The Warren. There would be a range of activities for looked after children. Families with a social worker would be offered Section 17 money for specific family days out during the summer.
In response to a question from Councillor Simon Jeal about the measures taken to ensure that activities were affordable and accessible to families in deprived areas, Councillor Lymer stated that 85% of places were for children who received free school meals and would be free to them. Councillor Angela Wilkins asked for more detail on the provision of food, and referred to a scheme in Crystal Palace ward at Easter which was not limited to looked after children. Councillor Lymer offered to investigate this particular scheme further, but confirmed that schemes were expected to provide a hot meal, either breakfast or lunch. The children, and the parents if they were there, would be encouraged to participate in preparing the food themselves. Supermarket vouchers were being provided through the Covid Local Support Grant and that scheme would be extended over the summer period – families eligible for free school meals would be given £90.
(3) Covid-19 Infection Control and Protection
Councillors Angela Wilkins and Simon Jeal had requested a statement from the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Health explaining what measures the Council would take with respect to Covid-19 infection prevention and control to protect staff and residents including those who are immune-compromised, disabled or clinically vulnerable and those who have not yet been, or are unable to be, vaccinated, when accessing Council services (including, but not limited to, domiciliary care and other care services) after 19th July.
The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Diane Smith, stated that the Chief Executive, as Head of Paid Service, had authorised the following measures to protect staff. Social distancing of 2m would be maintained in Council buildings and a maximum of 25% rising to 50% of staff would be expected to work in Council buildings with an online desk booking system in place. All Council buildings would have enhanced cleaning, with reception area touch-points cleaned twice each day. Hand washing messages would be reinforced and hand sanitising gels would be provided. All staff would be encouraged to continue to wear face-coverings, particularly when coming in contact with the public. Online meeting platforms would continue to be used to avoid the need for large groups of staff to gather. Staff would be encouraged to take twice-weekly lateral flow tests at the Civic Centre. Residents visiting the Civic Centre would be encouraged to wear face-coverings, sanitising gel would be available and social distancing measures would be in place. The Council would ensure that front line care managers visiting people in care homes were vaccinated in line with guidance and legislation, and communicate the need for domiciliary care agencies to maintain similar measures. The Council would continue to encourage residents to be tested regularly using the test site at the Civic Centre. The Council recognised that some residents might not be able to access Council offices for medical reasons and would offer bespoke support such as online or telephone assessments. The Council would continue to work with Public Health England to reinforce key messages on vaccination, testing and other protective measures. These measures were above what was required after 19th July, but were aimed at ensuring the safety of staff and residents. The measures would be reviewed on a regular basis with the Chief Executive and the Director of Public Health.
In response to a question from Council Simon Jeal, Councillor Smith confirmed that it was too early to require care worker staff visiting residents to be double vaccinated, although the vaccine roll-out was progressing well in Bromley. Face coverings were a matter of personal choice, and should be worn by carers if a resident requested. Face coverings were still expected and domiciliary care providers would be expected to provide their staff with appropriate PPE.
In response to a question from Councillor Nicholas Bennett who suggested that very soon there would be no excuse for Members and officers coming into contact with the public not to be double vaccinated, the Portfolio Holder stated that she expected the Government to mandate that people working in care homes should be fully vaccinated.