Minutes:
Question 1
From Councillor Jamu
“Can the Cabinet Member for Finance update the Assembly on what funds the Council has received to provide support to families previously receiving free school meals?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services advised that the £170 million COVID Winter Grant Scheme would be made available in early December 2020 and used until March 2021 to support those most in need across England with the cost of food, energy (heating, cooking, lighting), water bills (including sewerage) and other essentials. The allocation of the Winter Grant Scheme for Barking and Dagenham was £870,077.
Question 2
From Councillor P Robinson
“Can the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health integration update the Assembly on what are we doing as a local authority to improve local contract tracing following the failures of the track and trace system to contact all positive cases? “
Response
The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration advised that there was a team of call handlers who were making calls to those people whose details have been provided by tack and trace. The call handlers have been trained to use council data (such as council tax records) to see if the Council held information on the person. Where a telephone or email contact is not provided, the Council had a team of visiting officers who carry out a home visit.
Question 3
From Councillor Princess Bright
“Following the fantastic reveal of our Hollywood partners Hackman Capital, Can the Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Aspiration update the Assembly on the progress made on the Dagenham Film Studios and explain how we’re supporting local residents into training and job opportunities?”
Response
The Cabinet Member for Employment Skills and Aspiration advised that the Eastbrook studios offered a fantastic opportunity to the borough in these difficult times and would not only bring in over 1,200 jobs and opportunities for local people but was also set to inject £35m per year to the local economy.
The Cabinet Member also advised that the Council would proactively build partnerships with the film studios and local educational institutes to create clear employment and training pathways into the industry for young people and older workers in the borough. In addition, the Council would work to create a strong local supply chain around the film studios.
Question 4
From Councillor Freeborn
“With Christmas looking remarkably different than previous years, can the Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement update the Assembly on what we will be doing to spread some Christmas cheer and support the most vulnerable in these difficult times?”
Response
The Cabinet Member of Community Leadership and Engagement advised that the Council were working with the Food Network run by BDCollective, and led by the people at Humdum, and together with partners at BD Group and our Community Food Clubs, to make sure we donations are turned into a food offer to help people put a festive meal on the table at Christmas.
The Council was again supporting TimeFM’s campaign to collect gifts in for local children.