Agenda and minutes

The Chief Executive shall invite nominations and conduct the vote for the positions of Chair and Deputy Chair of the Assembly.

The Chief Executive opened the meeting and invited nominations for the positions of Chair and Deputy Chair of the Assembly for the 2020/21 municipal year.

The Assembly resolved to appoint Councillors Kangethe and Choudhury as the Chair and Deputy Chair respectively.

The Chair requested all those participating in the meeting to observe a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to those who had lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and conveyed the Council’s thoughts and prayers to them, their families and friends.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2020 were confirmed as correct.

The Assembly received and noted the minutes of the meetings of the JNC Appointments, Salaries and Structures Panels held on 23 March and 7 April 2020.

The Leader will present his statement.

The Leader of the Council presented a statement updating the Assembly on a range of matters associated with COVID-19.

He recognised that many residents were struggling with isolation, had lost jobs and that personal debt was on the increase, as demonstrated in the huge number of new claims for Universal Credit and Housing and Council Tax benefit.

The Leader paid tribute to the efforts of the workforce, many of whom continued to work from home adapting to new ways of working. He particularly thanked the frontline workers who had been incredible during these difficult times. In marking International Workers Day, he had written to the Trade Unions to thank them for their cooperation and hard work. 

The Community Solutions service had coordinated support for those residents shielding. It had reached out to residents in temporary accommodation, contacted older residents as well as setting up a new hardship fund which in the first three weeks had provided £30,000 of support.

BDCAN were connecting people in the community by reaching out to more than 25,000 people, responding to thousands of requests as well as creating a legacy of community action by registering over 300 volunteers. The Leader was reminded of the community spirit during last weekend’s 75^th anniversary commemoration of VE Day and stated that the nation owed it to the older generation to make sure care homes were kept safe.  The Leader also conveyed his appreciation to NHS and care workers, other public sector workers, the Council’s own workforce and the many others helping to create a better society.

The Leader urged the Government to use the expertise of local government and councillors who, along with partners, were best placed to connect with their communities and deliver on the ground.

The Leader commended the excellent start both Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner had made following their appointment as Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in delivering constructive opposition during the current crisis. He also was pleased to note the appointment of Baroness Lawrence as race relations adviser to the Labour Party, who would be looking into why the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities were being disproportionality affected by COVID-19.

The Leader referred to latest figures which showed that Barking and Dagenham had one of the lowest contact rates and subsequent death rates of COVID-19 and extended the Council’s thanks to local residents for following the Government guidance and urged them to continue doing so, stay safe and keep well. 

The Director of Law and Governance introduced a report on the annual process of appointments to the various elements of the political structure and other internal and external bodies for the 2020/21 municipal year, as well as the proposal to extend the term of office of the current Mayor to January 2021 in the light of COVID-19.

The Leader of the Council also updated the Assembly on the membership of the Policy Task Group and his appointment of Councillor Andrew Achilleos as Member Champion for Climate Change.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Approve the appointments to various Council committees and other internal and outside bodies, as set out in Appendix 1,

(ii)  Note the Council representation on committees and other internal and external bodies that do not require Assembly approval, as set out in Appendix 2, and

(iii)  Agree the revised Mayoral arrangements for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 municipal years in the light of the COVID-19 restrictions as set out in the report. 

The Director of Law and Governance presented a report on the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2020/21. 

The report proposed that Members’ basic and special responsibility allowances should remain at the same levels agreed by the Assembly in July 2018.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Agree that no increase be applied to Members’ basic and special responsibility allowances for the 2020/21 municipal year, and

(ii)  Adopt the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2020/21 at Appendix A to the report, to be effective from 14 May 2020.

Following endorsement by the Cabinet at its meeting on 21 April 2020, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services introduced the new Corporate Plan for 2020-22, setting out the Council’s vision, priorities and targets for the next two years.

He explained that the Plan, and the Single Performance Framework (SPF) that accompanied it, had been developed prior to COVID-19 and that much of the content would be reviewed in the light of lessons learned from the pandemic. The current version of both documents therefore represented a baseline and benchmark for challenge of what was deemed achievable prior to COVID-19 and what would still be possible post the current, unprecedented situation.

At the present time, the Council was estimating a deficit of £24m due to extra demand costs, loss of income and an inability to deliver savings already programmed into the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the next two years.  The Council had been allocated less than half the deficit amount in special COVID-19 grant from the Government and would continue to lobby to ensure that additional emergency funding was made available.

The crisis had made the Council re-evaluate a number of issues as an employer of many thousands of staff and a deliverer of hundreds of services to local residents.  Significant changes in working practices had been enacted with 75% of staff working from home while the remainder delivered front line services, all supported to ensure that their safety was paramount during the course of their duties by maintaining social distancing and supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) to all that needed it.

The new Corporate Plan took account of views expressed by local residents during a substantial consultation exercise and built on the commitments set out in the Borough Manifesto and the success of the Council’s transformation programme and Ambition 2020 project.  However, given the scale of the crisis it represented a fluid plan that would last much less than the two years it was planned to cover. 

The Cabinet Member summarised the main features of the document which set out the long-term approach and strategic priorities encapsulated in the areas of ‘Participation & Engagement’, ‘Prevention, Independence & Resilience’, ‘Inclusive Growth’ and a ‘Well-Run Organisation’.

The Assembly resolved to approve the new Corporate Plan 2020-22 as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

Question 1

From Councillor Freeborn

“In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, can the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services explain what steps are being taken to provide support to our local businesses, many of whom will face financial hardship as a result of this crisis?”

Response 

The Cabinet Member explained that the Council was responsible for administering the Government’s Business Rates holiday scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, as well as grant schemes for small businesses. The Council had been allocated £27m and, to date, it had paid out 70% totalling around £19m. The grant scheme was being extended to cover other businesses such as those operating in shared workspaces. Those not eligible for Government relief were able to apply for debts to be waived on a case-by-case basis, via a hardship application process.

The Council had received hundreds of enquiries and was signposting businesses to relevant advice groups and Government information through the Council’s website and regular newsletters via its Business Forum.

Barking Market traders’ pitch fees had been frozen since the market closed and a guarantee given that, on the reopening of the market, the traders could return to their pitch location.

Question 2

From Councillor Freeborn

“Last week, the UK death toll from Coronavirus tragically reached over 30,000 – the highest in Europe. Given the failure of the Government to recognise the importance of the World Health Organisations recommendation for testing at the start of the epidemic, can the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration please advise what measures are being taken to testing, tracing and reducing the COVID-19 virus in the borough?”

Response

The Cabinet Member explained that staff were being directed to the Government’s self-referral testing website to book a test. Test results were issued direct to the individual and not their employer. Testing of care home staff had been coordinated directly with providers through the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), although difficulties had been experienced with booking tests.  The CCG had also been requested to provide testing statistics, but the information had not been made available. 

The Director of Public Health and the Director of People and Resilience had subsequently assumed responsibility for COVID-19 testing in the Borough’s care homes to ensure that testing of staff and residents was better coordinated and that each care home had a functioning and resourced testing programme with measures in place to reduce transmission of the virus.

Question 3

From Councillor Ingrid Robinson

“Worrying evidence is suggesting that COVID-19 is having a disproportionate effect on people from BME backgrounds, including those working in our NHS and as frontline workers. Could the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration confirm what is being done to protect local BME health workers, including whether line managers are carrying out risk assessments in hospitals and local care homes?”

Response

The Cabinet Member stated that there were likely to be a number of contributing factors in the general population such as overrepresentation of BAME populations in lower  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Chair asked that all those participating in the meeting should join her in a minute applause to recognise those working on the front line during this crisis.