Covid-19 update, 15 May 2020
Although lockdown restrictions have been eased we should be in no doubt that we are not back to normal. The latest figures show that 415 people have died in the district of Covid-19 and infection rates remain high. Every one of those deaths is a tragedy and as we look to adapt to life with the virus, and for businesses to survive and thrive beyond it, we must all take responsibility for preventing the spread of Covid-19.
The most important thing anyone can do is to stay at home if possible and we urge everyone to do so. At the Council we have been working with partners to see how new government guidance will impact on the District and on our services.
Our immediate priority is the safety of our vulnerable, our workers, customers and the wider community. We are grappling with the challenge of making our workplaces, schools, public spaces and transport safe while at the same time enabling the economy to get into gear after lockdown. This week we remembered those who lost their lives 35 years ago in the Bradford City fire. That was a tragic and traumatic event but it also showed Bradford at its best in the way that people from all communities came together to offer help and support. We are seeing those same qualities today as people across all parts of the District stick together, watch out for each other and support those who need help. Together we will get through this and together we will build back better than before.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader, City of Bradford MDC
Kersten England, Chief Executive
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The government has published its roadmap for Covid 19 recovery and here in Bradford District partners are working together alongside the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to adapt to a period of life with the virus and get services and businesses back to work in ways that are safe for staff and customers and which prevent the spread of infection.
Our key objectives are to:
- Minimise infection and mortality rates
- Ensure support to the most vulnerable
- Support community resilience
- Enable greater levels of economic activity
- Maintain essential services.
We are working to achieve these goals through action to ensure safe travel, safe public spaces, safe workplaces, safe schools and safe communities. We will continue to support the most vulnerable and people who have found themselves to be vulnerable as a result of the crisis. Together we continue to support our care homes.
We are encouraging people to work from home, to cycle and walk if they need to travel and we are working with transport providers to deliver safe public transport.
Working together we are supporting businesses, public and voluntary services to operate safely and we are thinking about how we ensure that our City and town centres, parks and open spaces are also safe.
We have to put tackling poverty and inequality at the forefront of our approach. The virus has had a disproportionate impact on the poorest people and on certain communities and groups of workers and has hit the economy hard. Our response must ensure that existing inequalities in income, health, housing and opportunities do not get worse and that where we can, we act to close those gaps. As we look to a future where our businesses and communities survive and thrive we have to make sure that we rebuild better than before, that our economy works for everyone and that we use resources in a responsible and sustainable way.
Everyone must play their part:
- Stay at home as much as possible
- Work from home if you can
- Avoid public transport if possible
- Local parks and green spaces are available for your daily outdoor exercise
- Always keep your distance in public (at least 2 metres apart)
- Wash your hands regularly
- And if you or anyone in your household has coronavirus symptoms, you must all self-isolate.
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Bradford Council’s finance team have been preparing our latest submission to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out the impact of the Covid-19 virus on Council finances.
While the Government has provided a welcome £30.5m in emergency grants for the additional costs associated with the emergency this will cover less than six months of activity and that doesn’t take into account the loss of income from the closure of services like leisure centres, theatres and museums.
The next phase of adapting to and recovering from Covid-19 will also require significant expenditure; this at a time when the amount of money that can be raised locally through Council tax and business rates is likely to reduce. We need everyone to back the case for Councils to be adequately funded by government to meet the additional costs of Covid. If that support is not forthcoming, then cuts to services will be inevitable at a time when the District’s communities and businesses need them the most.
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News that the Government has allocated £600m to tackle Covid-19 in care homes is welcome. Social care services are at the vanguard of the fight against the spread of Covid-19. National figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that there were 8,312 Covid-19 related care home deaths registered in the period up to 1 May. The evidence also shows that care workers are twice as likely to die from
Covid-19 than health care workers. Here in Bradford District:
- As of 12 May there were 37 care homes (31.6% of total care homes) experiencing either a confirmed or suspected Covid-19 outbreak
- A quarter of Covid-19 deaths are occurring in care homes, in addition some people who have died in hospital had been transferred from care homes.
This is why we are backing national calls for vital and up to date contact tracing data to be shared with local authorities so that they can rapidly respond to local outbreaks and for the Government’s online PPE ordering system to be brought into full operational use as soon as possible.
Locally we are implementing a Care Home Plan designed to prevent the spread of infection and which includes careful monitoring and liaison with homes, guidance and support for isolation, ensuring consistent use and standards of PPE, support to secure the financial sustainability of care homes and increased access to testing - as part of this, the team at the Marley Fields testing site have been ringing round care homes to offer tests to staff. A national online portal has been established through which care homes can apply for Covid-19 testing kits whether or not any of their residents or staff have symptoms.
Food bank data is showing regular increases in the numbers of local people accessing food parcels. Notwithstanding the huge effort that is carried out through the ‘ad hoc’ street food provision and other independent local provision the wider food bank network has increased the number of days of food which have been provided to residents in the district per week from a baseline of 4950 in February to 12,600 in May. Some of the individual increases are significant. Sandale Community Centre has increased from 75 days of food provided a week to 1,275 days a week and the Salvation army at Keighley from 210 days of food provided a week to 2,345 days. Some of the newer food banks like Thornton are already feeding over 500 days a week equivalent.
This is work is being co-ordinated through the voluntary sector and is supported by the generosity of local people, a great vote of thanks is due to all concerned.
Our community hubs are continuing to support people with shopping and other help and wardens in Keighley shared this message of thanks.
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Representatives from across Bradford district’s business community are coming together to strengthen communications, confidence and support as the district navigates the Covid-19 recovery. The partners which include Bradford Council, Bradford Chamber of Commerce, Bradford BID, Discover Keighley and Ilkley BID will meet weekly on behalf of almost 16,000 local businesses and the retail sector, to ensure good news, best practice and skills-sharing are amplified across the district.
As part of the new drive to reinforce the restart, renew and rebuild process, businesses, organisations and groups are being encouraged to share their experiences, success stories and advice for other businesses and use the hashtag #TogetherBradfordCan to increase the spread of positive recovery news.
Bradford is home to 15,785 businesses including 1,760 SME, and 13,960 micro businesses (1-9 employees). The latest intelligence gathered through partners and individual businesses and organisations will support the district-wide economic recovery and enable the council to understand and represent business needs alongside Bradford Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Business and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, to ensure the best outcomes, support networks, guidance and advice reaches local businesses.
If you have news to share, advice to give or questions to ask, please contact Suzanne Watson at Approach PR on suzanne@approachpr.com
For further information on what’s happening in your town or the city centre log on to Bradford BID, Ilkley BID, Discover Keighley, FSB or the Council website
Meanwhile work is on-going to get financial support out to all eligible businesses and on 14 May total payments had reached around £106.7m to just over 9,350 businesses.
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Following the first ever virtual meeting on 30 April, Bradford Council’s Executive will re-convene remotely on 19 May to consider a report on the governance arrangements for the devolution deal for West Yorkshire. The deal announced by the Chancellor on 11 March 2020 will unlock funding worth £1.8 billion over the next 30 years. Specific schemes in Bradford include support to develop a city centre masterplan, investment in city centre public realm, walking and cycling, a park and ride site for south Bradford and support for a research hub building on the work of Born in Bradford.
The deal requires a directly elected mayor to be in place. On 24 March the Executive endorsed the deal in principle and agreed for a statutory review of governance to be undertaken with other West Yorkshire Councils and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The review has produced a draft scheme for Governance that Executive will consider before it goes out to wider consultation.
The Executive will meet again on 9 June. Other meetings in the diary include:
18 May - Regulatory and Appeals Committee
25 June - Governance and Audit Committee
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New Well Being Chief Appointed
Bradford council has appointed a new Strategic Director of Health and Wellbeing, Iain MacBeath. Iain is a highly regarded and experienced Director of Adult Social Services in Hertfordshire. He takes up the post in early August replacing Bev Maybury who will be retiring after 4 years of good service for the district.
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