Friday 4 February 2022
Public: coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for Devon on our website
Please pass this onto district, borough, parish and town councillors as appropriate. The bulletin can be shared as a link by clicking the 'View it as a Web page' link at the top. Find previous bulletins on our web page.
Do it for Devon
Stick with us and keep following the guidance to keep everyone safe and well.
We need the support of local residents and visitors to keep Devon safe. While cases are high, everybody needs to continue to act carefully and remain cautious.
Keep up to date with the latest government coronavirus guidance.
#RespectProtectEnjoy #DoItForDevon
Those familiar with the phrase 'lightning never strikes the same place twice' might also know that that's not true. The same can be said with coronavirus.
But now, if you test positive twice, over 90 days apart, this will be counted as two separate infections.
The new data shows the difference between the currently dominant Omicron variant and earlier strains of coronavirus. Where reinfection rates averaged around 1.4 percent of cases until 16 November 2021, we've since seen a spike in infections with Omicron, with reinfections representing around 10 per cent of episodes per day.
Steve Brown, Devon’s Director of Public Health, said:
"What the data demonstrates is just how different the Omicron variant is in its ability to reinfect people who have already had coronavirus.
"One thing is for sure, to increase our chances of not catching the virus, or at least help reduce the severity of illness if you do catch it, we must be up to date with our vaccinations, and follow sensible public health precautions.”
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As Councillors you are representing your communities as part of an open and transparent local democratic system. This involves regularly meeting residents, often one-to-one and out in the community.
The Local Government Association (LGA) invite you to an event which is government funded. It will provide an overview of personal safety as it applies to councillors' everyday activities, including risk assessment and practical strategies for safe working.
Confirmed speakers are:
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Cllr Bridget Smith, Leader, South Cambridgeshire District Council
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Miranda Smythe, Managing Director, The Baikie-Wood Consultancy Ltd
This is a virtual Zoom webinar. Book your place now.
Virtual Women's Health Conference
Tuesday 8 March 2022
Devon & Cornwall, and Dorset Police are pleased to be collaborating with Devon County Council, Cornwall Council, Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council to bring you a Virtual Women’s Health Conference to be held on Teams on Tuesday 8 March 2022.
Members are invited to participate in the sessions, alongside members of staff, as part of our commitment to health and wellbeing.
The day’s sessions include:
- Mental health: 9.00am to 10.10am
- Women’s cancers: 10.30am to 11.30am
- Pelvic 101: 12.30pm to 1.30pm
- Endometriosis and periods: 2.00pm to 3.00pm
- Menopause: 3.30pm to 4.30pm
Find out more about the different sessions and how to register on Inside Devon.
CCG Members' briefing - coronavirus vaccination in Devon
Please see below for the latest coronavirus vaccination briefing for Members from NHS Devon, Devon’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG):
You can view current and previous copies on the Provider Engagement Network (PEN) website.
We want to be an inclusive council that hears the voices of all our communities.
Setting our priorities for the next four years: our Strategic Plan for 2021 - 2025
On Monday (31 January), we published our Strategic Plan for 2021-2025.
The plan details Devon County Council’s priorities for the next four years and describes goals that we believe will help to make Devon the best place to grow up, and a place where we can all live well and prosper.
Supporting it, we will have annual plans setting out what we will do each year to achieve those strategic goals.
Those priorities, available on the council’s website, are:
- helping Devon respond to the climate and ecological emergency, and working to protect and improve our natural environment
- working together to ensure all children are safe, healthy and can thrive with opportunities to fulfil their potential
- helping Devon achieve inclusive economic recovery and sustainable growth, ensure more people can take advantage of opportunities, and invest carefully to improve infrastructure
- making Devon a fairer place, address poverty, health and other inequalities, and ensure support for those people and families struggling most
- help people to be healthier and more resilient, ensure everyone gets the care they need, and support people to live their lives well
- support all our communities to be safer, better connected and more resilient with a focus on communities at greatest risk or in greatest need
We are now asking for input into our annual plans and inviting you, as a Devon resident and as a proud Devon County Council Member, to also share the plan with your communities.
You can read the Strategic Plan and priorities in full on our website.
Please take the time to look over the information and then fill in the survey on each priority page to share your ideas on how we can work differently to make Devon an even better place to live and work.
Race Equality Audit
In a message to staff our Chief Executive, Phil Norrey, said:
"We have published our Race Equality Audit Report, commissioned by Leadership Group as part of our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organisation.
The report, which you can read in full here, has been written by consultants Kalkidan Legesse MBA, Maia Thomas and Sandhya Dave, following a detailed audit to help us understand and address structural racism within Devon County Council. Councillors from all political groups, as well as many members of our staff, contributed to the review.
We welcome the report and accept the findings.
We asked for an honest assessment of how it feels for Black and Asian colleagues to work for Devon County Council (DCC), to be challenged on our assumptions and be advised on actions we can take to ensure DCC becomes a place where Black, Asian and other ethnically diverse people feel safe, included and welcomed.
The report makes for some hard and uncomfortable reading and is a stark wake up call for all of us that racism still exists to an unacceptable extent in our country, in our county, and regrettably, within our Council.
We need to be intolerant of racism and to actively challenge racist language and behaviour, but this report makes it clear that we have not done nearly enough.
We have, through our ignorance and lack of understanding, allowed racist behaviour to continue, and that is unacceptable. And although we have grievance procedures and training in place, it is not sufficient in protecting the wellbeing of our staff.
We need to do more to ensure our Black, Asian and ethnically diverse colleagues are able to express their needs and experiences safely and that the points raised will be acted upon swiftly.
We will be discussing the recommendations and priority themes in detail with Cabinet and Scrutiny Members and developing an Anti-Racism Framework to be adopted and actioned across the Council, including robust monitoring and governance arrangements.
To progress this work at speed, we will develop a framework and annual action plan. And as part of our budgeting process will be allocating resources to support our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Jo Hooper, in delivering this vital work. We will also be talking with our partners and stakeholders about the work we can do together to fulfil our commitments and ask you to take an active role in this work.
We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves, to challenge racist behaviour and to call out racism within DCC and within our communities. We will be looking to roll out the Let’s Explore Race Mentoring Programme more widely across the Council soon.
Making Devon a fairer place is one of the six priorities in our Strategic Plan 2021 - 2025 and we are committed to eliminating discrimination, providing equality of opportunity and challenging prejudice in order to advance the achievement of equality and foster good relations between diverse groups in Devon. You can read more about this on our Equality and Diversity website.
If you, or someone you know, has experienced racist behaviour within DCC it will not be tolerated, and you can report incidences of discrimination by following the guidance here."
If you have any concerns or would like to discuss this report further, please contact our Acceptable Behaviour Helpline on 01392 385555. More information about our Acceptable Behaviour policy and the support available can be found on Inside Devon.
Second doses for 12 to 15 year olds
Many 12 to 15 year olds in Devon have already had their first dose of the vaccine, either at their school or by attending a vaccination centre.
School nurse teams are visiting schools over the coming weeks to offer second doses or first doses if still needed, so look out for the dates. Like last time, parents or carers will be asked to give their consent to have the second dose.
Remember though, second doses can only be given at least 12 weeks after the first dose or 12 weeks after a positive test result. If your child is aged 12 to 15 and it's been longer than 12 weeks since their first dose, they can wait to have their second jab at school, or can attend a vaccination centre with or without an appointment.
And with infections so high particularly among young people, if not showing symptoms please continue to use lateral flow tests twice a week, and daily if identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Young people are looking out for each other
Young people are looking out for each other, and offering practical advice and support to help to get through yet another winter of coronavirus.
Devon's Youth Service, run on our behalf by SPACE, has developed a suite of resources to help young people find trusted information, online and via social media.
Resources include video stories, made by young people who have been affected by coronavirus, talking about their experience, and passing on top tips on how to stay safe this winter.
Dan Barton, from SPACE, said:
"Young people are more likely to listen to and take advice from other young people.
"Cases of coronavirus in Devon are particularly high in young people, at primary and secondary school, so the more that can be done within those age groups to talk about risk, and managing risk, the better.
"Our campaign is to raise awareness of the impact of coronavirus on young people, and to show people what steps they can take to as stay safe as possible. There are resources that we'd love young people to share between their friends."
Care home visitors asked to make arrangements before they visit
Around half of the 317 care homes in Devon currently have two or more linked cases of coronavirus among staff and residents.
Care homes are working hard to manage infection, mitigate risk, and to protect their residents and staff from coronavirus.
And where there are outbreaks - two or more linked positive cases - those care homes are working even more closely with Public Health Devon to follow temporary additional measures to reduce risk.
But with the government's change to care home visiting rules, to allow more visits, many care home providers in Devon are concerned that opening up to visitors right now will put residents and staff at greater risk of infection.
Under the new national rules, care home visitors are asked to make arrangements with care homes in advance of the visit, so that care home providers can manage the number of people attending at any one time, to ensure safety for residents and staff.
Steve Brown, Devon's Director of Public Health, said:
"Visiting loved ones and friends who live in care homes is vitally important to the resident's wellbeing. We want there to come a time soon when additional restrictions will not be needed, but while cases in Devon care homes remain high, we ask visitors to make arrangements with their care home in advance of their visit, so that the care home can manage risk of infection to residents and staff."
Read the government guidance on care home visiting.
Consultation on removing vaccination as a condition of deployment for health and social care staff
The plan to introduce mandatory vaccination for all patient-facing health and Care Quality Commission-regulated social care workers (excluding care home staff who already have to be vaccinated) from April 2022 has been put on hold, to go back to consultation.
The Health and Social Care Secretary has announced that regulations making vaccines a condition of deployment for health and social care staff are set to be revoked, subject to public consultation and Parliamentary approval.
The reasoning given is that circumstances have changed – Omicron replaces Delta as the dominant variant, with a different profile of vaccine efficacy, transmissibility and virulence.
At the moment:
- the legal requirement for health and social care staff to be double jabbed to be removed, subject to consultation and Parliamentary approval
- the vast majority of health and care workers are vaccinated and are being encouraged to get boosted. Vaccinations can be booked through the National Booking Service, by ringing 119, or by attending one of the many walk-in coronavirus vaccination sites available across the county
- these changes will be subject to a period of consultation, Parliamentary approval and will require a change to the regulations already laid
Read more on the consultation on removing vaccination as a condition of deployment for health and social care staff.
Click to watch the summary film clip, on YouTube.
A look at our Appreciative Inquiry into Adult Social Care
Back in December, we held an interactive event which brought together system leaders, care workers, care providers and colleagues from one of our local care partnerships to celebrate the work being done by the adult social care sector in Devon, and ask the question, “How can it be even better?”.
The event was just one part of what will be a sustained campaign to better value and reward our adult social care workforce.
You can watch this summary film for an insight into what took place and the commitments that were made at the event.
Photo by Andrew Kambel on Unsplash
Tiverton extends welcome to asylum seekers
Local authorities and the Tiverton community are working together to welcome and support asylum seekers who arrived in the town last month as part of the Home Office’s national asylum seeker dispersal process.
The Home Office block-booked a hotel in the town as temporary accommodation to help cope with the high volume of individuals entering the UK and now seeking permission to stay permanently in this country.
The initial group that are being accommodated at the hotel are mostly single adults from a wide range of Middle Eastern and other countries, although families with children could also be accommodated as needed.
All have been initially assessed and registered at a national centre, prior to arriving in Devon.
‘We want to drive up skills and training.” Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash
Government gives go-ahead for County Deal for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
Council leaders have welcomed Government backing for a Devon, Plymouth and Torbay County Deal aimed at delivering on key economic and social priorities for the area.
The announcement by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove commits the Government to working with a strong partnership of councils on the detail of a deal as part of the Government’s levelling up policy.
When finalised, it’s hoped the County Deal with government will provide councils across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay with extra powers and influence to improve economic and social conditions in all the communities they serve.
Councils have identified skills and training, affordable housing, health and social care, and transport and digital connectivity as priorities to help tackle inequality and poor social mobility.
Devon Climate Emergency's (DCE) February newsletter
Catch up on all the latest climate news and updates in the latest DCE newsletter and find out more about exciting developments coming in the spring.
Read the February newsletter.
Click to watch the introduction to Race Equality Week, on YouTube.
Race Equality Week (7 to 13 February 2022)
It’s Race Equality Week next week (7 to 13 February 2022). The week is an annual, nationwide movement of individuals and organisations which aims to address barriers to race equality in the workplace and act as a catalyst for ongoing change.
We are committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation and Race Equality Week provides a good opportunity to remind colleagues about our Anti-Racism Commitment, which was endorsed by Leadership Group in October 2021.
Find out more on Inside Devon.
 Next week is National Apprenticeship Week 2022!
Keep an eye on DCC Apprentices' social media to see what they're up to, as we celebrate Apprenticeships throughout the week from Monday 7 February to Sunday 13 February.
To kick off the week, our Chief Executive, Phil Norrey, will be getting together with our Step In Apprentices for a virtual catch up over coffee on Monday afternoon. The apprentices will have the chance to chat to Phil about our latest priorities as well as discussing some of the issues and topics they want to hear more about.
They'll also be putting together a special feature for Inside Devon next Friday, so make sure to take a read as we reflect on the week.
You can keep an eye out for all the latest updates on DCC Apprentices' social media on, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Blogger.
Members' Area
Don't forget your Members' Area SharePoint site is your one-stop-shop to access resources to aid you in your role as a Devon County Councillor. Key documents from the Council's various service areas, including induction resources, are posted in the Document library, and the Who's who? highlights the best person for you to contact to help answer any queries you may have.
By pulling together across the Council, with our partners and our communities, we are doing everything we can to help us all through this incredibly difficult time. Thank you to you and your community and stay safe and well.
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