Will officers be expected to change roles to make up shortfalls in frontline officers? What training will be offered to those to ensure they and the public are suitably protected?

The work that many staff are doing is already to changing so support this urgent situation and ensure that we are able to support our most vulnerable residents. We continue to redeploy staff on to critical activity. Much of this will be staffing advice lines, keeping communication channels open and support roles to free up qualified and specialist workers to undertake the work that only they are able to do.

Each district council was provided with a grant from the county council for community support during the Coronavirus lockdown. How can we get details of how much each council has spent and how this money has been used?

Each district council was allocated up to £50k from the county council to help community groups respond to Covid-19. Some districts have also chosen to add their own resources to this allocation. To date the county council has not allocated any of this funding but is aware that the district councils are liaising with community groups. The funding will be released once we have confirmed it meets the criteria.

Is there official pubic health advice available for people who are unwell with the virus at home?

Self-care advice to patients is available online in a short section on treating symptoms at home. Advice includes:

get enough rest and sleep
drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration – drink enough so your pee is light yellow and clear
take paracetamol to lower your temperature
when to take ibuprofen

Has any thought be given to replacing boxes of food with supermarket vouchers? There have been complaints that children will not eat the food in the boxes.

The food boxes are supplied by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as part of the Shielding Cohort so is not within our control. If a family is eligible for Free School Meals they can claim supermarket vouchers. More information on Free School Meals and how households can sign up is available here.

NHS Staff and Care workers on shifts are unable to take advantage of the dedicated opportunities to shop for provisions. Is there anyway GCC can help?

We are aware that there has been some concern over key workers, particularly NHS staff, being able to access food supplied. Many supermarkets have adjusted opening hours to account for this. We will continue to monitor the situation locally and work with the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group if there seem to be ongoing local issues.