Verbal statement from the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, and the Chief Executive, Ged Curran, expressed sadness at the number of people that had died during the pandemic and gave their deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who had passed. They also paid tribute to the key workers, council staff, voluntary organisations, police, members of the public and many others who have provided assistance to those in need.

Councillor Alambritis provided an overview of the impact of the pandemic in Merton and the council’s response to date:

·         173 deaths, of which 131 died in hospital, 21 in care homes and 21 in other locations.

·         the council has incurred considerable additional costs and loss of income that will leave a funding gap of between £25m ad £35m, some of which will be met by the government.

·         the council has 20 days supply of PPE, has given 20,000 items to care providers that the council works with and has worked with London Councils on Londonwide procurement of stocks

·         the council has provided support to people who are shielded. Note – the council does not have a formal role in relation to testing and tracking.

·         The council has a good working relationship with local hospitals, care homes and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The Leader has received a letter of thanks from the Chair of the CCG.

·         Local schools have remained open for children who need them and teachers have been working in school and at home on virtual learning. The council will respect the decisions of headteachers and governing bodies on what is best in relation to opening schools to a greater number of pupils.

·         25 homeless people have been housed during the pandemic and the council is working to find funding to provider longer term housing so that they will hopefully not return to the streets.

·         The council has drawn up an emergency transport strategy to increase the provision of safe walking and cycling routes. The strategy is currently out for consultation.

·         Domestic violence figures have been relatively low in Merton.

·         Work has commenced to support local BAME communities with the disproportionate impact that Covid 19 has had on them.

·         Local businesses have been adversely impacted and the council has moved quickly to distribute government funding on to businesses (Merton was the third fastest in London).

·         Parks and open spaces have remained open in Merton.

Ged Curran drew on his perspective as the co-ordinator of the response in South West London and their representative on the London-wide local government response team, to say that Merton has responded well to the challenges it has faced. The council has implemented a number of entirely new services at short notice to protect over 6,500 people on the shielding register.

Ged Curran said that there were a number of challenges ahead, some of which would be very severe. A second wave of the virus is inevitable at some stage. Constraints on the economy will be relatively long lasting and a significant recession is likely. London may be particularly badly affected because of its large hospitality sector and its reliance on public transport. The virus has underlined and exemplified existing inequalities in relation to BAME communities and those on low income, particularly in London.

Ged Curran said that the virus and its aftermath is likely to have  big impact on the economy and on how and where people work and live. The climate change strategy will have an important part to play in shaping the recovery but resourcing this will be a challenge. The funding crisis facing Transport for London (TfL) will also impact on the council as TfL fund transport development and infrastructure in the borough (such as repairing and maintaining roads).

Members of the Commission thanked the Leader and Chief Executive for the regular information that they had provided and for steering the council through these unprecedented times. Members asked detailed questions about a number of issues:

Deaths in Merton

In response to a request for more detailed data on differences between the east and west of the borough on overall deaths and on deaths in care homes, Ged Curran said that audited figures broken down by location had not yet been received but he could confirm that around 60% of Covid deaths had been in the east of the borough. A breakdown of care home data by location has not been provided.

In response to a question about the impact on people with diabetes, Ged Curran said that this data is not available at a local level but that national figures have established that diabetes makes people more likely to be seriously affected by the virus.

In response to a question about the differences between government data and Merton data on new cases in the past 4 weeks, Ged Curran said that there were slightly different datasets and definitions. He asked the member to email him the details so that he could check and respond.

Ward allocation scheme

A question was asked about how much is currently left unspent in the ward allocation scheme and whether that money could be used for cycling and pedestrian highway improvements in the wake of the pandemic. Ged Curran said that £290k remained unspent and that any re-allocation would need the consent of the relevant ward councillors.

Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

In response to a question about the proposed reconfiguration of hospital services, Councillor Alambritis said that St Helier Hospital provided services to those most in need and those who need a hospital nearby. He said that all options remain on the table. His preference is for the hospital to remain in its current location with its current range of services.

Crime and disorder

A member asked whether the comparatively low domestic violence figures were due to under-reporting. Ged Curran said that there had been an increase in calls to the helpline and that it was not clear why these had not translated into an increase in cases. The council had made provision for an increase in cases and has widely publicised the service. He said that there may be an increase once the lockdown has eased.

In response to a question about crime and disorder, Ged Curran said the council had been working with police and with its contractor, Kingdom, to ensure an appropriate level of enforcement during the lockdown and afterwards.

Transport infrastructure

In answer to a question about Merton’s approach to responding to funding opportunities, Councillor Alambritis said that the council considered officer time and capacity when considering which to apply for. He undertook to review the specifics of the cycling infrastructure fund and reflect on the council’s approach..

Care homes in Merton

A member asked whether care homes had been alerted to the pandemic sufficiently early to be able to take precautions and how the council could ensure they would be protected in future. Ged Curran said that because Merton has a relatively small number (21) of care homes in the borough and already had good working relationships with them, it had been able to work with them in January and February to identify and mitigate risks. The number of care home places had been reduced and the council had assisted with this through payments and provision of PPE. Merton has experienced a comparatively small number of deaths as a result. He added that there was national recognition of the need to review the model for care home provision and funding post Covid 19.

The voluntary sector

A member asked what steps were being taken to protect the voluntary sector in Merton. Councillor Alambritis said that he had been working at both a local, sub-regional and Londonwide level to identify what could be done to assist and safeguard the voluntary sector through the pandemic and afterwards. Ged Curran said that the strength of social capital in Merton had been demonstrated through the active response of the voluntary sector to the crisis and the emergence of lots of new groups to provide assistance to local people.

Support for small businesses

In response to  question about the use of the discretionary payments from government to small businesses and charities that are exempt from business rates and therefore haven’t already received financial support, Councillor Alambritis said that the criteria had largely been set by the government. There is some local discretion and so the council has established a panel, including representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and Merton Voluntary Services Council, to advise on the allocation of the funding. The total sum involved is £1.3m.

Recovery

In response to a question, Councillor Alambritis said that the first steps would be to assess the damage and to work out how to help those who had been most adversely affected. The council would then look at how it should operate in the new environment, bearing in mind that resources would be limited, looking for better and leaner ways of operating. Ged Curran said that this would be done jointly with partner organisations to identify ways of maximising the application of scarce resources (for example working with health partners to invest in primary care and promote social prescribing).

Ged Curran said that the impact of the difficulties facing businesses in central London may encourage some small businesses to relocate to outer London areas such as Wimbledon and these may also become attractive locations for families.

In response to a further question, Councillor Alambritis said that the council would review the local economic strategy and the council’s own medium term financial strategy.

In conclusion, the Commission RESOLVED to record its gratitude to the staff of the council and the voluntary sector for the dedication, commitment and ethos of service to the community that they have demonstrated during this exceptionally difficult period.