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URGENT CARE IN SURREY HEARTLANDS

Meeting: 18/06/2020 - Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee (Item 19)

19 ENVIRONMENT TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE DIRECTORATE RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Purpose of report:

 

To provide the Committee with an update and overview of the activity of the Environment Transport and Infrastructure (ETI) Directorate in providing services over the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the latest efforts to recover services to a new normal.

 

Minutes:

Witnesses:

 

Denise Turner Stewart, Cabinet Member for Communities

Natalie Bramhall, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change

Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport

 

Katie Stewart, Executive Director – Environment, Transport and Infrastructure

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

  1. The Cabinet Member for Communities provided an overview of the work of the Environment Transport and Infrastructure (ETI) Directorate during COVID-19. An International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) accreditation approach was being undertaken and a new Director of Resilience would add additional capacity to the service. The Cabinet Member relayed how the relationship with funeral directors had been crucial throughout this period in enabling the death management approach to run smoothly. Protecting the workforce and preparing staff return to work was being undertaken, with the help from the health and safety team, whilst the support for armed forces personnel had continued and new grants awarded for the veteran’s hub.

 

  1. With regard to the Coroners Service, the Cabinet Member reported that there had been a significant reduction in waiting times for post-mortems, with a marked improvement in systems and processes. Hearings had continued with remote access enabled for the public.

 

  1. Simultaneously, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) had continued to respond to all emergencies whilst developing the community protection offer. SFRS was one of the first services to access key worker testing and the council was supporting the National Fire Chiefs Council in lessons learned with partner fire and rescue services. The Community Protection Group had advanced on its transformation programme – building back services and acting as a key component in the COVID-19 response. The Community Safety Team had been working to support domestic abuse provision and a new refuge had been established.

 

  1. The Chairman referred to the government’s active travel grants querying the status of the council’s bids. The Cabinet Member stated that, in total, the government had allocated £8.5m to Surrey and the council had applied for the first tranche of this to be granted as revenue funding. The majority of this funding would go on measures already being installed in Farnham, Reigate & Banstead and Mole Valley. The focus would largely be on unpedestrianised retail areas. These pilots would develop the template for the rest of the county, and it was anticipated that the second tranche of funding would be received in the summer. A newly appointed officer had increased the capacity of the team for project development.

 

  1. The Chairman asked whether Members and residents could be involved in the process prior to the submission of bids. The Cabinet Member responded that a new virtual map on where residents could mark and nominate areas for improvement was due to be launched and would help prioritisation. The Cabinet Member assured the Committee that Members would be included in any consultations taking place in their area, and urged Members to think how walking, cycling and bus routes could be improved in their area.

 

  1. The Chairman raised pressures on bus operators due to the declining bus usage during lockdown. This conflicted with both the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19