Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Remote

Contact: Amelia Christopher  Email: amelia.christopher@surreycc.gov.uk

Note: Webcast link: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-and-committees/webcasts 

Media

Items
No. Item

32/21

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

    To receive any apologies for absence.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Andrew Lloyd and Gavin Stephens.

     

33/21

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 2 SEPTEMBER 2021 pdf icon PDF 189 KB

    To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The minutes were agreed as a true record of the meeting.

     

34/21

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

    All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or

    as soon as possible thereafter

     

    (i)            Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

    (ii)           Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any

    item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

     

    NOTES:

     

    ·         Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item

    where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest

    ·         As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)

    ·         Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the

    discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be

    reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    There were none.

     

35/21

INFORMAL QUESTION TIME

    a          Members' Questions

     

    The deadline for Member’s questions is 12pm four working days before the meeting (15 November 2021).

     

    b          Public Questions

     

    The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (12 November 2021).

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

           a   Members' Questions   [Item 4a]

     

    None received. 

     

    b   Public Questions   [Item 4b]

     

    None received.

     

     

36/21

ACTION TRACKER pdf icon PDF 234 KB

    The Board is asked to review its Action Tracker.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Dr Charlotte Keeble - Covid Vaccination Programme Director, Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System

     

    Key points raised in the discussion:

    1.    The Chairman requested an update on the one outstanding action A19/21.

    ·         In response the Covid Vaccination Programme Director (Surrey Heartlands ICS) explained that she would provide an update on the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme within item 8: Surrey Covid-19 Local Outbreak Management Plan.

    2.    The Chairman highlighted the inclusion of a detailed update - Appendix 1 - the response to action A21/21.

     

    RESOLVED:

    1.     That the Board reviewed its Action Tracker.

    ·         Action A19/21 to be marked as completed.

     

    Actions/further information to be provided:

    None.

     

37/21

COVID-19 SURVEILLANCE UPDATE

    A verbal update is to be provided on the surveillance of the data and intelligence concerning COVID-19.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Dr Naheed Rana - Public Health Consultant, Surrey County Council

    Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council

     

    Key points raised in the discussion:

    1.      The Public Health Consultant (SCC) noted:

    ·         the Covid-19 daily monitoring, intelligence and surveillance information; reviewing triggers and escalations, and the epidemiology and situational reports. 

    ·         the epi curve of Covid-19 cases in Surrey whereby there were 150,651 cases in total up to 9 November 2021, cases continued to be monitored and the graph showed the number of cases as well as the tracking of the seven-day averages and the impact of the three lockdowns and the Government’s roadmap culminating in all restrictions eased.

    ·         a graph showing the Covid-19 cases in Surrey between 15 June - 15 November 2021 where cases rose in conjunction with start of the school term in September and fell in conjunction with the October half term, rising post half term; the school age population group were driving infection rates.

    ·         the number of cases and rates per 100,000 population in the most recent fourteen-day period 2-15 November 2021 and detailed the most recent seven-day period 9-15 November 2021 where the rate for Surrey was 464.2 per 100,000 population or 5,570 cases - which was above the England and South East rates.

    ·         Tandridge, Elmbridge and Mole Valley had the highest rankings compared with nationally and in Surrey, Tandridge’s rate in the most recent seven-day period was 600.8 per 100,000 population compared to Woking at 370.4 per 100,000 population.

    ·         the ranking of seven-day case rate for Lower-tier local authorities in England, 9-15 November 2021, Elmbridge and Tandridge were positioned at ninth and tenth.

    ·         that the number and distribution of cases fluctuated weekly, there were agreed actions and notifications to tackle the rates in Surrey - noting the work of the Communications team (SCC), colleagues involved in testing and vaccinations, and support provided by other partners such as Surrey’s borough and district councils.

    ·         that the publicly available infographic ‘Surrey Covid-19 Summary: Cases and Rates’ was updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the recent infographic indicated an increasing trajectory with 800 cases per day on average.

    ·         the publicly available weekly Friday intelligence summary, keeping Members and residents regularly informed.

    ·         that the Delta Plus variant that was currently in the whole of the UK, although at low numbers in Surrey and Delta remained the dominant variant in the UK.

    ·         the Covid-19 cases per 100,000 by age group in Surrey between 14 October-6 November 2021 shown through a heat map, highlighting an increase in cases for school age groups or 10-19 year olds - which was consistent in most of the boroughs and districts - and an increase in cases in 40 to 49 year olds; the slight increase in 60 plus year olds had stabilised.

    ·         a heat map of Surrey and surrounding areas: weekly case rates per 100,000 population by local authority between 5 October-15 November 2021; the fluctuation of cases was shown and culminated in the current high rates.

    ·         there had been a slow  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37/21

38/21

COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN UPDATE pdf icon PDF 251 KB

    A communications and engagement strategy has been developed to support the Surrey Local Outbreak Management Plan. The Communications Plan has evolved as more has been learnt about our public health response to the virus and this report provides the latest update on communications activity.

     

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Abi Pope - Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead, Surrey County Council

    Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council

     

    Key points raised in the discussion:

    1.    The Senior Communications Manager - COVID-19 Communications Lead (SCC) noted:

    ·         that she would be providing a deeper dive into youth engagement in Surrey which was more important than ever due to the high rates in school-age children.

    ·         that back in 2020 early on in the pandemic there were high rates of Covid-19 in young people but there were no existing channels within the Council to reach young people, who were not following local government channels on any platform so the Council needed to find a way to reach them.

    ·         the Council therefore held focus groups with young people from Surrey and undertook in-depth insight work, findings included 73% of those young people surveyed had broken Covid guidelines and the messaging was not reaching their digital spaces and they felt scapegoated.

    ·         however, peer-to-peer conversations and relatable stories were helpful and so the Council partnered with Livity a youth specialist agency to create the Soon.Surrey Instagram channel with posts from influencers each month highlighting the Council’s strategic priorities around Covid-19 in a relatable and creative way.

    ·         since April 2021 Soon.Surrey had reached 398,000 Instagram users and had 633 followers.

    ·         the number one performing post on Soon.Surrey around mental health and videos across Soon.Surrey had 3 million views.

    ·         Soon.Surrey reels were effective with one receiving 4,252 views.

    ·         the Soon.Surrey channel also looks beyond Covid-19 to content on mental health and resilience, Black History Month, White Ribbon Day and the Surrey Countryside Code.

    ·         in addition to peer-to-peer organic content, Soon.Surrey was used as a paid platform, commissioning content such as Fiaa’s vaccination story, and content for 12 to 15 year olds on getting the Covid-19 vaccine; in total paid Instagram posts had been see over 2 million times.

    ·         another new channel used by the Council was Snapchat which like Instagram and Facebook could be targeted by age and geography - 64% of 16-24 year olds used Snapchat.

    ·         Snapchat was used as a paid advertising channel and the advertisements created were based on up to date data provided by the Public Health team (SCC).

    ·         an area addressed on Snapchat was festival season providing key messaging in line with public health guidance, another area was on promoting vaccination uptake in areas where young people may not be getting the vaccination as much as others, another area included Covid-19 testing for young men ‘you wouldn't forget your kit’ and another area was on fear of missing out ‘FOMO’.

    ·         in total the Council’s Snapchat advertisements received over 8 million views over 29,000 swipe ups and 273,000 video views; the top performing advertisement was on FOMO receiving over 2 million views followed by the advertisement on festival season.

    ·         another new channel used by the Council was radio advertisements on digital devices, 50% of UK homes had smart speakers and 63% of homes have a DAB device; the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38/21

39/21

SURREY COVID-19 LOCAL OUTBREAK MANAGEMENT PLAN pdf icon PDF 555 KB

    The report details progress on Surrey’s Local Outbreak Management Plan including key outcomes and milestones to date, challenges and next steps going forward.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Ruth Hutchinson - Director of Public Health, Surrey County Council

    Dr Charlotte Keeble - Covid Vaccination Programme Director, Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System

    Jane Lovatt - External Testing Cell Lead, Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group and Surrey County Council

    Naomi Grieve - Test and Trace Manager, Surrey County Council

    Adam Letts - Public Health Lead, Surrey County Council

    Alison Mason - Senior Public Health Lead, Surrey County Council

    Rebecca Pritchard - Chief Executive Officer, Surrey Care Association

    Yazmin Castillo Munoz de Hodgson - Project Support Officer, Surrey County Council

     

    Key points raised in the discussion:

    National and Local Update: Covid-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan / LOMP

     

    1.      The Director of Public Health (SCC) noted:

    ·         since the LOEB last met the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021 was published in mid-September and was the overarching national policy consisting of Plan A and Plan B, and signalled a shift coming out of lockdown.

    ·         Plan A: is the current national policy which outlined a comprehensive approach consisting of five areas to manage Covid-19 over autumn and winter 2021/22 through:

    -       ‘building our defences through pharmaceutical interventions’ - such as vaccines;

    -       identifying and isolating positive cases to limit transmission’ - through testing;

    -       ‘supporting the NHS and social care’ - looking at long COVID, noting a piece of work in Surrey Heartlands;

    -       ‘advising people on how to protect themselves and other’ - through communications and guidance;

    -       ‘pursuing an international approach’ - managing risks around international travel and working together to help vaccinate the world.

    ·         within Plan A, a key part was Covid-19 safer behaviours and actions - it was vital for Surrey to continue to be creative with communications.

    ·         Plan B: was the contingency to be enacted if the NHS comes under unsustainable pressure - there were currently no thresholds to trigger the move to Plan B such as around the number of hospital admissions or deaths; and like Plan A, Plan B was to be enacted nationally, there was no indication of a return to enacting a response at a local or regional level.

    ·         Plan B would be a shift and the four key areas would be:

    -       ‘face coverings compulsory in some settings’;

    -       ‘powers to introduce vaccine passports’;

    -       ‘encourage people to work from home’;

    -       ‘communicating the need for caution’.

    ·         the Covid-19 Contain Framework should be read in the context of the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021, the Framework sets out the key responsibilities about preventing, managing and containing outbreaks.

    ·         that every upper tier local authority was required to have a Local Outbreak Management Plan (LOMP), it was constantly updated to reflect the Plan and Framework.

    ·         Surrey was aiming to publish version 15 by 10 December 2021 following approval by the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Board (EPRR) and circulation to the LOEB; version 15 of the LOMP sought to increase its longevity and take a business as usual approach, so it would look different to previous iterations. 

     

    Covid-19 Vaccination Programme

    2.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39/21

40/21

SURREY LOEB UPDATED TERMS OF REFERENCE pdf icon PDF 226 KB

    The updated LOEB Terms of Reference since the last update at the 17 June 2021 (Informal) Board meeting, is provided in Annex 1 with tracked changes - Version: November 2021.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Amelia Christopher - Committee Manager, Surrey County Council

     

    Key points raised in the discussion:

    1.    The Committee Manager (SCC) noted:

    ·         that since the last version of the LOEB’s terms of reference agreed at the Board’s June meeting, the tracked changes were shown on the proposed November version of the terms of reference.

    ·         the following two additional proposed changes to the November terms of reference, in light of the LOEB not being a formal decision-making committee so it could continue to meet virtually:

    ·         10.1 Meetings will be held every two months in public. In line with best practice statutory requirements, notice and agendas for public meetings will be published 5 clear working days before the meeting. The frequency of the meetings will be kept under review.

    ·         10.3 Meetings will usually be held in person usually at Woodhatch Place, Reigate or virtually if informal. (with the option to meet in person at Woodhatch Place, Reigate.)

    2.    The Chairman welcomed the proposals, particularly the ability to continue to hold the LOEB virtually, with the option to meet in person at Woodhatch Place. 

     

    RESOLVED:

    1.    The LOEB agreed the updated Terms of Reference (Annex 1).

     

    Actions/further information to be provided:

    None.

     

41/21

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

    The next meeting of the Surrey Local Outbreak Engagement Board will take place on 16 February 2022 (Provisional).

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The date of the next meeting was noted as 16 February 2022 - provisional date - the Committee Manager (SCC) would confirm 2022 dates as soon as possible.