Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 27th April 2020

at 7:00pm remotely via Zoom, due to Covid 19 Pandemic

Mrs Andrea Riggall     3rd May 2020

Appendix 1. Cllr Oxby. District Report April 2020 

This latest report from the county is directly from the leader. I have forwarded it on as it contains a lot of links that others may find useful.

Regards Ron

As we approach the end of our fifth week in lockdown, it seems a good time to reflect on what has happened across the county during this emergency.

Despite the pressures and challenges we have faced in Lincolnshire, I'm incredibly proud of what we are achieving. Throughout the council, we have maintained our own key services, including those that protect the most vulnerable adults and children.

We have needed to act quickly to put in place new systems and new ways of working to adapt to the coronavirus crisis and have re-deployed staff to where they are needed most. Our staff have stepped up in an amazing way- some having been retrained in waste services, providing support in children's homes and to our vulnerable residents.

Over the past few weeks, we've seen a brilliant community spirit, and I am very grateful for all the volunteers (over 7,200 individuals) who have stepped forward to help those most at risk in our communities.

 Working together with our partners, I'm pleased to say that we've called over 3,400 'shielded' or extremely vulnerable residents and made almost 1,400 calls to clinically vulnerable residents. We've also answered over 2,000 calls on our Covid-19 helpline, and volunteers have now delivered over 330 food parcels, visited 677 homes and collected and delivered over 60 prescriptions. We've also responded to over 1,500 requests for assistance in the county.

 With this in mind, I'd also like to say thank you to you for stepping forward and helping your community- particularly accessing funding through the grant fund. So far, we have approved 94 applications, totalling almost £52,600. This money is going to many well deserving places, including LIVES, volunteer groups, individuals making PPE, and food banks amongst others. Please continue to apply for a share, by visiting www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/communityfund.

 Councils in Lincolnshire are also continuing to support businesses. As of yesterday, district councils had made payments for over £120.6 million to 10,276 businesses. This equates to 68% of the applications we’ve received. If you know a business eligible for small business or rural rate relief, who needs support, they can get information on the Business Lincolnshire website.

 In the press this week, there has been much talk about Care Homes and PPE. I'd like to reassure you that, despite the extremely difficult circumstances, we continue to support our care workers to ensure vulnerable adults get the support they need in the safest possible way.

 We have been proactive in setting up a fund to support care homes, home care providers, nursing homes and supported living – helping to cover staffing costs, recruitment and training and additional PPE.

 All our care home providers continue to work very hard to provide their staff with the required PPE and although more national supplies are promised, we are covering any shortfalls with limited supply stocks for those who need urgent support.

 Earlier this week, working alongside the Lincolnshire Care Association and the NHS, we've put new remote monitoring systems in 25 care homes. These enable staff to take patient readings including their pulse, oxygen saturation levels, blood pressure and temperature, remotely and safely.  Care homes can then share this information securely with NHS professionals, so decisions can be made about residents' care. It also reduces the need for ambulance calls and emergency admission to hospitals, and maintains essential health checks for people who need them. This equipment will be in another 25 care homes next week, and we aim to have this in each care home across the county by the end of the year.

 You will all have heard the news around the temporary mortuary sites across the UK. Today, together with Debbie Barnes, I visited the new temporary mortuary at Woodhall Spa. It is coordinated by the Resilience Forum, who constantly review national and local modelling which considers different scenarios and outcomes in Lincolnshire. I'm sincerely hopeful it won't ever be required, but it is necessary to ensure we have access to any extra facilities and specialist services. Having seen first-hand, we can be assured that loved ones will be treated with dignity and respect. 

 After the government's announcement to extend the lockdown measures last week, we know we have at least another fortnight in which we will be asked to stay in our homes and follow social distancing rules.

It is vital that we all continue to play our part by following those lockdown guidelines which hopefully will soon start to be eased.

We may still be in the midst of this emergency, but I am confident that we are doing all we can to help our county both now and in the future.

Some other important service updates include: 

• Although our support services and the police haven't seen an increase in domestic abuse reports or referrals to domestic abuse services, EDAN Lincs Domestic Abuse Service remains available to those suffering or fleeing from domestic abuse. They can be reached on 01522 510041 or at www.edanlincs.org.uk.

• CallConnect buses are continuing to run, with all essential journeys now free of charge during the coronavirus outbreak. This service can be booked at www.lincsbus.info.

• A range of library services and resources, including e-books, audio books, e–magazines and music, are being offered online while our libraries are closed.  Through March, we've seen a huge rise in E-book and E-magazine loans -  up by 81% on the previous year, while audio-book loans saw an increase of 28% and music downloads grew by 65%.  You can access the service through: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.

• Household Waste Recycling Centres are currently closed. A timetable and information around the re-opening will be circulated in due course.

• Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue will be joining East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) to support the response to COVID-19, such as driving Urgent Care vehicles and the safe moving of patients. If the need arises in the coming weeks, fire service personnel will work alongside EMAS Urgent Care colleagues to carry out support tasks.

• NHS has launched their 'Every Mind Matters' campaign. Under the present restrictions our wellbeing and health is more important than ever. For advice on coping with anxiety and improving your mental health visit the Every Mind Matters website - https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/

• We're advising residents to be aware of coronavirus scams to protect themselves and others. Fraudsters are trying to sell fake coronavirus tests or cures, or using fake emails and texts to try and steal your bank details. More information can be found on our website, and by following Lincolnshire Trading Standards on Facebook and Twitter.

• Many of you will be juggling work with trying to home school your youngsters. A number of great resources across a broad range of subjects include: BBC Bitesize www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize and lessons from the Oak National Academy www.thenational.academy.

• VE Day 75 community events due to take place on the bank holiday weekend of 8th – 10th May, have been postponed until later in the year. However, on Monday, the BBC will launch a VE day campaign, encouraging residents and businesses to take part take in celebrations safely from home, by hanging bunting up at home. 

Please keep up-to-date on all our services on our social media channels and our website at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Appendix 2. Cllr Lundgren. District Report April 2020 

NKDC has set up a system for virtual committee meetings to make decisions needed to keep the work of the council going in these extraordinary times. Council met last week to agree proposals that will assist with economic recovery; planning committees will hopefully be starting soon to work on the backlog of called in planning applications; and scrutiny will be starting to oversee the work of the council.

The council has been busy with delivering financial support to business on behalf of government and has also reduced the rent for the councils commercial tenants to help support them through this difficult time.

The council has also been working with Lincolnshire resilience forum to assist residents on the critical and vulnerable lists (please see below). Letters have been going out to residents on the vulnerable lists with helpline information and I include the phone number for the NHS mental health wellbeing service,

Please help to publicise these helpline numbers as widely as possible - along with the Potterhanworth helpline number.

I’m aware that some residents in Potterhanworth are experiencing financial difficulties through no fault of their own. The Branston food bank has supported one family with their immediate needs. The food bank in Branston church hall is open every weekday 10 - 11 for food and cash donations but is not open for collection - food can only be supplied to those in need by our volunteers. 

There are also things I can do as a district councillor to help with financial problems like rent etc. Please contact me if anyone needs help.

Keep well, Peter

Message from NKDC: The Wellbeing Lincs service and its partners are calling on our friends to help us promote the avenues of help available for anyone in Lincolnshire. The Government has asked local authorities and their partners to deal with people in need by placing them into two categories - Clinically Vulnerable, and Vulnerable.

Clinically Vulnerable: Defined by NHS England as having serious medical conditions.

Vulnerable: Residents in need of community support to meet their needs whilst self-isolating.

If someone has a medical condition that makes them Clinically Vulnerable to Coronavirus, they can request support for things such as getting deliveries of essential supplies like food.

Not everybody will be within the ‘Clinically Vulnerable’ group. People who are self-isolating at home and need support because they do not have anyone to help them to access what they need, are classed as ‘Vulnerable Individuals’ and can request community help.

To request help for Vulnerable individuals in the community call the LCC Covid-19 Helpline on 01522 782189. A triage system is in place.

Mental health and emotional wellbeing helpline

This NHS helpline provides a confidential, 24-hour, seven-days-a-week source of emotional support and guidance for people feeling low, anxious or stressed. 
Available by calling free on 0800 001 4331