Agenda item

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services submits a report providing an overview of current service delivery during Covid 19 pandemic and a summary of the department’s recovery planning work.

Members of the Commission are recommended to receive the reports and pass any comments to the Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services for consideration.

The Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental services introduced the report on Covid19 impacts, key issues and the recovery plan in Leicester.

It was noted that the report reflected data from Leicester from 23 March to 29 July 2020.

The Head of Neighbourhood Services then introduced the report in his respective area.

During the discussions Members of the Committee discussed the reopening of child minder groups and whether a notice could be uploaded on the Councils website to keep members of the public informed. The Head of Neighbourhood Services was pleased to hear that members of the public were eager to get back to services running as normal and that the Councils website could be updated, but noted that the reopening of community centres would be a phased process as the main priority was the welfare and safety of the service users. It was further noted that a letter would be sent out to all valued customers and community groups who use the community spaces to keep them updated on the Councils position in reopening centres.

Members of the Commission thanked Officers for the report and presentations provided to the Commission. Members were pleased to hear that services were still ongoing although in a different format during these difficult times. Members shared the positive messages received from the general public in the North Evington ward and noted that members of the public were pleased to have Officers knocking door to door to help people who may not have English as their first language with information on testing. It was noted that Members were available to help provide local information to help Officers deliver their services.

Members of the Commission were pleased to hear that local libraries were reopening and thanked Officers for the detailed information they had received on opening hours and how the service would be run to maintain social distancing. It was also noted that the information that was provided to Members and then relayed to the public was reliable and easy for the public to understand.

The Chair raised his concerns with the number of fly tipping cases across the city as recycling centres had been closed during the early stage of the lockdown period. The director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services noted that he would provide the meeting with precise and up to date data.

The Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhoods, noted that the Neighbourhood Services Team had worked very hard and continued to provide services during the difficult times. It was noted that the service had to act in line with government guidance and the role that the service played was a crucial role in the running of the city and thanked Officers for their delivery.

Members of the Commission raised their concerns with the worrying crowds gathering outside of restaurants during the Eat out, Help Out scheme. It was noted that Regulatory Services were engaging with those premises, but Members were requested to raise concerns with any particular premises where they observe over crowding and breaches of restrictions directly to the Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services or to the c19 business account email address so that the Enforcement Teams could visit the premises.

The Chair suggested whether Officers could visit few of the restaurants to encourage premises to operate within the guidelines and those that fail to do so, would face enforcement actions. It was noted that any business that was open had to have a Covid19 risk assessment in place, good hygiene measures and social distancing in place and that Regulatory Services were supporting businesses in the city to operate in a safe manner. It was suggested that Members use the c19 business email account to report any concerns they wish to raise about particular businesses.

It was suggested that there were a large number of people still visiting hoses and what was in place for Members to report these incidents. It was noted that the local authority had limited powers and Members were encouraged to dial 101 to report these incidents directly to the police but Officers were still available to deal with concerns raised by Members.