Up to 30 minutes of the meeting is available for the Committee to put questions to the Leader and Portfolio Holders on any matters relevant to the remit of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Minutes:
Councillor Boad requested an update in respect of the response of the Fire and Rescue Service to the coronavirus pandemic and the impact of social distancing measures on operational procedures.
Kieran Amos (Chief Fire Officer) advised that the impact of coronavirus was felt most acutely at the outset of the pandemic. He reported that innovative approaches had been adopted by the Fire and Rescue Service which modularised each Fire Station and limited the spread of the virus across the organisation; this had helped to maintain a resilient service and cases of the virus were relatively low. He praised the support which had been provided by the wider County Council.
Kieran Amos advised that the scope for fire crews to adhere to social distancing recommendations within the confines of a fire engine was challenging but that the revised governmental guidance from 2m to 1m+ improved the capacity of the Fire and Rescue Service to maintain operations and react to concerns raised nationally by the Fire Brigades Union.
Kieran Amos reported that the Fire and Rescue Service had succeeded in maintaining all statutory duty functions throughout the period of the COVID-19 crisis. He advised that the Service had enhanced its delivery of prevention work during this period as well as providing support to the community by delivering food parcels and pharmaceuticals. He added that the Service would seek to retain these community connections to reinforce the prevention agenda.
Kieran Amos advised that the Fire and Rescue Service had taken steps to ensure that provisional plans were in place to support mortuary, body recovery and care home testing arrangements as part of a multi-agency response to the COVID-19 outbreak. He advised that it had not been necessary to implement these measures but that the capability was in place should a need arise.
Kieran Amos reported that measures would be enacted to offer advice and guidance to businesses to support the recovery of the local economy.
Barnaby Briggs (Deputy Chief Fire Officer) reported that an increase in the number of on-call firefighters who had been furloughed from their regular employment had improved the resilience of the Service. He praised the support provided by ICT Services throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
Councillor Crump observed that the recent warm weather could contribute to an increase in the number of people taking risks by swimming in open water. He praised the efforts made by the organisation to communicate the message of water safety to Warwickshire communities.
In response to Councillor Gilbert, Kieran Amos advised that an administrative error had resulted in a failure to pay wages to some new recruits to the Service. He provided assurance that the issue had been addressed and that future payments would be made on schedule.
The Committee expressed its gratitude to the Fire and Rescue Service for its continued excellent work throughout the coronavirus crisis. The Chair emphasised his thanks on behalf of the Committee for the contribution made by officers across the County Council in response to the pandemic.
In response to Councillor Boad, Councillor Kaur advised that it was proposed to reopen the three main libraries at Rugby, Leamington Spa and Nuneaton subject to a risk assessment. She added that consideration would need to be given to library personnel who had been offering support to the Shielding Hubs during the pandemic but that plans to resume library and museum services were in progress.