Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils' logo

Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Issue - meetings

Council response to Covid-19

Meeting: 07/05/2020 - Lewes District Council Cabinet (Item 70)

70 Council response to Covid-19 pdf icon PDF 142 KB

Report of Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Zoe Nicholson

Additional documents:

Decision:

(Non-key decision)

 

To note the contents of the report.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning, updating them on the establishment and operation of a Community Hub and other changes in business operation to respond to community needs as a result of the Covid-10 pandemic.

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Nicholson and Cabinet members, Councillors Carr, Collier, Denis, MacCleary, Meyer and O’Brien presented the report covering the various areas of the Council’s response. This included creation of the Community Hub to distribute food parcels to vulnerable people, the Business Grants Portal going live and response from council services including IT, human resources, customer contact, housing benefit, Homes First and Environment First.

 

The Cabinet and visiting members praised the community across the District and officer response to the pandemic.

 

Since publication of the report, the Director of Service Delivery, clarified that 1,568 business had now taken advantage of the business grants scheme, equating to the payment of £19.2 million in grants. 43 charities in the District with retail outlets had been identified as being eligible for the grants and their details had been forwarded to 3VA. The Director of Service Delivery also provided an update on the Rough Sleeper Initiative and confirmed that 35 individuals in Lewes District were currently in emergency accommodation.

 

Resolved (Non-key decision):

 

To note the contents of the report.

 

Reason for decision:

 

The Community Hub has been an important part of the council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic locally and this report updates the Cabinet on progress, performance and next steps in this work. The report also provides a summary of the impact of the pandemic across the council’s business, focusing on the support provided to staff and on those areas most affected by current circumstances.