Agenda item

Councillor Paul Swaddle, Cabinet Member for Community Services and Digital to provide a verbal update to the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his portfolio and to answer questions from Members.

4.1      Councillor Paul Swaddle OBE (Cabinet Member for Community Services & Digital)provided a verbal update on current and forthcoming issues in his portfolio, and responded to questions from Members. Recent months had been a busy time for all teams within the City Council, and the Cabinet Member thanked all of the staff within his portfolio for the work they had done, and for stepping up to support other departments during the Covid-19 crisis and in connection with the recovery response.

4.2      A single information hub had been established on the City Council’s website in response to Covid-19, which had been constantly updated as the pandemic progressed. The website had seen a significant increase in traffic, with 1.2m unique visitors between March and June.  The Committee noted that as part of the social media campaign, two Facebook Live sessions had been staged with the Leader of the Council, with the first attracting over 1500 visits. The viewing figures for the sessions had been 13 times the average for local authority events of this kind and had shown good engagement. The Westminster Connects Service had also been launched, and sought to attract volunteers and coordinate them with people who were shielding, in self-isolation, or were vulnerable and needed help. As the country entered the recovery stage, the City Council was providing additional information to connect businesses and residents.

4.3      Westminster Connects was currently supported by over 3,200 registered volunteers, of which 2797 had been deployed to deliver nearly 36,000 needs which had included shopping and befriending. The Committee highlighted the need for the service to continue once the pandemic had ended and noted that Connects would now migrate into voluntary sector responsibilities and service other residents’ needs. Although it was hoped that there would not be a second wave of Covid-19, Connects would be in a position to be reinstated with an immediate response if needed.

4.4      The Committee commended Connects for their work and noted that the service was being mainly run by staff taken from within existing budgets. £15,000 had been made available to fund a shopping service, in which volunteers used pre-credited cards to buy shopping which service users paid for after it had been received. Although £7,000 had so far been repaid, it was not anticipated that all the money would be recovered. An update would be provided at the next meeting in September, when more data would be available.

4.5      The Committee also discussed eligibility for the Connects Service and noted that needs were self-identified by residents who needed support. Individual cases of need could also be assessed if applicants had not been considered eligible.

4.6      The Library Service had closed on 23 March in line with government guidelines, but had continued to offer virtual services, which included information, e-books, and sessions through social media. Since Libraries had reopened on 2 April 1200 customers had used internet and computer services, with social distancing being maintained through the provision of time-limited sessions. It was anticipated that libraries would re-open on 4 July, subject to government guidance.

4.7      The Committee also commended the work of the Active Westminster Physical Activity Leisure & Sport team (PALS) during the pandemic. All of Westminster’s seven Leisure Centres had closed on 20 March, while Parks had remained open. Since the lockdown began, over 300,000 people had visited the Paddington Recreation Ground: with 20,000 people visiting over the Bank Holiday. The recent warm weather had also created a demand on recently re-opened sports and court facilities; although some of the courts and gardens had to be shut when some of the visitors had failed to observe social distancing.

4.8      As many residents did not have access to open space, the Committee recognised the importance of keeping parks open until guidance on re-opening facilities was received. Committee Members also highlighted the importance of smaller parks within estates, and the Cabinet Member agreed to provide further information of future plans for Play Streets.

4.9      The City Council’s business was being done differently in response to the Covid-19 lockdown.  Staff had been working from home, and virtual Committee meetings had been held online and made available on the City Council’s website. Public involvement and representations in Planning and Licensing Committees were also being maintained through the virtual meetings.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

4.10    The Committee also discussed the role of the City Council in Westminster’s foodbanks, together with their current location at three temporary sites. The Cabinet Member considered that their location at multi-use sites could serve communities better, and agreed to provide details of the support being provided by Westminster.

4.11    Other issues discussed included Ward Budgets; the Westminster City Lions online; progress in connectivity; and making cultural activities more accessible.

4.12    The Committee thanked Cllr Swaddle and the Council Officers within his portfolio for their work in establishing the Westminster Connects Service.