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Agenda item

Covid and Recovery Task and Finish Group - Draft Terms of Reference

Purpose: To present a draft terms of reference for a Covid and Recovery Task and Finish Group.

Minutes:

Gordon Oliver (Principal Policy Officer) presented the draft Terms of Reference for the Covid and Recovery Task and Finish Group (Agenda Item 10).

It was noted that the review would be undertaken following the May elections, and the membership of the Task Group would be decided later.

It was noted that OSMC had received a report on Covid and recovery back in October 2021, but Members had felt that there had not been a sufficiently qualitative flavour to the report and had asked for a task group to be set up to look at the impacts on residents, businesses and service users. The draft terms of reference took these points into account.

It was highlighted that the review had been pushed back by delays to the preceding reviews. As a result, the review would take place some considerable time after the Covid response had concluded. Also, some of the key officers who had been involved in coordinating the response had since left the Council. This would make it more challenging to dig into the details. In addition, the national Covid inquiry was underway and West Berkshire Council was providing evidence to that.

Points highlighted in the debate included:

·       Members recognised that some officers had moved on, but felt that the Task Group should work with the information available. It was suggested that ex-officers / Members could be invited to give evidence, but they could not be compelled to do so.

·       It was suggested that residents and town / parish council should be invited to take part and should be added to the list of witnesses, although it was recognised that this would add to the complexity of the review.

·       Members recognised that it was easy to pick holes in what happened after the event, but it was important to recognise the urgency of the response.

·       It was suggested that the review should make reference to the national survey and the mixed-messages that came from central government.

·       Members highlighted that while the national review would seek to apportion blame, this should not be the focus of the local review, which should look at improving understanding and identifying what could be done differently in future.

·       It was agreed that the Task Group should be time limited and the review should be completed within six month and that the review should not consider the national response.

·       Members stressed the importance of talking to residents, businesses and service users, as well as representative bodies and relevant charities and community groups. Suggested witnesses included; Chris Boulton from Greenham Trust, Garry Poulson from the Volunteer Centre, and James Wilcox from the Fair Close Centre.

·       It was suggested that involving town / parish council would help to identify voluntary groups that had been involved in the response.

·       Members asked that the desired outcomes be tightened by asking for recommendations rather than findings.

Actions:

·       Add residents and town / parish councils to the list of witnesses.

·       Set a time limit of six months for the review.

·       Amend the terms of reference to exclude the national response.

·       Add Greenham Trust, Volunteer Centre West Berkshire and Fair Close Centre to the list of organisations invited to give evidence.

·       Replaced ‘findings’ with ‘recommendations’ in the desired outcomes for the review.

Supporting documents: