Decision details

Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive regarding the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the agreement of the Leader, Councillor House addressed Cabinet, welcoming the detailed economic analysis in the report. Highlighting that Hampshire would not be amongst the first to receive a County Deal, he asked for more detail on the County’s position.

Cabinet felt that Hampshire was in a stronger position than many areas to take advantage of opportunities arising from the Levelling Up White Paper and noted that close attention would be paid to the governance models being progressed in Devon, which had a similar mixture of County and Unitary authorities.

With reference to the report, key trends in the public health position were highlighted to Cabinet, in particular that infection levels were again decreasing and children under 14 were the group most impacted due to mixing at school and lower vaccination levels. The majority of those infected were not becoming seriously ill and therefore pressure on acute hospital facilities were limited. The vaccination programme was focussed on those who remained unvaccinated. It was furthermore drawn to Cabinet’s attention that pressures within Adult and Children’s Services remained high, however school attendance in the county was above the national average.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed with amendments and additions to recognise the opportunities set out in the White Paper. A decision record is attached to these minutes.