Issue - meetings

To receive such reports as the Leader of the Council may wish to bring before the Council.

Firstly, the Leader added his tribute to former Councillors Frank Rust and Philip Merridale CBE.

The Leader reported on the Covid-19 pandemic and the clear focus from the outset to reduce the spread of the virus by working together and to look after each other.  The Leader extended thanks to the Chief Executive, officers and all those working for the County Council for their hard wok during the crisis.  In addition, he also extended his thanks to those outside the County Council who worked in partnership to fight the virus, and in particular commended all of those voluntary groups and those communities who have done so much to look after the elderly and the vulnerable.  Sadly, despite all the efforts made there have been over 1,000 deaths in Hampshire connected to the virus, of which over 400 have been in care homes.  All efforts had been made to support care homes during this difficult time by passing on to them all of the finance provided by the Government for this sector in a timely manner despite the County Council’s finances being significantly stretched during the crisis and which is reflected in the Medium Term Financial Strategy Update later on the Agenda. 

The County Council is now moving into the recovery phase.  The objective remains the same – to control the spread of the virus, with the focus now being containing local outbreaks.  The Leader had chaired the first meeting of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board on 14 July to assist with controlling the spread of the virus and thanked Councillor House for agreeing to sit on the Board.  Assisting economic recovery is also another key area of focus and to this end the Rt. Hon. Maria Miller, MP for Basingstoke has agreed to join the Cabinet Sub-Committee for Economic Growth and Recovery. 

Finally, the Leader commented on Black Lives Matter following the death of George Floyd in the United States.  The Leader was proud of the vibrancy and diversity of Hampshire’s communities and the County Council’s track record of committing to reduce inequality and advancing inclusion and cohesion.  The County Council had significantly refreshed its equality objectives and strengthened its arrangements to prevent and tackle all forms of discrimination and hate crime especially through the organisation’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy and action plan.  The Leader reported he had been in regular discussion with the Chief Executive about these issues and supported the Chief Executive and CMTs commitment to progress plans further, in partnership with the BAME staff network.    A lot of hard work had been carried out on these issues and the Leader confirmed that more can and will be done.