The Voice of Authority
leaders’ discussion: how the
development community can “do some good”
2 April 2020 Post webinar report
Post Webinar Report Leaders’ discussion: how the development community can “do some good” 2 April 2020 Chair: Toby Fox Managing director, 3Fox
Panelists: Cllr Steve Curran
Cllr Peter John
Leader, London Borough
Leader, Southwark Council
of Hounslow Cllr Darren Rodwell
James Pargeter
Leader, London Borough of
Senior director, Greystar
Barking and Dagenham
Europe
Overview This webinar constituted the first session in what is to be a weekly series. The ambition with the series is that it will give leaders and senior officers from The Voice of Authority network of councils a new medium in which they can speak on key issues and challenges that they currently face, as well as helping them to connect with the development community in a time of remote working and reduced contact.
The discussion ranged widely and this report contains a sample and summary. Watch the webinar in full at thevoiceofauthority.co.uk, and subscribe to stay updated on future episodes.
Post Webinar Report The Council View Leaders for three local authorities participated and outlined the responses they have taken to Covid-19, explaining also some of the obstacles and difficulties they are encountering. All are working on models of increased home-working: Barking and Dagenham has moved to have 75% of its
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. What happens in two or three weeks? Because everyone’s working at full tilt at the moment. I’m very concerned about people’s capacity to deal with some of the stress levels they’re under… from the chief exec all the way down to the guys on recycling and waste.”
Cllr Steve Curran
staff work remotely, and Hounslow currently has 2,000 members of staff set up to work from home. In terms of priorities, the panellists highlighted the importance of providing for the most vulnerable members of their respective communities. Councils are cutting back on non-essential services, paring back to key services to make sure they can continue to provide for these groups. “Local authorities are the glue that combine every part of society together… But we can’t do it alone.”
Cllr Darren Rodwell
Cllr Rodwell reminded us that “this is only two weeks in”, and welcomed the opportunity for “a bit more dialogue about what offers are there and where it could be
used to support a much longer program. That’s the conversation that has to start now.” With this in mind, Cllr John drew attention to some of the areas that councils currently need help in. He made requests of the private sector for empty offices that could be converted to residential. Worryingly, local authorities are expecting to see a rise in domestic violence cases over the coming weeks. Councils also require mutual aid and personal protective equipment (PPE), as social workers and care workers need PPE as well as workers in the NHS. At present, councils are only able to undertake emergency repairs: could repair teams work for local authorities?
Cllr Rodwell pointed to communication as one of the biggest problems for Barking and Dagenham. “Just whilst we’ve been on today, I’ve got a resident ranting at me that her 88-year-old mum is not being looked after… And that all we want to do is look after council
Post Webinar Report tenants. We’re just trying to get that message out there: ‘A local authority does more than just look after council tenants.’” The point was made repeatedly that local authorities want more notification before government makes announcements on which councils are then expected to pick up. “Keep up the pace – we’re very comfortable working at pace,” Cllr Curran said, “but give us a little bit of time so we can put things in place to deal with the requests or demands that are put upon us.”
Cllr John agreed that local government needs to have a seat at the “top table” going forward. He was concerned that “because of the massive spending that the government is undertaking as part of the response to the coronavirus, that we will lose some of the big infrastructure projects…. Yes
“Let’s think about the future. What does a post Covid-19 London look like? The recovery phase for this is going to be long and it’s going to be incredibly challenging, and I think we all need to be thinking about what that looks like sooner rather than later. Because we will get through this.”
Cllr Peter John
there will be things we need to do as a result of the coronavirus, but let’s not lose that sense of ambition.”
Do Some Good James Pargeter spoke about some of the measures that Greystar has been involved in along with other industry partners to support the NHS and local authorities through the Do Some Good initiative. Do Some Good is a property industry national campaign offering support to the NHS and public organisations in three main areas: space, medical supplies, and operational support.
Space: Do Some Good is responding to the NHS’ immediate need for additional premises. “That’s really to respond to frontline healthcare workers who need accommodation separate to their regular household,” James explained. Health workers exposed to the virus need to be isolated from their household; others need to be protected from a household already infected.
Post Webinar Report Many also face transport issues getting to work and Do Some Good aims to provide space for “car-parking that’s within a 15 minute walk” for NHS workers. Some of the properties made available by Do Some Good are unsuitable for the NHS, and local authorities could make use of them for their own key workers.
Medical Supplies: The construction industry makes use of PPE, and with sites closed supplies could be made available to the NHS. In particular, Do Some Good hopes to source:
— Medical-grade masks (e.g., n95 masks, existing PPE or 3D printed)
— Single use gloves
— Face shields
— Respirators
Operational Support: This includes logistics and facilities management. Pargeter wants to capitalise on the “expertise across the property sector” that is already committed to the initiative, to make their services available to the NHS and the wider community.
“How can I help?”: One of the first things that you can do is to connect with Do Some Good on LinkedIn and to help them get the word out about what they are doing. If you do want to offer help in some capacity to a local authority or London Councils and are unsure as to who you should contact, we at 3Fox are happy to liaise and to put you in touch with the right person.
Key links: do-some-good.co.uk www.linkedin.com/company/do-some-good www.nhshomes.co.uk www.thenead.co.uk www.globechain.com
Post Webinar Report Polls and Insight A number of polls were carried out over the course of the webinar surveying the peak audience of 107 people (167 over the course of the discussion) and their opinions on a range of matters. 1. How long do you anticipate it being before things get back to normal? One month 2% At least one year 45%
Three months 9%
2. Are there emergency measures being adopted now that you would like to see retained? Yes 60%
No 40%
Six months 44%
Chart 2: There a number of procedures and measures that have been introduced that viewers considered positive developments that should be retained: increased collaboration between public sector organisations, increased use of remote working, regulation allowing local authorities to hold virtual committee meetings, and increased concern for site management and safe space working for personnel.
3. Is the private sector doing enough to support local authorities? Yes 59%
No 41%
4. Can you help local authorities in their emergency work? Yes 72%
No 28%
Chart 4: Some of the ways in which viewers are already helping support local authorities and the NHS include producing needed components through 3D printers, aiding with staff backfill, and turning over supplies of PPE.
5. Is the private sector doing enough to support local authorities? Yes 25%
No 75%
Our next session is entitled ‘Planning in Isolation’ and will take place on 9 April, 11:00 – 12:00 Speakers: Heather Cheesbrough Director of planning and strategic transport, London Borough of Croydon
Mike De’Ath Partner, HTA
Mike Kiely Chair, Planning Officers Society
Stewart Murray Strategic director economic growth and housing delivery, London Borough of Waltham Forest
REGISTER HERE For more information, or to be involved in future episodes, contact: finn@3foxinternational.com