Agenda item

The following hot topics were reported:-

Cabinet Member for Communities

Cabinet were informed of three issues:

·                     The Council was working with the Thames Valley Police on their annual Community Safety survey that would be live for the next 4 weeks.  The survey would help the police and partners understand that the major concerns were relating to crime and antisocial behaviour.      

·                     Community Boards – the next round of meetings were about to commence.  Many of the Action Groups had been meeting to look at a wide range of issues and that work would be fed back to the Community Board meetings.

·                     Afghan re-settlement programme – the Council was grateful to partners for housing offers that had been received.  Work was continuing with the Home Office to match families to Buckinghamshire.  Thanks were also expressed to the community across Bucks, 144 offers of support had been received to date and the Crisis fund had reached £43,000. 

Cabinet Member for Transport

Cabinet were provided with an update on the current availability of fuel predicament.  While the overall impact on service provision by Transport for Bucks and for household refuse collections was minimal, the Council was still meeting twice daily to discuss emerging issues and provide assistance / mitigate impacts when and as problems arose.  This included liaising with emergency services and the NHS.  The Council had been made aware this morning of difficulties being experienced by 2 operators of school bus routes.   Unfortunately, 9 routes were not running this morning including the 917 (Vale Travel) and Red Line services: 643, 655, 671, 814, 815, 850, 945 and 946.  This had impacted a large number of pupils and urgent messages had been sent out to parents.  The Council was working with the operators and schools in response to these transport issues, including trying to ensure sustainable supplies of fuel were obtained for school transport.  Affected families and people were advised to check the bus alerts information on the Council’s website that would be regularly updated throughout the day.  Information would also be made available via social media channels.

Deputy Cabinet Member for Public Health

Cabinet were provided with an update on the roll out of Covid booster shots programme.  The Government had released it’s Winter Response Plan which would be managed through the primary care (GPs and pharmacies) and be coordinated through Clinical Commissioning Groups.  Health and social care staff could already book their booster shots through the national booking site, and some hospital staff had already started to receive their shots.  Boosters would soon be offered to eligible groups including the over 50s, care home residents and anyone over 16 who lived with someone who was immune-suppressed, a carer, or had a health condition that put them at high risk.  As the Government had mandated that a minimum of 6 months was required between receiving the 2^nd Covid shot and the booster shot, some people would not be able to receive the booster shot when they received their winter fly jab.