Agenda item
Impact of COVID-19 on Local Residents
Minutes:
6.1 Jermain & Shekeila are co-chairs from the Young Futures Commission.
6.2 Jermain advised that they have a report that includes a theme on Inclusive Futures that encapsulates the economy, business, community, and how young people can benefit from economic growth.
6.3 Jermain highlighted that many young people are worried about the impact of COVID-19 on employment and opportunities for training schemes and apprenticeships.
6.4 Jermain introduced the term ‘Better Normal’ stating that the previous normal was not as inclusive as it needed to be and didn’t serve everyone in the community equally.
6.5 Shekeila stated that they have started having conversation with young people under the title of ‘Hackney Covid Conversations’ centred around discovering what issues they’re facing. Areas of concern so far have included mental health issues, the wellbeing of their families, children feeling fearful and not having the appropriate support networks to help signpost the future, and in so doing make them feel secure. There are also fears around exam results, access to resources such as Wi-Fi, and access to jobs.
6.6 Shekeila acknowledged that neither they nor anyone else currently has all the answers to what the ‘new normal’ will look like post-COVID, but that it should be kept in mind when designing policy around rebuilding, particularly to ensure young people are included in the considerations.
6.7 Shekeila conveyed that businesses and adults have in some cases received more support than many young people in the borough and this needs to be actively combatted.
6.8 Jermain spoke about the night-time economy, and expressed the Young Future’s recommendation to the Commission is that it support young people and the night-time economy simultaneously by ensuring inclusive and fair access to the night-time economy, the example method was given of developing local inclusion pilots to increase the visibility and participation of young people to access the night-time economy.
6.9 Jermain expounded on the Young Futures Commission’s request for better access to the night-time economy by saying that many young people from Hackney say they do not patronise the night-time economy of Shoreditch or Dalston, citing a need for greater diversity in terms of what is on offer as the cause.
6.10 Jermaine expressed the need for young people to reap the benefits of opportunities post-Covid, giving the example of young people taking over shopfront’s of temporarily closed businesses as a premises for entrepreneurship.
6.11 Cllr Coban thanked Jermaine and Shekeila for their comments and their work with engaging young people and echoed the need for the inclusive economy to work for young people. Cllr Coban introduced Melanie Rochford, the Business & Development Director from the Hackney Food Bank as the next speaker.
6.12 Melanie opened with thanks to Hackney Council for supporting the foodbank, particularly the Chief Executive Directorate’s Head of Policy, Cllr Williams and Cllr Billington who were all involved to drive support for the foodbank in the face of ballooning need for its services.
6.13 Melanie advised that there are 5 centres across the borough, and they have all experienced at least double the number of users since COVID, with the busiest experiencing triple the amount; the busiest centre is experiencing a 2-and-a-half-hour slot to get through 120 people each with a voucher, a number which doesn’t consider their family members at home relying on the food.
6.14 Melanie advised many Hackney residents are working freelance for the foodbank, some while on furlough, and including young people filling the roles of regular, older volunteers who had to take shielding measures.
6.15 Melanie advised in April the bank fed over 1,000 people, and of those, 349 were children. The numbers are still increasing, so there is no plateau yet. They are bracing themselves for this to be a long-term issue, and if that’s the case, the bank will need a lot more support to meet the demand. They are collaborating with businesses for financial support and donation, volunteer support, and with other charity organisations to provide a wider umbrella of support like debt advice, fuel poverty advice, and MIND-supplied assistance around entitlement to support. Melanie highlighted the need for further efforts to cope with demand.
6.16 Melanie advised the volumes of food being handed out are starting to exceed the premises storage spaces available, highlighting the risk of food items freezing as we approach the winter months.
6.17 Melanie also expressed that a business parking permit would be required because they’re raising money for a new van in order to deal with the huge quantities for food, and because as of October they must have a cleaner vehicle or face a daily £100.00 charge.
6.18 Referencing Shekeila and Jermaine’s observations around recently temporarily closed business premises, whether those spaces could be available for food storage for free.
6.19 Cllr Coban thanked Melanie and introduced residents Hannah Abban and Hardeep Kaur to speak on their experience.
6.20 Hardeep had microphone issues and so could not speak.
6.21 Hannah advised that her job opportunities have been reduced because of COVID-19.
6.22 Hannah also expressed that being confined to the home for job searches can be detrimental to mental health, and expressed the need for local libraries to open, questioning when that will happen.
6.23 Cllr Coban asked further about Hannah’s job search, asking how COVID has impacted the ability to look for work.
6.24 Hannah responded she’s hoping to work in the communications/ PR field but expressed that most such companies have paused their hiring. The jobs are still viewable online but are ‘phantom posts’ as they are not actually available, thus wasting her time to search for work.
6.25 Hannah expressed that many companies are so unsure of the future that they cannot even indicate when to try again for a role with them.
6.26 Cllr Coban thanked Hannah for her comments and invited Herdeep to ask questions via the comments should they wish to. Cllr Coban introduced the Head of Policy and the Strategic Delivery Manager responsible for the Inclusive Economy report to speak on the journey toward inclusive economy.
6.27 The Head of Policy took the floor and said an inclusive economy strategy has been adopted late last year, and the work to deliver that was taking place as COVID become an issue.
6.28 The Head of Policy expressed that they have been moved by the experiences of the invited speakers and recognised that the views around inclusive economy work haven’t been shared externally yet.
6.29 The Head of Policy advised that the council’s role when horizon-scanning is to be mindful that it has a role in place-shaping, thinking about how to build back better, and how to harness some of the opportunities and navigate the threats presented by COVID-19.
6.30 The Head of Policy expressed that larger business has benefited from the situation like supermarkets and delivery firms, and the focus on national strategies may have diverted business away from smaller local firms, and that it has created a need to invest in local business in an increased way going forward.
6.31 The Head of Policy highlighted the need to think about our role as employers to the local community, and the role of public sector organisation as anchor institutions in the long term, and the need to maximise the opportunities for residents.
6.32 There is a need to understand the risk and growth in the economy and identify what needs to be done about existing businesses taking advantages, repurposing, and the creative ways to do that.
6.33 The Head of Policy highlighted the need to understand how, if people are working from home in an increased, long-term capacity, how those people can be supported and nurtured against this changing work landscape
6.34 The Head of Policy paid testament to the local business engaging in the effort to survive these times and ensure the minimize the risks to the inclusive economy strategy.
6.35 The Head of Policy highlighted the need to focus on skill development, retraining residents for new opportunities in the short and long-term.
6.36 Cllr Coban invited the Strategic Delivery Manager to comment as the lead officer on the report, but they declined to add further comment.
6.37 Cllr Coban opened the session to questions.
6.38 Cllr Pallis aimed a question to The Head of Policy about the risk of moving forward with zero-hours contracts in the effort for business to have increased flexibility, and how council procurement may have a role in encouraging business to reduce their use of zero-hours during the transition out of lockdown.
6.39 The Head of Policy answered that along with the inclusive economy strategy, a toolkit for business was developed. It hasn’t been utilised due to the situation but continuing to encourage business to take on those principles will be necessary when building back. The need to continue conversations with businesses about what’s possible in these areas, and how to do that in a sustainable way; specifically, the need to encourage business to offer permanent contracts rather than temporary hours needs to be done sensitively. The Head of Policy highlighted that the same sensitivity must apply when encouraging businesses to be greener.
6.40 Cllr Smyth commented green deal, and the constraints the council is facing with funding and cutbacks, restriction in the capacity of devolved government to vary taxation rates, limited borrowing powers for local authorities. Cllr Smyth asked if the local authority could lobby for increased borrowing and asked how the council’s reserves are looking in contrast to funding needs.
6.41 Cllr Race has questions for Cllr Nicholson who had left the call at this point but asked what the greatest risk to Hackney’s economy is due to COVID.
6.42 The Head of Policy advised that Cllr Smyth & Pallis’s questions should be answered by the Director of Finance and the Mayor due to the public affairs implications.
6.43 In respect of Cllr Race’s question regarding the biggest risk to the economy The Head of Policy commented that Hackney is reliant on the hospitality industry for jobs but also local vibrancy. This reliance extends to London as a whole and should be considered a major risk when opening the economy after lockdown and businesses ability to catch up following the shortfall. The uncertainly represents significant risk, and The Head of Policy also commented that there are inherent opportunities linked for entrepreneurial young people.
6.44 Cllr Coban invited Cllr Williams to comment on the questions.
6.45 Cllr Williams commented that in terms of finance there are a lot of discussions happening and cabinet members continue to discuss the funding gap following COVID-19. The Cllr commented that the asks to central government are substantial
6.46 Cllr Williams advised Hackney has a good reputation for looking after its financial resources, but that the reserves cannot entirely cover the gaps caused by COVID-19 without additional avenues of support.
6.47 Cllr Williams advised that Group Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and Cllr Rennison will be happy to comment further as the situation progresses.
6.48 Cllr Coban expressed that it would be useful to pose some of the questions to Cllr Nicholson outside of the meeting, and extended thanks to all of the speakers, and signposted a wider review of COVID-19’s impact on the economy Cllr Coban also advised a letter would be written to cabinet and senior officers around picking up on some of the suggestions from the meeting.
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