Coronavirus challenges in Peterborough: Fly-tipping rise, free school meals difficulties and new mortuary space at city hospital

The reports have been published on Cambridgeshire County Council’s website and reveal the huge efforts being made by staff and volunteers to keep services running across Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

The county council and Peterborough City Council have been working hand-in-hand during the pandemic, helped by the fact they have the same chief executive (Gillian Beasley) and senior management team.

The Peterborough Telegraph recently interviewed Mrs Beasley, Jan Thomas from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group and city council leader Cllr John Holdich to hear about how local bodies have responded to the crisis, with the Mrs Beasley and Mrs Thomas heading a military-style command operation.

The reports on the county council website reveal:

. Cambridgeshire County Council has received £14.6 million of funding from the Government while Peterborough City Council has received £5 million, out of a national £1.6 billion pot. The councils said “this falls short of the financial impact we are anticipating,” although they have yet to hear how much more money they will receive from another round of government funding which will also total £1.6 billion.

. In adult commissioning, PPE (personal protective equipment) is said to “still remain an issue,” although supplies are continuing to be bought. It is also said that Covid-19 testing is now available to frontline social care staff at testing sites at Peterborough City Hospital and Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

. Family carers (unpaid family members or friends) are “currently delivering unprecedented levels of essential care and support to people with care needs in the community who are impacted by the pandemic”.

. There are low rates of referrals of children to children’s services, which is said to mirror the picture nationally and regionally.

. There are low numbers of vulnerable children accessing school places. It is said that the problem nationally has been acknowledged by the Secretary of State.

. There is increasing concern about scams targeted at vulnerable people and staff working remotely. Campaigns have been developed to try and tackle this.

. There has been an anticipated increase in referrals into the domestic violence advocacy service of around 25 per cent compared with the average weekly referral rate for 2019/20. The council said: “Our services have been adapted to manage this increased demand, with all services remaining open and available.”

. There have been an increasing number of statutory nuisance complaints in Peterborough compared to last year since the lockdown.

. Fly-tipping in Peterborough’s rural areas appears to be increasing. Enforcement staff remain operational in order that evidence can be gathered for prosecution.

. Additional mortuary provision is in place at Peterborough City Hospital if required.

. While Cambridgeshire County Council has held its first virtual council meetings, work is ongoing to set up the same process in Peterborough. It is stated: “Work is underway to prepare Peterborough for its first council meetings on Zoom. Testing is underway as the quality on Zoom diminishes when using a Chromebook. In anticipation, the IT service is securing laptops for councillors to use instead (some will use their own devices).”

. Access to the Department for Education Free School Meal scheme (Edenred) “remains challenging and vouchers are not being processed”. It is added: “We are now raising issues on a daily basis with the Department for Education and all issues raised so far have been resolved.”

. Plans are being prepared for the re-opening of household waste sites when the Government says this is acceptable.

But in slightly lighter news, it is revealed that the top performing articles include an Elvis impersonator celebrating a care home resident’s birthday!