Agenda item

Cabinet Member – Councillor Menna Trenholme

 

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and to note the observations.

 

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, the Corporate Director, the Head of Corporate Support and the representative of North Wales Councils Regional Emergency Planning Service were welcomed to the meeting.

Submitted - the report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support inviting the committee to scrutinise the arrangements in place relating to Emergency Planning within the Council, and specifically:

 

·         How does the regional service contribute to the resilience and safety of communities in Gwynedd?

·         What is the service's current work programme?

·         What is the structure within Cyngor Gwynedd to respond to an urgent or emergency situation?

 

The Cabinet Member set out the context and the members were then given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. 

 

It was asked whether there was a coastal pollution emergency plan specific to Gwynedd, as it was crucial that the county itself was a key part of any recovery plan following an incident of pollution.

 

In response, it was noted that:

 

·         There was a draft plan that was used for Gwynedd years ago, and that revising the Coastal Action Plan was one of the priorities of the Emergency Planning Service this year. 

·         The Service looked at the best practice across England and Wales with the aim of creating a template that was suitable for Gwynedd.

 

Concern was expressed that there was a pattern in Gwynedd of not cleaning watercourses or dredging around bridges, and it was noted that there was a desire to see pressure being brought to bear on Natural Resources Wales to undertake regular maintenance work.  It was noted that this was in essence a resource problem within Natural Resources Wales, but it was vital that the work was carried out as minor problems became major problems, if there was no place for the water to go.

 

In response, it was noted that:

 

·         There were specific responsibilities that belonged to the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department in this context.

·         It was believed that the Flood Strategy, which would be introduced in the autumn, placed a great deal of emphasis on collaborating with Natural Resources Wales.

 

In response to a question, it was confirmed that Flintshire contributed less than its share according to population to the Regional Service because it hosted the scheme.

 

The need was noted to correct the references to 'North Wales Resilience Forum' in the report to read 'North Wales Local Resilience Forum’.

 

It was noted that one of the risks identified in the report was the Covid-19 Pandemic, and it was asked how resilient our preparations were for such an emergency; how effective was our response in Gwynedd and across the north, and what steps were being taken to learn from the experience and to improve our response in the future in terms of resilience.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         It was probably true to say that Gwynedd was as prepared for the pandemic as any other county, and that no one would have predicted the type of emergency that arose during that period.

·         There was a regional plan to respond to a pandemic, and a regional exercise was held a few months prior to the event, looking at how to respond to a flu pandemic specifically.

·         Lessons were learnt from the pandemic.  Part of that was to re-examine our response structures so that it was possible to respond much more effectively and resiliently, and there were purposeful emergency arrangements to respond to this type of emergency and other emergencies in the future.

·         It was ongoing work to ensure that our response arrangements were effective, and that was the purpose of having the Regional Service and the constant work that took place to develop the response plans, not just within Gwynedd, but by working with our regional partners too.

·         Changing the on-call arrangements was a practical example of the lessons learnt from the Covid period.  Before the pandemic, the arrangements relied heavily on just two or three individuals, but a new arrangement was introduced where the seven senior officers named on page 28 of the report, together with the Chief Executive and the other Corporate Director, worked on a rota basis as a point of contact for the Regional Service to contact the Council should there be any emergency that affected Gwynedd.  The arrangements appeared to work much more effectively than the old system, and the lines of communication were clearer between us and the Regional Service as a result.

·         Much of the Council's resources were currently being used to gather information for the national Covid inquiry.

·         Elements of the work carried out by the Regional Emergency Planning Service in conjunction with the councils during the Covid period included organising mortuary facilities and supporting the Health Service to reorganise maternity services, identify sites for vaccination centres and introduce the vaccination programme.

 

It was asked how many, and whom among Gwynedd's staff had received anti-terrorism training.  In response, it was noted that that information was not at hand, but it was suspected that the figure was low and that this was something to look at.

 

Concern was expressed that there was no reference in the Preparing for Emergencies booklet to the long-term effects of the pandemic, such as the mental impact on adults and children, the impact on children's speech, businesses going bust, etc.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         There was a need to recognise the after-effects of Covid and focus more attention on that.

·         The Recovery Sub-group, led by the Head of Economy and Community, was well suited to being part of that focus at least.

·         There was work going on beyond what was described as a Major Emergency Plan, but perhaps the booklet should reflect more on what happened outside of that.

 

Concern was expressed that animal diseases could come to Britain from the continent in unsuitable food.  It was asked what plans the Council had for dealing with that, how many people worked in the Animal Diseases Department in Gwynedd and how many resources were on hand should such a disease break out.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         Detailed information was not at hand regarding that proactive element on a day-to-day basis, but there were certainly plans for responding to the different types of crisis that could arise from any disease, and the Council had responded to similar situations in the past, such as Foot and Mouth Disease.

·         The Regional Emergency Planning Service was looking at plans to ensure the safety of animals in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, which is also a member of the North Wales Local Resilience Forum.

 

It was noted that this committee should ask the Cabinet to investigate this matter and ensure that arrangements are in place in case an animal disease breaks out next winter.  In response, it was noted that the Public Protection Service could be asked to provide members with information regarding the resource available to deal with such situations, and inform the Cabinet Member of the observation regarding the need to prepare adequately.

 

The Regional Emergency Planning Service representative's opinion was sought on the changes to the on-call arrangements.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         The new arrangement worked very well from the perspective of the region and that the structure in Gwynedd was reflected in some other counties.

·         The on-call system in Gwynedd was highly developed and the Service knew who to contact at any time, with the relevant numbers stored in the Service's phones.

 

Concern was expressed that officers no longer received out-of-hours pay for dealing with an emergency over the weekend.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         In some fields within the Council, where it had been decided that it was necessary to have people on call or on duty, the payment continued.

·         Individuals who were called out on a weekend, who did not normally work on a weekend, received a minimum two hours' additional pay for doing so, and if those hours exceeded 37 hours, time and a half for overtime work was payable.

·         The Service was not aware of any problems in terms of these arrangements, but the officers would be very pleased to discuss any examples with the member outside the meeting.

 

Referring to the booklet, Preparing for Emergencies, it was asked how it was intended to inform the public of the steps to follow, such as preparing an emergency pack.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         The North Wales Local Resilience Forum was looking at sharing information and that an annual campaign in September looked at emergency planning, the risks and how to get people to prepare. 

·         Other events were held throughout the year and the Preparing for Emergencies booklet was a public document that was shared.

·         The wish was to take information to county shows, etc. in the future, and the Service was expecting the results of a pilot scheme relating to community resilience and was presenting a programme of community resilience to town and community councils so that people were more aware of the risks and knew how to prepare.

 

It was asked what arrangements were in place in Gwynedd if a missile hit Britain.  In response, it was noted that:

 

·         If there was an act of war, it would be a matter for Central Government to engage with the Welsh Government and local authorities to provide advice and information and respond to the situation.

·         The Covid period had highlighted the support that Gwynedd received from the Emergency Planning Service, and also regionally and nationally, and in an emergency there were arrangements, not only within the Gwynedd structure, but also within the regional structure, with a representative from Gwynedd attending strategic and tactical level meetings.

·         The Chief Executive had received gold training, and more Council officers would be receiving the training.

·         Gwynedd was collaborating with the Regional Service at present to keep our method of responding to emergencies alive in the minds of the officers by holding annual desk top training for senior management from now on.

 

The observation that senior management received training was welcomed, but it was noted that it was important that the workers on the coal face also received the training.  In response, it was noted that each of the four sub-groups had members who represented the coal face, and that training was provided for all those members.

 

RESOLVED to accept the report and to note the observations.