North Yorkshire Outbreak Management Advisory Board

Notes of the remote meeting held on Monday 17^th January 2022 at 11.00 a.m.

THOSE WHO JOINED THE DISCUSSION:

North Yorkshire County Council Representatives:

County Councillor Carl Les, Leader, North Yorkshire County Council (Chair)

County Councillor Stuart Parsons, Leader of the Independent Group

Richard Flinton, Chief Executive

Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services)

Victoria Turner, Public Health Consultant

Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health

District Council Representatives:

Councillor Liz Colling, Scarborough Borough Council

Other Partners’ Representatives:

Simon Dennis, Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer, Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (substitute for Zoe Metcalfe)

Sue Peckitt, Chief Nursing Officer, North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (substitute for Amanda Bloor)

Helen Simpson, Chair, York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership

Sally Tyrer, Chair, North Yorkshire Local Medical Committee

Michael Walker, Assistant Chief Constable (substitute for Lisa Winward)

Ian Yapp, Chief Education Officer, the STAR Multi-Academy Trust

In attendance (all from North Yorkshire County Council, unless stated):

County Councillor Karin Sedgwick

Lisa Dixon, Director, Scarborough Borough Council

Patrick Duffy, Principal Democratic Services Scrutiny Officer (Clerk)

Michael James, Team Leader, Marketing and Customer Communications

Apologies received from:

Amanda Bloor, Accountable Officer, North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group

Jane Colthup, Community First Yorkshire

Ashley Green, Chief Executive Officer, Healthwatch, North Yorkshire

Councillor Dinah Keal, Ryedale District Council

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Richard Webb, Corporate Director, Health and Adult Services

Lisa Winward, Chief Constable

Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book

NO.	ITEM
227	WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION BY THE CHAIR County Councillor Carl Les welcomed Members of the Board and any members of the public or media viewing the meeting.   He advised that he is the Leader of the Council and Chairs this Board and that:- - the main role of this Board is to support the effective communication of the test, trace and contain plan for the county and to ensure that the public and local businesses are effectively communicated with;   - decisions of the Board are purely advisory and its recommendations will be considered through the governance arrangements of the bodies represented, which retain their decision making sovereignty; - the papers for this meeting had been published in advance on the County Council’s website; and - the Board comprises, among others, representatives of the County Council; District and Borough Councils; the NHS; UK Health Security Agency; Schools; Healthwatch; the Care Sector; and the Voluntary Sector
228	APOLOGIES As stated in the attendance on the previous page.
229	VACCINATION UPDATE Sue Peckitt updated as follows:- - There has been an excellent response from people to the programme.  Of those eligible: 88.8% and 94%, respectively, have had their first and second dose and 84% have had their booster. - We are still urging people to come forward as there is plenty of vaccine available and sessions to administer it.  All sites offer a walk-in facility and many offer the vaccine to 12-15 year olds. - As of yesterday (16^th January) 59.3% of 12-15 year olds had had a vaccination. In response to a question from County Councillor Stuart Parsons as to what is being done to keep volunteers on board (some of whom are reporting fatigue and turning up - only not to be required), Sue Peckitt advised that there has been significant media work and work with the Voluntary Sector to rotate volunteers as much as possible, to give them a break.   She added that the CCG have tried to rationalise services, but the aim remains to get everyone through.  Therefore, the CCG will not be stepping down the operation yet.   She added that 16 and 17 year olds will be called for their next dose and this will hopefully increase footfall.  She takes on board the point about fatigue among volunteers and, also, among health staff.  Councillor Liz Colling enquired about uptake among 12-15 year olds. Sue Peckitt advised that this has always been a School Programme, with the CCG putting in additional support through the Vaccination Centres. The provider has a rota, which will start soon. NOTED.
230	NOTES OF MEETING HELD ON  23^RD DECEMBER 2021 AGREED that these were an accurate reflection of the discussion.
231	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest.
232	NOTIFICATION OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS The Chair asked Members if they could advise him, at this stage, whether they had any item of urgent business they were likely to raise under that heading, so that he could ensure there was sufficient time at the end to consider it.  No Members indicated that they had any urgent business to raise.
233	UPDATE ON THE CURRENT POSITION IN NORTH YORKSHIRE  Slides were presented by Louise Wallace, which contained data on North Yorkshire daily cases; 7-day infection rates; and daily deaths. Louise highlighted the following aspects:- - There has been some decline in numbers recently.  She is hopeful that this means the tide has been turned, but there remain a high number of daily cases. - It is hoped that the vaccination uptake is making a difference on the severity of the illness and the number of people hospitalised. - All information is triangulated with other settings, such as Care and Education. This shows that there is still a high degree of infection in the community, so we should remain cautious.  In addition, recent changes to testing could be having an impact on the data. - Seven people died in North Yorkshire in the last week, within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19. Thankfully, the number of people dying is greatly reduced from the same time last year. - We are still operating to Plan B of the Government’s restrictions. We encourage everyone to follow these measures, with the key message being to come forward and receive the vaccination. - Omicron is now the dominant variant in the County. Louise concluded her presentation by saying she was hopeful that things are heading in the right direction. She and her Team will continue to keep a close eye on the data – particularly the impact on Care and Educational settings.  Our best protection against the virus remains people coming forward to be vaccinated. NOTED.
234	COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE Mike James spoke to slides that had been circulated with the papers for the meeting. Mike advised that the overall approach is unchanged from his previous update, with its concentration on three main areas. He provided an update for each of those:- Warning and informing This includes updating digital assets and sharing these across the Local Resilience Forum partners and proactive engagement with the media.  He thanked colleagues in the media for helping to support the North Yorkshire message. Supporting the national effort around booster jab communications Working alongside health colleagues to maximise the reach of the message -  including the booster programme. Pro-actively pushing  wider community support messages Involves information on day-to-day support for people who are isolating and on support payments and business support. Targeted work has been delivered around support for families and promoting mental wellbeing. On an on-going basis, Team North Yorkshire continues to highlight the work of volunteers. Although the impacts are levelling off, there are still high levels of engagement – 18,000 views of Covid pages each week. In terms of social media, information relating to testing is the area that most people are interested in County Councillor Parsons referred to vaccination fatigue and the feeling that people’s actions elsewhere were resulting in people wondering what is the point of following the restrictions.  Mike responded that we are linking in with the CCG to examine Behavioural Insights to glean what messages are working and which are not.  It is fair to say that there is message fatigue but we need to continue to push the key ones. Ian Yapp stressed that any work that can be done with communications to maximise the vaccination and booster uptake in Schools would be good because increased take up would reduce the risk to settings.  He also asked if changes to rules will be available diagrammatically, as this helps people to work through them.  Mike James said that he would look at the communications aspect with CCG colleagues.  With regard to diagrammatic representation of information, there is content on digital assets and there is no reason why this cannot be sent out to Schools. Dr. Sally Tyrer informed the Board that the advice for 12-15 year olds is that if they have had Covid recently they should wait 12 weeks until receiving their vaccination – rather than 28 days, which is the case for adults.  Therefore, we need to ensure that the offer is extended for this age group, to capture as many as possible in the Programme, when they become eligible. NOTED.
235	PARTNER UPDATES Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner – Simon Dennis - Reviewing our approach to communications under the new Commissioner.  May be timely to consider how we can use these channels to help promote key messages.  Will put their Communications Lead in touch with Mike James and his counterpart at City of York Council. Business – Helen Simpson - Their Covid-19 Evidence Report outlines the impact upon business.  It highlights labour shortages as a big issue currently - particularly in logistics, Care and Agriculture and in some manufacturing, such as food. - We have not seen any business failures in January, which is good news. - Unemployment is relatively stable. - Undertaking work around mental health and Covid – happy to share a summary at a future meeting if people would find this helpful. Care Sector – Louise Wallace - We continue to support Care Settings in dealing with outbreaks.  Infections have increased among staff and residents. - Working daily with colleagues in Care Settings to help maintain staffing levels, which are impacted by staff isolating, - Providing briefings on the latest Guidance. - Pressure continues on the Health and Social Care Sectors. NHS – Dr. Sally Tyrer - Fewer people now need to go for a PCR Test. This has implications for the individual and the wider system, which requires accurate numbers. - Following on from this, the concern is that fewer people will record a positive result.  We need to encourage people to get a PCR, if they need to, or to record their Lateral Flow Test if it is positive. This is because that result then comes through to Primary Care, who act on it and make a judgment as to whether people have a particular vulnerability.  If we do not have this information, a valuable opportunity has been lost. Police – Mike Walker - Maintaining a low absence rate for officers and staff.  This low rate helps, given the disparate nature of some communities and Police Stations in the County. - Stringent measures are in place to ensure the Constabulary maintain numbers on the front line. Schools – Ian Yapp - Sector-wide Webinar held on Business Continuity, enabling Schools and settings to discuss their contingency arrangements. - Still a significant degree of variation in terms of the impact of Covid.  As of 14^th January, 172 teachers were absent; 208 support staff were absent; and pupil attendance was 89% - which is good, considering the caseload. - As of 13^th January, three Schools were closed and some Schools have classes accessing remote education. - Health Teams are actively supporting 119 settings. - Ancillary Services have been struggling. - The latest Guidance is that where closure needs to be considered, provision should be made for vulnerable children; children with Special Educational Needs and Disability and children of critical workers. - Secondary School pupils are wearing a face covering in communal areas and in class and staff in all settings are wearing face coverings in communal areas. - Twice weekly Lateral Flow Tests continue for Secondary pupils and all educational staff. This is a vital control measure, so every effort should be made to maximise uptake of the vaccination and booster. Local Government – Richard Flinton - During the first week back following the holiday period, the County Council had significant staff absence, including 15% of care staff.  The situation has improved but this area still faces pressure, due to on-going vacancies. The County Council has put in place a process to look for volunteers from its own staff to help plug the gaps. - Otherwise, Council services are OK in respect of staff availability. NOTED.
236	NEXT MEETING The Chair confirmed that the next meeting will be on Thursday 24^th February 2022 at 2.00 p.m.
237	ANY OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business to consider.

The meeting concluded at 11.38 a.m.

PD