Presentation by Head of Environmental Health and Housing.

The Head of Environmental Health and Housing gave the Committee an update on the impact of Covid-19 on the community as follows:

·         The community assessment impact report (circulated previously) gave an insight into the work carried out by Officers during the Covid-19 crisis as well as the work carried out to help businesses with their re-commencement of activities and in particular highlighted the re-opening of the hospitality trade on 4^th July 2020

·         As a result of the hospitality trade recommencing its business more than a 1000 food businesses had started to re-trade, 700 of which were licensed

·         400 hotels had re-opened and 150 campsites had recommenced business

·         The report was broken down into four areas, Social impacts, health impacts, Wider economy impacts and environmental impacts

·         Central Government had devolved management of local outbreaks of Covid-19 to local authorities, with Devon County Council being the Health authority of Devon

·         A newly created Health Protection Board had been set up which was responsible for putting into place actions mitigating against any local outbreaks of Covid-19

·         Local businesses would receive cards with measures that could be taken to help limit the spread of Covid-19 and as a local authority our role would be to help support businesses to put those measures into practice

·         There had been an increased level of support given to businesses by Officers in the regulatory services helping business to adapt and giving advice

·         Officers had to be prepared to adapt to different behaviours, as witnessed at Bournemouth when large numbers of people visited the beach, so that appropriate actions could be taken to mitigate situations

In response to a question requesting clarification of the role the local authority was to play in the management of out breaks of Covid-19.  The Head of Environmental Health and Housing advised that the responsibility for this management was at County level so if there was an outbreak at a hospital for example Devon County Council would manage this.  If there was an outbreak in a shared house or a campsite then North Devon Council would take on the role of managing the outbreak of Covid-19 cases.

In response to the news that face masks were to be made mandatory to wear in shops and who was going to enforce this.  The Head of Housing and Environmental Health explained that the Communications team would cascade out the message to wear a mask but that it was for the Police to enforce.  There was to be a meeting of the Health Protection Board later that day and further updates or information would be fed back to Committee members.

In response to a concern over how the already stretched Police authority were to cope with the task of enforcing the wearing of face masks the Head of Environmental Health and Housing advised that he suspected the Police would deploy their services in areas where the greater risk of harm lay and that he would take a closer look at the guidance to provide notes to members for the purposes of disseminating to the public.

In response to whether the Environmental Health and Housing Team had the resources to cope with the extra demands for their services. The Head of Environmental Health and Housing advised that there were vacant posts in the team and that a recruitment drive would begin shortly and it was hoped new staff could be starting as soon as September 2020.