Yesterday morning I took part in a weekly Coronavirus Management Conference with the Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Executive of Bromley Council together with a few of their staff. Other local MPs were on the call too.
Opening up the meeting the Council Leader, Councillor Colin Smith, said he now believes that they have an operationally robust plan to deal with the crisis situation. He was confident that they were in a good position to deal with any more problems. Of course, he was hugely worried about the finances but that, he said, must come after looking after our people. Of course, he was right there.
I do not know the number of Bromley citizens who have sadly died as a result of Coronavirus. But I am afraid to say that we are likely to have had more than our fair share of deaths because we have quite an elderly population. Every time I hear a siren, and there seem many more sirens than normal, it immediately saddens and jolts me to wonder just what sadness might be happening at the other end of that insistent and worrying alarm. I am sure everyone else feels that too.
However, today I want to brief mainly on what I picked up yesterday. I paraphrase that under three headings.
1. Shielding.
2. Waste and Environmental Services.
3. Financial Support for Local Businesses.
Firstly, on Shielding, we heard from Kim Carey from Adult Services. She said that Bromley Council’s Vulnerable Person List (produced by Central Government) now contains 11,005 names. Strangely this is a doubling over numbers from last week. That huge increase puzzled Council officers. When they double-checked with many of the individuals on the list, a lot of people said they were very surprised to learn their names featured at all. Indeed, some of the GPs, on whose say-so people were apparently pinged onto the list, claim that they have no understanding of it either. I think perhaps that somewhere, possibly a civil servant in Central Government, an honest mistake has been made on this one. Maybe it was finger trouble! No real harm done though. However, it is true to say that over the last week Bromley has identified another 130 people who really are in need of help and are now getting it. Hurrah.
Coronavirus testing is fully in place for care homes – both for those who live there and staff. Although I reported last week that Public Health England was also testing in care homes, they have withdrawn this week because local arrangements seem more than adequate. We were informed that there is now ample PPE in local care homes.
By the way the Army will again be setting up a Pop-up Testing facility at Norman Park this weekend on Friday and Saturday.
Secondly, Colin Brand from Environment and Pubic Protection informed us that all waste collections were functioning as per pre-COVID-19. Dustbins and home recycling are fully back up and running. The two recycling sites at Waldo Road and Churchfields Road have now re-opened but with a booking system. Book on https://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/531/recycling_sites if you wish to recycle stuff there. It works too because I was at Churchfields Road this morning for my 0945hrs appointment with our old microwave and I dumped it off; with the relief we all feel when getting such gear off our hands!
Mr Brand went on to say that highway maintenance jobs will be restarting as soon as possible. I didn’t realise it but the special lamps inside street lights have to come from Spain and that supply chain is now open once more. So broken street lamps should be fixed as soon as Bromley Council gets the bulbs.
It’s good news too that Park maintenance has restarted – particularly edge and bush trimming. That’s great because my understanding is that we can not only go back and sit around in them and but even sunbathe if we wish! No cuddling though – unless, of course, with a member of your own household!!!
Thirdly, Claudine Douglas-Brown, an official from Bromley’s Finance Department, gave a briefing on support for local businesses. I gather that 2,432 local businesses have now had financial support which has cost more than £35 million. She mentioned that the Department was still trying to make contact with a considerable number of local businesses who, on the face of it, are eligible for Government grants but have not asked for them. I mentioned this last week and the situation has not changed much. I gather that the Council reckons that there are some 3,500 local businesses who might be eligible. That seems strange and nobody quite knows why.
By the way its good news for sporty types too. I now understand that some, mainly individual sports, can restart from tomorrow; such as golf, tennis and angling.
My great friend and agent, Tony Power, tells me that Langley Park Golf Club is open for members to play rounds with one other person, the changing rooms are open but with some social distancing restrictions but, alas, there remain total restrictions on the bar!
I hope that local Council run tennis courts will be available too. I have had a few complaints about them closing and now there is no need.
In a previous post I mentioned that I was surprised at the number of Beckenham anglers there are; they all seem to have lobbied me to get their sport restarted too. I would like to report that it was my pleas to Government that has re-opened fishing but I suspect not. I’m just pleased anglers can fish again – maybe at Oakley Road (photo) or the beautiful Keston Ponds.
In summary, I have to say I find the briefings given by Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council and his team to be invaluable. I pass them on to you as accurately as I can because it gives an official snapshot of what is happening. Colin Smith told me quietly (he did not expect me to pass it on but I do so in tribute) that he was exhausted. I reckon that must apply to all his team as well. I know many of them are working around the clock to serve Bromley. On behalf of all of us who benefit from their extremely hard graft I give them our heartfelt thanks for the way they have looked after and indeed protected us.