Leeds council chiefs to discuss latest coronavirus work update

Senior councillors in Leeds will discuss the latest updates on coronavirus response and recovery work in the city at an online meeting next week.

At the meeting which will take place from 11am on Tuesday 19 May, Leeds City Council’s executive board will consider the latest report on the work continuing to be carried out to respond to the virus and the planning and delivery work to support some services resuming and lockdown measures starting to be eased safely.

The council’s approach to the next phase of the crisis to ‘stay safe and save lives’ is based around these five themes:

• Safe travel, ensuring the safe use of highways and public transport and encouraging active travel (walking and cycling) where possible
• Safe public spaces, with physical distancing in communities, district centres and the city centre
• Safe delivery of services, including health and social care, and other public services
• Safe education, as more children and young people return to schools, colleges and nurseries
• Safe working, with physical distancing in workplaces and coordination between large employers to avoid peaks of movement

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Judith Blake said:

“I’d like to again thank everyone in Leeds, our partners, the incredible NHS and healthcare workers, community volunteers and council officers for their amazing efforts during the challenges of the last two months.

“It really has been a monumental team effort with everyone playing their part, and that work and resilience must continue as we move on to the next phase of this crisis and the issues around resuming services and businesses safely in our city. The absolute priority remains on staying safe and saving lives, stay home and work from home if you can, only go to a workplace if you must and can do so safely, with everyone respecting social distancing at all times and using public transport only when necessary with a face covering.

“As we move into a third month of lockdown measures we appreciate this is a very difficult time for everyone but it is vitally important we all follow the rules and remain committed to keeping ourselves and everyone else in our communities safe.  

“We must always remember that above all this is a human tragedy, behind every loss is a grieving family so our thoughts and condolences remain with them.”

Some essential council services which had temporarily closed have now resumed, including household waste recycling centres which now have 19,600 slots available each week using an online booking system.

Work is being carried out in the city centre and around the city to put in place infrastructure to support safe movement and social distancing, along with investment in active travel to encourage more cycling and walking to help people avoid using public transport.

Traffic levels in the city have started to increase since restrictions on movement were eased, but they remain well below previous levels with air pollution (nitrogen dioxide) reduced by 52 per cent compared to a year ago.

In terms of ongoing support and response to the crisis, the council’s response includes the following latest delivery information:

• Over 10,000 food parcels delivered to vulnerable people and more supported locally through volunteer-assisted shopping
• 21,590 children provided with free school meals through schools and local hubs across Leeds every week
• 5,200 active volunteers supporting the most vulnerable residents through 33 volunteer hubs
• More than 11,000 calls answered on Leeds helplines
• 1,472 additional packages of support to people, either in their own homes or in a care home
• 8.6million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) delivered to almost 500 care homes, children’s homes, doctor’s surgeries and hospices
• The Leeds testing site at Temple Green has successfully increased its capacity to 1,000 slots per day, supported by temporary mobile test units and extended testing in care homes
• £128million in grants have been paid to 10,341 Leeds businesses to date
• 3.2million black/green bins collected since lockdown began, with waste levels 15% higher than usual
• Over 7,000 essential housing repairs and 4,300 gas safety checks undertaken

To see the executive board report and supporting documents published today go to http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=102&MId=9969&Ver=4 (agenda item 7).

For all the latest information on Leeds City Council support go to https://www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus.

For the business support on offer visit https://www.leeds.gov.uk/coronavirus/business.

ENDS

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 Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

Tel: 0113 378 6007