Kentish Express Ashford & District
County council to face scrutiny over Covid-19 response
Kent County Council will be scrutinised over its handling of the coronavirus crisis in a crunch meeting next week.
KCC’s first virtual scrutiny committee meeting will take place next Tuesday.
It will include input from several Conservative backbenchers and Liberal Democrat and Labour opposition members.
It will be just the third public meeting hosted by County Hall bosses since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak across the UK in March.
KCC’s scrutiny chairman, Cllr Andy Booth (Con), said: “I thought it absolutely essential that the committee meets to ensure there is transparency from the county council.”
County Hall’s scrutiny committee briefing has been described by Mr Booth as a “scene setter” which will be led by KCC’s leader Cllr Roger Gough (Con) and senior officers.
It is anticipated that these meetings will take place fortnightly and focus on several key issues emanating from the coronavirus pandemic.
Committee members will likely question the senior council team around the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), the council’s current financial situation and the way KCC is handling the crisis.
KCC’s main opposition leader, Cllr Rob Bird (Lib Dem), said: “I think all local authorities must engage with effective scrutiny.
“In the coming weeks we need to look at how we have handled the pandemic, what lessons we have learnt and what further work we have to do to improve the situation.”
KCC has yet to confirm whether the key briefing will be broadcast online to the public via webcast.
Anxiety remains around PPE supply in the health and care sector. KCC has signed off on £5million emergency bulk purchases over the last two months.
More than 2.4m items of PPE have been distributed by KCC across the county, including goggles, hand sanitisers, masks, gowns and aprons, amid a surge in demand. In Kent, daily orders for surgical face masks for staff at hospitals, care homes and other key sectors more than doubled, rising from around 12,300 deliveries on 3 April to 29,000 on 24 April.
On May 1, the county council revealed that the coronavirus crisis could cost them up to £130m over the next 12 months.
At the time, a KCC spokesman said the Covid-19 crisis has put its finances under “enormous strain” as they desperately keep frontline services running.