DECISION

1.    To consider the review (Appendix 1 to the report) of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Review of London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Response to COVID-19 and

2.    To agree the action plan (Appendix 2 to the report) in response to the review’s recommendations.

Action by:

CHIEF EXECUTIVE (W. TUCKLEY)

(Head of Corporate Strategy and Policy (A. Hoque)

The Mayor introduced the report which was considering the action plan following the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s review of the borough’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The administration would be taking forward most of the recommendations and he considered that others were being tackled in other ways.

As well as the major challenges the pandemic had given the borough there were also some opportunities to take advantage of such as the increased use of digital technologies for communicating and accessing services.

He highlighted that the Council had a general emergency planning role for the borough more widely which was important in relation to crises such as this pandemic. He noted comments asking for more information on lessons learnt elsewhere and also that Scrutiny would continue to review this issue.

After discussion, the Mayor welcomed the review and also thanked everyone who had been involved in the borough’s response to the pandemic. He then put the recommendations to the vote. They were agreed without dissent and it was:

RESOLVED

1.    To consider the review (Appendix 1 to the report) of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Review of London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Response to COVID-19 and

2.    To agree the action plan (Appendix 2 to the report) in response to the review’s recommendations.