The report of the Chief Executive (Document “D”) provides an update on COVID-19 communications in Bradford District. It describes the district communications response between March 2020 and January 2021. 

The report sets out how the Council-led system-wide communications response to COVID-19 across the Bradford District is being managed, explaining the leadership and co-ordination role of the System Communications Group, communications activities throughout the pandemic so far, and NHS-led planning for vaccinations. 

Recommended –

(1)       That Bradford West Area Committee notes the contents of the   report and the communications work that is taking place across   district to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Jenny Cryer – 07582 103747)

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “D”) provided an update on COVID-19 communications in Bradford District. It described the district communications response between March 2020 and January 2021.

The report set out how the Council-led system-wide communications response to COVID-19 across the Bradford District was being managed, explained the leadership and co-ordination role of the System Communications Group, communications activities throughout the pandemic so far, and NHS-led planning for vaccinations.  

The Assistant Director was in attendance and with the invitation of the Chair, gave a synopsis of the report. She explained that the report gave some indication of the communities’ work that had been going on to date. There were a number of approaches which the Council had tried since the beginning of the pandemic. The communications channels had been significantly extended to reach wider audiences. Contracts had also been awarded to voluntary organisations, who had been asked to focus on community based engagement with particular groups of residents and residents across the district. 

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A question and answer session ensued:

·         How much money had been awarded to the organisations that had been tasked to deliver the community engagement activities?

o   In the region of £200,000 each was earmarked for the 3 organisations that had been given the contracts for the delivery of activities of engagement work;

·         Out of the 3 organisations, clarity was sought on Urban Reach?

o   Urban Reach was a community interest company that undertook district wide work and that contracts had been signed by the company representative;

·         It had been brought to the committee’s attention that Urban Reach was a new organisation being registered by the individual who was also the President of Council for Mosques. Council for Mosques was also a faith organisation that undertook community work. Was Council management aware that the President had earlier refused the contract on behalf of Councils for Mosques as the organisation was unable to deliver the work of the Council and then, the same individual having registered a new company as Urban Reach, under his name and had accepted the Council contract to deliver the exact same engagement work that he had declined on behalf of Council for Mosques?

o   Due to a lack of information at hand on the background of the background of the organisation, the individual concerned and the basis for rewarding the community engagement work, information sought could not be provided at present. However, the community organisation was called Urban Reach that the and the name of the representative was for public records to view in Companies House;

·         The Chair asked the committee whether any member had come across this new community organisation during their engagement activities within communities in their respective wards or ever heard of this organisation?

o   To which the answer was no; and,

§  Following a sense of confusion by the committee, the Chair raised concerns as to the authenticity of Urban Reach and how a significant amount of public funds could be given to a newly established community organisation without substantive credentials; that the committee had never come across this community organisation. 

§  To add further, the Chair expressed his disappointment to the absence of the Director of Public Health at tonight’s committee, as she had information on the background of the subject matter to the extent of alleviating the committee’s confusion by providing a full explanation to the authenticity of Urban Reach.

§  The fact that significant amount of public funds being given to a newly formed community organisation by an individual who was the president of Council for Mosques; that this same individual had earlier refused to undertake the community engagement work as Council for Mosques was unable to deliver this work clearly painted an overall bleak picture of the use of public finds.

·         To fully grasp the nature of company selection and processes, what procedure had been applied to identity the right community organisation to deliver the community engagement work, or was the process similar to that of Central Government selection process?

o   The process was administered by Public Health and therefore clarification could not be given at present. However, this matter will most certainly be raised Public Health.

During the discussion, the following comments were made by the committee and officers:

·         The work tasked to be delivered by the community organisations was a combination of direct delivery of Council work through the appointed organisations and therefore the upmost form of transparency was required;

·         The work undertaken to date by the Council had been exceptional in terms of doorstep engagement, engaging with young people, the production of a video promotion and the full use of social media;

·         Extensive efforts had also been focused on producing and providing information for takeaways;

·         Successful communication campaign to support people with mental health during the pandemic had also been undertaken; and,

·         In the region of 100,000 recipients were reached on a weekly basis on the Council’s Stay Connected Bulletin. However, there was always room to reach out further. In addition to major communication means used, various other approaches were equally being utilised for the purpose of getting the right messaging out to everybody across the district

·         As a city of sanctuary Bradford had given a home to many families that had arrived from other countries. Many Syrian families and other refugees and asylum seekers that have been sent to the UK and settled in Bradford is due to significant health issues within their families. Often enough, arrivals were not connected into the standard systems of communications and other networks within the city. Therefore, it was paramount that reaching out to refugees and asylum seekers also be a major focal area during the work of communication.

o   In response to comment, it was explained that work had been done through the Racial Equality Network that had a particular focus on ensuring that communication channelled out to asylum seekers and refugees.

o   It was further added that in terms of refugee asylum seeking community and the city’s wider community, significant support had been provided by Mears (housing and care providers to both the public and private sector). The Council was in weekly contact with Mears for the purpose of identifying the direct vaccination support the company was providing to some of the more vulnerable residents.

Resolved –

(1)       That Community Action Bradford & District (CABAD), Racial      Equality Network (REN) and the Urban Reach Partnership CIC be       requested to attend the first meeting of the Bradford West Area          Committee in the Municipal Year 2021/22,to give a detailed             presentation on their respective organisation’s focus based      community engagement work on COVID-19 in the Bradford West        area.

(2)       That officers be requested to examine the credentials of Urban             Reach Partnership CIC and that, following this examination,       Officers report the outcomes directly to the Members of the   Bradford West Area Committee.

ACTION:       Assistant Director, Office of the Chief Executive