Zoom Meeting of May 11th

Questions of Councillor Tim Huggan

Schools

Has the council taken the opportunity to roll out the School Streets scheme across schools in Sheffield during the lockdown period so they can be implemented when schools start to return?

The lockdown period has seen schools operate at limited staff and pupil capacity with the primary responsibility of the wider teaching staff to effectively support students and their families/carers in learning at home.  Therefore the significant level of engagement with schools and local residents that is required to organise this effectively would not have been possible whilst working in lockdown conditions.

The ModeShift team have however been considering innovative ways of engaging with young people during this period and recently launched the ‘Stay Safe, Stay Active’ project.  This is encouraging students and their families to think through some of the positive aspects of lockdown (improved air quality, being more active, etc.) so that people permanently adopt these behaviour changes when certain movement restrictions are eased.

Work on our School Streets programme is continuing and as soon as we can ensure that engagement can be undertaken in a safe and full way further school street closures will be planned.

Active Travel

Cycling, when will this list of locations as options be available with experimental Traffic Orders? How will the success of any such scheme be measured?

Work is ongoing to finalise the proposed location and detail of these measures.  Cost estimates are currently being prepared to determine the appropriate level of funding.  This work should be completed soon and we will then be in a position to provide fuller details on the implementation and roll out of these measures.

The exact method of implementation, either through a traffic order or not will be dependent on the type of intervention that is being proposed.  Some will need traffic orders, some will not.  Like all traffic orders, this is a statutory process and consultation will be undertaken in accordance with legal obligations.

These works are temporary and are in response to an unforeseen need and opportunity; therefore a robust monitoring and evaluation plan has not been produced within these short timescales.  However, the Council will use existing data collection techniques and customer/member feedback to understand the relative anecdotal evidence in support/opposition of these schemes.

Which Pedestrian crossings will be re-timed and when?

Pedestrian crossing phases are being looked at in the locations where the busiest footfall will be expected and the signal technology is in place to allow these changed to be made.  The proposal is to allow additional crossing time to free up waiting space around the crossing points, as well as allowing a more demand responsive ‘green man’ time at the junction to reduce waiting time for pedestrians.  Work is ongoing to finalise the proposed location and detail of these measures.

When will ‘Temporary Active Travel Lanes’ be implemented and when will the options being considered be published?

The Council is actively looking at potential Active Travel Lanes along key routes where there is the evidence to support use and provide an alternative form of transport.  Each scheme is being balanced against advice on public health and considered on a case by case basis.  More detail on the specific options will follow once costing and programme for implementation of each scheme has been completed.  Suggestions can be made and issues raised on the SCR Active Travel Map at https://cyclewalkscrmap.sheffieldcityregion.org.uk/.

When will additional passing provision at constrained areas of pavement where people wait to access to shops be provided in Shopping Areas and Pedestrian Safety Zones?

In locations where there is busy footfall and on street queuing, the Council is investigating the opportunity to provide pedestrian safety zones to allow for social distancing.   Schemes to maintain social distancing, particularly where this supports access to local amenities will be continually assessed and suggestions will be looked at by the Council; for the moment these can be sent to [email protected].

When will busy crossing points be identified for marking out 2m guidelines for social distancing?

In line with the pedestrian crossing phases changes, the Council is also looking to mark out 2m safety marks on the ground to aid social distancing.  There will be prioritised at busy locations in central locations in the first instance and rolled out further on a case by case.  Suggestions will be welcomed; again for the moment these can be sent to [email protected].

When will the work with SYPTE be concluded to identify busy bus stops to mark out 2m guidelines for social distancing?

The Council is working with SYPTE to establish where the locations for bus stop markings will be best placed.  It is recommended that these will be placed at the busiest stops to ensure the social distancing can be maintained whilst waiting for the bus.  The Council is currently waiting on this information to be provided and these will be installed as soon as possible after this has been received.

Waste and Recycling

Though Household Waste Centres have remained open, it has been for a narrow range of items that can be recycled.  When are, with adequate Social Distancing measures in place, the fullest range of recycling facilities to be reopened?

We have not restricted the range of items that can be recycled at our Household Waste Recycling Centres as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and Sheffield is one of very few authorities that have been able keep its sites open during the lockdown.  The message, in line with the Government’s on essential travel during the lock down, has been that the sites should only be used for essential waste.  Therefore we are asking residents to only visit them when they are unable to store their waste safely at home for a sustained period.  This could include:

•          waste that is causing an accessibility, fire or safety issue

•          waste which may attract vermin

As the lockdown measure ease we will start to withdraw this advice.  But it is likely social distancing will remain and therefore our sites will continue to operate with reduced capacity for customers.

What plans are in place to deal with the backlog of items usually taken to the sites now at peoples’ homes?

While COVID-19 has impacted Local Authority waste services in other areas of the County, Sheffield has so far been able to maintain all its frontline kerbside collections services, aside from the chargeable green bin service which missed one scheduled collection. The bulky waste collection service has also continued to operate throughout the lockdown and we would advise residents to use this service if they are unable to visit a Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Question from Mohammed Mahroof 

On the Covid outbreak

Sheffield has the highest number of confirmed covid19 cases amongst Core Cities starting at the moment around 2170, with fatalities above 215. I have asked this question many times and am being told that is it because we are testing more. I am pleased that we are testing more than over core cities but could we please see how many tests are being carried out in the city, to put it in context with other cities?

Data on testing is held across a number of agencies, including Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Public Health England and the Care Quality Commission.  We do not have access to comprehensive data on the number of tests carried out in Sheffield, and are only informed when a person tests positive for Covid-19, not when all tests are taken.  It is therefore impossible to make this comparison.

It also remains the case that the total number of cases of Covid-19 in the UK is not known for certain, with many cases likely to remain undiagnosed.  Given that Sheffield Teaching Hospitals started testing staff and patients much earlier than other NHS trusts around the country it is likely that Sheffield’s level of confirmed cases will be above those elsewhere as a result of this rather than a specific concentration of the disease in our city.  We are of course monitoring this closely as the situation develops.

Schools and Education

It has been bought to my attention that there is a lack of support for schools where families are in need of support. How do schools access support for families?

We are in touch with schools every day via the Director of Education and Skills’ daily email, and also receive direct feedback from them in response.  Through this, schools have been in touch with us to say they are working closely with social workers and that social workers are going above and beyond to ensure that vulnerable children are safe and supported.  Over the period of lockdown this has amounted to thousands of emails, reaching 400 per day in late March and early April, with no school raising lack of access to or support from social workers.

If schools feel that they have children who need social care involvement then the route in remains through the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub (SSH).  The safeguarding hub is operating business as usual and will respond to any concerns about a child.  If elected members are aware of specific instances where safeguarding concerns exist and they are concerned that support is not in place they should let us know as soon as possible.

If you are worried about a child or young person please call the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub on 0114 273 4855.

   Leave a comment