Case studies

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is tackling the economic impacts of COVID-19 through a new Economic Renewal Action Plan, including a £2 million Prioritised Recovery Programme (PRP) of immediately deliverable action. The approach combines an evidence-based, strategy-led plan with practical action to tackle critical issues and gaps in support to accelerate recovery.

At more than 5,000sq kilometres, Norfolk is one of the largest counties in England. To cover such a big area, the county council has set up a network of mobile testing teams rather than rely on static sites. It has allowed the teams to target testing at the neighbourhoods with the most need as well as support local businesses and big events.

Hertfordshire County Council has successfully targeted a number of the marginalised groups included on the government’s at-risk list. Outreach work with the local traveller community was particularly successful with the public health team working with key influencers in the community to engage people through social media.

The public has got used to using and ordering rapid tests themselves. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has focused its efforts on targeting its support towards those most in need. Key to this has been its mobile testing unit.

Liverpool City Council has partnered with its two Premier League football clubs to help engage local people in rapid testing. Testing sites have been stationed at the grounds of Liverpool and Everton, offering tests to supporters on match days.

Barnsley Council declared a climate emergency in September 2019 with targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions in its own operations by 2040 and across the wider borough by 2045. The council’s Sustainable Energy Action Plan affirms the council’s commitment to embed a carbon reduction culture across the organisation. The council has a housing new-build programme, but energy efficiency measures included in properties have varied with no standard energy specification. The council wanted to work with a “critical friend” to review the specification and Leeds Sustainability Institute (LSI) have carried out this role.

More than 100 locations, including parks, supermarkets and faith settings, have been visited – with thousands of test kits handed out to the most hard-to-reach communities.

Water safety has always been a priority for Northumbria Police. When the hospitality sector reopened following its closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many pubs, restaurants and bars began to encourage customers to eat and drink outside. In areas like Newcastle and Gateshead, this meant that many people were drinking next to the Quayside. Unfortunately, on warm days this led to a significant increase in reports of people participating in unsafe activity in the water, such as ‘tombstoning’ and jumping into the water with glasses full of alcohol.

The Cleveland region has formed a robust response to modern slavery through the creation of its Anti-Slavery network in 2018, which has seen key partners collaborate on actions to prevent, identify, and ultimately end human trafficking and modern slavery.

The councils in the Humberside area have developed an emergency housing protocol to provide accommodation for victims of modern slavery in the period before they enter the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).