This year has been a very challenging year for everyone, but, despite the pandemic, Knowsley Council is continuing to deliver the services and support on which local residents and businesses depend.
The Council’s Cabinet today (25 November 2020) received an update on the excellent progress that has been made against the Council’s Corporate Plan priorities, which is all the more impressive when having been delivered whilst also dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Progress this year includes:-
- Designing and launching new services from scratch – the Knowsley Support and Volunteer Hub, a local Test and Trace service, local access to testing, administering new grants and funding for local businesses, sourcing and distributing personal protective equipment – whilst also continuing to deliver its key day-to-day services including waste collections, planning, adult and children’s social care services.
- Supporting care homes with additional investment and support for safe visiting practices.
- Ensuring appropriate mental health support, including access to a 24/7 crisis helpline and dedicated support within local schools.
- Ensuring that no child in Knowsley goes hungry and stepping in to fund Free School Meals when the Government didn’t.
- Confirmation from Ofsted inspection that local support to children and families, whose routines had been severely impacted by COVID-19, has been delivered through effective leadership and the continuation of the short breaks provision.
- Development of a Climate Emergency Action, including investment in local parks and green spaces and almost 2,800 new trees to be planted by April 2021.
- Continued work to deliver development plans for Knowsley’s town centres (notably including work on The Shakespeare North Playhouse and Kirkby town centre’s new retail facilities).
- Ensuring that local businesses have been given swift access to emergency grant support.
Councillor Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, said: “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved in what can only be described as very challenging circumstances.
When we developed our Corporate Plan, COVID-19 was nowhere on the horizon, yet we have adapted what we do in order to respond to and manage this pandemic, and we have made sure that our residents and businesses are being supported in every way possible.
We will continue to build on these fantastic achievements and continue to drive down our infection rates in the Borough over the coming months. Well done!”