Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

TMB Issue 33 discussed examples of how Australia and Rwanda are working to recover tourism through the promotion of domestic tourism. In Ireland, the next phases of their "Business Continuity Scheme" include targeted recovery strategies for Tourism Transport businesses, local tourism and hospitality businesses, and attracting international tourism. Consider:

• Partner with national/local tourism agencies (e.g. Failte Ireland/Tourism Ireland) to collaborate on the development and administration of tourism recovery schemes
• Provide funding and grants to tourism transport operators such as car rental companies, chauffeur, limousine, local taxi firms and escorted tour providers, to support their future operations and business continuity
• Set up a "Travel Trade Event" to bring international tourism partners, local governments and local tourism businesses together. Irish tourism businesses met virtually to sell "the best of Ireland" to 216 top international tourism buyers from across the world
• Seek funding to develop and build permanent outdoor infrastructure to increase dining capacity locally, to support local hospitality business as they re-open

Infrastructure investment has been found to effectively stimulate economic activity. Project prioritization and methods of financing are two key policy and investment questions, noted by the International Transport Forum (OECD). Consider:

• Projects which deliver jobs, stimulate growth in the short- and medium-term should be prioritised
• Those projects that are already in the pipeline with cleared planning and environmental approval should be the focus
• "Interventions should be Timely, Targeted and Temporary: the IMF's TTT principle"
• Local projects should be accurately estimated and the life-span of projects should be effectively forecasted
• Incentives or stimulus packages should be based on aims to drive "decarbonisation, social equity and resilience"

The pandemic has accelerated the change to shopping habits, triggered economic downturn and changed how people live their lives (e.g. working from home). Evidence provided by "what works centre for local economic growth" prompts thinking as to what types of investment and interventions are likely to be most beneficial when designing recovery plans. The report considers that:

• "Supply side" investments (e.g. shop front renovations) should be supported by investments and policies that target increasing consumer demand
• Education and training to improve the skills profile of local communities can positively impact residents average wages, which will increase spending power and demand for local goods and services
• There is little evidence to support thinking that large department stores/supermarkets ("anchor stores") are of more value that other shops, meaning that balanced and equal support should be provided to protect business continuity of all shops
• Increased levels of working from home is unlikely to instigate large population shifts away from towns and cities and "proposals that are based on the assumption that housing supply and population density will change significantly should provide robust evidence to underpin those assumptions"
• Recovery and renewal proposals/plans which state that "physical or cultural regeneration initiatives will also delver economic growth" should also provide robust evidence as little evidence has shown that investment in new community assets/improved housing quality will deliver local growth

Involving citizens in the recovery planning and development process can lead to more effective policy outcomes and build trust and a two way dialogue between citizens and government. COVID-19 has had diverse impacts on the lives of individuals and communities, and their involvement in deciding the routes to long-term recovery following the pandemic is crucial. Consider the good practice principles for deliberative processes offered by the OECD, which will support the achievement of "high-quality processes that result in useful recommendations and meaningful opportunities for citizens to shape public decisions":

• Clearly define the issue as a question that is aligned with the concerns and challenges faced by different communities
• Invite people to make recommendations for addressing the issues that affect them, respond to recommendations in a timely manner, and monitor and feedback regularly to people on the progress of their implementation (e.g. Scotland's Citizens' Assembly)
• Ensure the process is inclusive and representative of all people in the community, e.g. stratified random sampling to select a participant group which fully represents a community's demographic profile
• Make information easily accessible through public communications. Include the purpose, design, methodology, recruitment details, experts, recommendations, the response, and implementation follow-up
• Establish a mechanism through which people can request additional information, ask questions and keep up to date on progress of activities
• Appoint a liaison person who can feed information in from and out to the community
• Take time to reflect on and evaluate deliberative processes, to ensure learning, help improve future practice and understand impact

Stephen Brookes, University of Manchester and Umer Khan, Greater Manchester Police, explore public leadership to create public value recovery and renewal - including the role of local community policing, partnerships, and 'consequentialist leadership'.

Follow the source link below to read this briefing in full (p.3-6).

Effective risk communication is central to public health risk management, so that people can make informed decisions and take the correct actions to "prevent, mitigate and recover from emergencies". It enables real-time access to, and exchange of, reliable information. However, the sheer scale and pace of COVID-19 led to an uncoordinated overload of sometimes inconsistent information, so people were unsure about the severity of risk, and therefore behaved according to their individual perception. There has also been a surge of misinformation throughout the pandemic, which has undermined national and local health responses globally.

Consider:

• A review of risk communication strategies employed during the pandemic, to identify what worked and what could be improved for future emergencies
• Build risk communication capacity by appointing dedicated risk communicators at national and local levels, to maintain consistency in communications and develop a sense of familiarity among the public, which can build trust
• Identify the stakeholders in disseminating risk information (e.g. media) and assess the strength of the relationships with stakeholders. Identify how collaboration and coordination can be enhanced so that the information disseminated is ‘timely, accurate and transparent’
• Tailor risk communications to the specific risk and needs of diverse communities
• Engage with the community to co-develop risk communication support structures and establish accountability of community members for required behavioural change
• Use social media to track (through data analytics) and counter misinformation, and develop a narrative of solidarity through crisis (UN Sri Lanka)
• Establish a central risk management coordination platform that consolidates risk information and forecasts other potential risks (e.g. concurrent emergencies such as severe flooding). This can enhance capacities and capabilities to provide strategic interventions, and minimize further social and economic impacts (Dominican Republic)
• Acknowledge and communicate uncertainty in clear and unambiguous language to avoid misinterpretation, e.g. use scientific evidence to estimate the likelihood of COVID-19 case resurgence as precisely as possible, and avoid language such as ‘probably/possibly’
• Regularly gauge and monitor the public perception of risk, through surveys and consultations with public bodies such as police, to inform timely action to prevent lax or panicked behaviour
• Evaluate and update risk communications regularly to account for developments (e.g. vaccination)

Recovery and renewal strategies require community co-production to be influenced by the knowledge, skills and experience of communities. Participation depends on a number of factors. VFL find that time and convenience are crucial when it comes to community participation in recovery, renewal and resilience plans and actions. Measures to facilitate community participation should address the needs of all community members, so as to ensure accessibility, and not reinforce inequalities. Consider whether:

• Local planning and government meetings, forums and workshops are conveniently located and accessible:
  • Select locations and venues that facilitate access for all members of the community. Consider access constraints affecting disadvantaged groups, which may be physical, geographic, economic, or faith related. E.g. provide online access, transport, refreshments, accessibility for people with disabilities
  • Select venues/online forums where different groups within the community already congregate (e.g. different religious groups, women)
• The timing of activities fits with the commitments of the community members who will be participating. For example, work schedules, household responsibilities, school timetables of children and parents (particularly women), farmers' seasonal calendars:
  • Carefully consider people's time, and seek feedback from the community on times that are suitable
  • Draw on appropriate local volunteers to offer childcare where physical meetings are held
• Socio-cultural issues which might prevent some people from participating have been considered:
  • Identify potential barriers related to language, literacy levels, ethnicity, gender discrimination, etc.
  • Provide expert facilitation and translation services, or organize separate meetings with women, people with disabilities, specific ethnic minorities and other groups to facilitate their participation
• Report back to participants on the outcome of their community participation and how thinking/planning has changed as a result of their contribution

Ethnic minority-owned businesses play a vital role in the UK economy, the FSB reported that 'ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) contributed 25 billion pounds to the UK economy in 2018'. The entrepreneurial characteristics of diverse communities will be crucial for economic recovery. The impacts of the pandemic on EMBs is significant, as they account for a large number of businesses within the sectors closed during national lockdowns (retail, health and social care and hospitality). Consider:

• Invite ethnic minority business owners to discuss how best local government can support and facilitate entrepreneurship and growth post-COVID
• Targeted support programmes for ethnic minority-owned organisations and businesses that provide advice and support for applying for financial assistance, IT and tech support so that they are equipped with the skills and tools needed to recover and renew
• Create an 'inclusive matrix of support, including grants, wage subsidy and micro-loans for small ethnic minority-owned organisations, start-ups and new businesses'. Those businesses that may not have qualified for government financial support schemes introduced during the pandemic
• Go beyond the restricted lens of the 'Business Rate System' and broaden the understanding of how local economies function. This can be done by including 'all sectors, including homeworkers, night time economy, responses to local transport needs and the retail sector, to provide a comprehensive picture of local businesses and economic activity'. Use this to introduce support systems that promote sector diversity, good practice in sustainability, growth and cooperation in economic recovery

Memorialisation and remembrance will be an essential component of recovery, as discussed in TMB Issue 29. Online memorial services, a website and a dedicated memorial space were three of the opportunities discussed in this recent Issue. An increasing number of activities to memorialise are taking place, including;

Yesterday, RCN launched Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's R-Cities Board Chair's Agenda for "climate-ready infrastructure that is equitable and produces green jobs". This agenda expands RCN's commitment to support cities across the world in a resilient recovery. The preliminary actions for advancing this agenda include; 'Assessing R-Cities work across the network that advances this agenda; Engaging with existing communities of practice, programmes, and partners to share and exchange knowledge around this agenda; and Mobilizing resources to deliver place-based projects in multiple cities that advance the agenda'. This initiative will support resilience in cities in multiple ways, including:

• Call for de-siloing investments in resilience to create climate-ready infrastructure that is equitable and creates green jobs
• Amplify the co-benefits of city transitions to net zero greenhouse gas emissions
• Demonstrate how interconnected services, that support communities and economies, can withstand the disruptions of an uncertain future with climate-ready infrastructure
• Demonstrate how climate-ready infrastructure embraces innovation and the interdependencies of resilient city systems, that are critical to equitable outcomes for people
• Watch the latest Cities on the Frontline Speaker Series #07 Earth Day which launches this agenda here.

Last month, Japan’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) marked ten years since the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), and the subsequent tsunami that devastated the region and caused a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant[1]. Post-accident analysis verified that radiation from the accident at the power plant has not had any direct impacts on human health. However, the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people living in surrounding areas resulted in premature deaths, due to issues such as lack of access to healthcare or medicines, and stress-related problems[2]. COVID-19 is like Fukushima, in that it presents both policy makers and the general public with a range of multi-dimensional challenges that need to be addressed through recovery and renewal processes. We explore three lessons from Fukushima recovery that can support and prompt thinking for recovery from COVID-19:

Preparedness and disaster management plans

Like COVID-19, the GEJE exposed fragilities in the planning for complex and extraordinary disasters, which were addressed by reformulating disaster management plans at national and local levels in Japan. Consider the following lessons and activities to recover and renew disaster management planning in the light of COVID-19:

• Review and revise disaster management plans at both national and local level to ensure plans are kept up to date:
  • Integrate lessons learned during the pandemic to inform new disaster management planning, legislation and policies - add a new section to disaster management plans that covers the management of pandemics
  • Focus on the following issues: coordination of administrative and operational functionalities; preventative measures, such as education, safety drills, and issuing and transmitting of information and warnings; evacuation and rescue activities, and primary goods supply and distribution in emergency situations; and overall coordination of reconstruction and restoring livelihoods during the recovery phase[3]

Engaging local stakeholders

‘Resilience is strengthened when it is shared’[4]. Establishing strong communication and collaboration - between communities and local medical staff, between central government and municipalities, and with experts - was found to build awareness amongst local residents about exposure risks to radiation, and how to reduce those risks in the future[5]. Stakeholder engagement is critical in the management of future outbreaks, recovery of preparedness for future crises, and recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. Consider:

• Authentic stakeholder engagement means meaningful, creative and impactful interactions with people and communities, and the co-production of recovery and renewal strategies[6]:
  • Recognise community voice, influence, and measurable local impact as part of recovery activities
  • Actively involve community members in recovery conversations and meetings, to bring together a range of knowledge, skills, abilities and perspectives
  • Build on collaborative relationships and integration initiatives that have been developed through the pandemic in local areas. Conduct a review to identify areas where these established relationships and initiatives offer opportunity for creative and impactful engagement in recovery[7]
• Effective participation requires leaders to utilise a range of models of engagement that[8]:
  • Encourage community participation (e.g. joint planning groups)
  • Develop interactive and partnership working, by providing the community with access to expertise, advice and training (e.g. disaster risk planning)
  • Facilitate community mobilisation and empowerment, by establishing partnerships with voluntary organisations and community groups, and initiating community development programmes[9]

Recognising the impacts on mental health

Fear of exposure to radiation, plus the evacuation itself, created significant psychological distress for those who experienced the events of Fukushima. These have some similarities to the psychological effects of COVID-19: risk to health due to exposure to the virus, isolation from family, friends and critical social support networks, and the uncertain economic conditions caused by the pandemic[10]. COVID-19 has shown how significantly social and economic determinants influence mental health. Our mental health is heavily reliant on a variety of factors such as the quality of our relationships, employment, education, and access to food, income and housing[11]. COVID-19 presents key challenges, but also an opportunity to rethink our approach to mental health and implement structural changes in mental health support so as to address the aftermath. Multifaceted-support and societal recovery progress has been found to help address the impacts of the Fukushima disaster on people’s mental health[12]. Mental Health Europe offer guidance to recovery and renewal of mental health support[13]:

• Establish comprehensive long-term strategies that aim to mitigate the consequences of the crisis, co-producing these strategies with service users and the organisations that represent them
• The promotion of ‘basic social rights’, together with targeted investment in economic protection, such as ‘universal basic income, income protection schemes, loan guarantees, rent protection’ and booster packages (e.g. recovery/renewal loans, business support and advice, targeted employment programmes)
• Invest in mental health literacy about the social determinants of mental health, and how ‘experiencing distress is a normal reaction’ in the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic. This will help tackle stigma and discrimination, and further strengthen the ‘sense of community and solidarity’ that has emerged throughout the pandemic
• ‘Promote cross-sectoral collaboration and more integrated social and health care, including investments in peer support’
• Facilitate and support community-based services that ‘respect the will and preferences of users, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Involve people with lived experience in the design, implementation and monitoring of these services’

References:

[1] https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-021-03109-1

[2] https://www.mhe-sme.org/position-paper-mental-health-in-the-aftermath-of-covid-19/

[3] file:///C:/Users/r66633rj/Downloads/ijerph-15-02381.pdf

[4] https://www.mhe-sme.org/position-paper-mental-health-in-the-aftermath-of-covid-19/

[5] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/03/11/learning-from-megadisasters-a-decade-of-lessons-from-the-great-east-japan-earthquake-drmhubtokyo

[6] Hayano, R. S. (2015) ‘Engaging with local stakeholders: some lessons from Fukushima for recovery’, Annals of the ICRP, 44(1_suppl), pp. 144–152. doi: 10.1177/0146645315572291.

[7] Boyle, D and Harris, M. (2009). The Challenge of Co-Production: How equal partnerships between professionals and the public are crucial to improving public services. https://neweconomics.org/uploads/files/312ac8ce93a00d5973_3im6i6t0e.pdf

[8] http://www.scdn.scot/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Models-of-Community-Engagement.pdf

[9] https://www.good-governance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID-19-blog-07-04-20.pdf

[10] file:///C:/Users/r66633rj/Downloads/Empowerment-in-action-case-studies-of-local-authority-community-development.pdf

[11] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18864

[12] https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/76401

[13] NEA, OECD (2021) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, ten years on. https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/76402?&a=email&utm_source=pw_email

Vulnerable groups of people are those that are disproportionately exposed to a risk. This can change dynamically and it is not a simple process of dividing populations into two groups of 'vulnerable' and 'not vulnerable'. Amid the pandemic, vulnerable groups have emerged from a diversity of communities. They are not only older people, those with ill health or disabilities, or homeless persons, but also people from a range of socioeconomic groups who might 'struggle to cope financially, mentally or physically' with crises precipitated by the pandemic. Consider:

• If the definitions and categories we use to identify vulnerable people, and consider their needs, adequately represents their lived experiences - whether their vulnerability existed prior to COVID-19, has been exacerbated by it, or has been newly created by it?
• Identify the people behind the 'vulnerable' label - who are they, where are they, and why are they vulnerable? - to increase our understanding of the person and the conditions or environment (root causes) that may be making them vulnerable to certain risks
• If there are different levels/spectrums of vulnerability, do we need to organise vulnerability with respect to different forms of risk (e.g. immediate risk to life, risk to mental health, social/financial security, geographic location)?
• Assessing those who may have been defined as vulnerable prior to COVID-19 and the conditions associated with this vulnerability, those who have become newly vulnerable as a direct result of COVID-19, and what factors lead to these people/groups becoming vulnerable
• The risk of under-supporting those who face severe risk if we rely only on our previous (to COVID-19) assumptions or understanding of vulnerability
• Whether re-defining vulnerability may support more effective recovery and renewal strategies e.g. classifying vulnerable groups according to risk levels/spectrums, creating vulnerability indexes and identifying the root cause of each
• Recovery strategies should aim to provide transactional aid to alleviate the negative effects of vulnerability exacerbated or caused by the pandemic
• Renewal initiatives should address the root cause of vulnerabilities through transformational initiatives that aim to prevent people from becoming vulnerable

COVID-19 has presented Ireland with an opportunity to balance regional and rural development. The government has responded with an ambitious five year policy which addresses both the challenges facing rural areas following the pandemic and the transformational opportunities that the pandemic presents for rural economies and communities. This lesson offers an overview of the key priorities set out in the policy, examples of the measures that will be taken to achieve these priorities and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) linked to the measures:

Optimising digital connectivity:

• Investment in the delivery of the 'National Broadband Plan' to accelerate the delivery of connectivity in rural areas (SDG 8; 9; 10)
• Implement a 'National Remote Work Strategy' through the creation of 400 remote working hubs (e.g. providing financial support to local authorities to convert vacant buildings/utilize rural pubs as work spaces during the day) to support the retention of skilled people in rural areas (SDG 3; 8; 13)

Supporting employment and careers in rural areas:

• Design and implement nine new 'Regional Enterprise Plans' to support and promote the development of enterprise and job growth (SDG 8)
• Providing support and assistance for the diversification of rural economics into new markets and sectors by capitalising on high speed broadband and new technologies (SDG 8; 9)

Revitalising rural towns and villages:

• Prioritise short-term recovery rural development programmes and strategies to support rural towns to recover from the impacts of the pandemic (SDG 9; 11)
• Implement a collaborative 'Town Centre First' renewal initiative to put town centres at the core of decision making (e.g. provide and resource dedicated local authority staff to support town centre renewal) (SDG 11)
• Engage with 'Approved Housing Bodies' who are responsible for housing for older people to develop and deliver accommodation in town centres that is more suitable for those with reduced mobility (SDG 11)

Enhancing participation, leadership and resilience in rural communities:

• Design and deliver a range of recovery and renewal programmes to support communities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and charities to build resilience and increase their positive impact in the aftermath of COVID-19 (SDG 3; 10; 11)
• Implementation of a 'National Volunteering Strategy' to support community-based volunteers and voluntary organisations (e.g. by streamlining grant applications for volunteer groups) and establish a permanent 'Volunteer Reserve' in local communities who can be called upon and deployed by the community, voluntary organisations and local authorities during emergencies (SDG 11; 17)

Enhancing public services in rural areas:

• Review and update Rural Housing Guidelines for planning authorities, to tackle rural housing in a broader rural development and settlement context (SDG 11)
• Introduce a new 'Policing and Community Safety Bill' to redefine the functions of policing bodies to include community safety (SDG 16)

Supporting the sustainability of Agriculture, the Marine and Forestry:

• Provide support and assistance to local authorities to expand the number of farmer's markets, farm shops and support the formation of 'community-owned markets' in all towns, promoting local farmers, growers and food producers

In Scotland, the government's Social Renewal Advisory Board has proposed ways that transformational renewal can deliver lasting change post-COVID. The board published a report in January 2021 titled 'If not now, when?' which recognises the inequalities that have been exposed by the pandemic, and the civic response which emerged. The report presents 'Calls to Action' to tackle these inequalities and further galvanise the social action that is instrumental. Consider the principles offered by the report with regard to three key aspects of renewal:

• Money and Work: the need to support low income communities and tackle the structural inequalities in 'homes and across society' (e.g. unpaid care predominantly offered by women), including those disproportionately impacted by the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic. The report calls for:
  • A "Minimum Income Guarantee". All incomes should "meet a minimum income standard through a combination of paid work and/or social security". This provides payments based on a person's circumstances, accounting for differing "needs and costs associated with disability, childcare and housing"
  • A "person-centred approach to money, financial education and help". Addressing individual debt through temporary payment moratoriums, improved financial education and support, particularly for those in ethnic minority groups who may not seek financial advice
  • A "new social contract on Fair Work". Partnerships between government, public sector and employers to deliver greater levels of financial security for workers through focusing on inclusive and targeted employment programmes
• People, Rights and Advancing Equality: the need for all people to have adequate housing, food and access to services and information, including migrants and refugees. The report advises:
  • "Make the prevention and ending of homelessness a national priority for the next parliamentary term". Tackle the gaps in financial housing support and make adequate housing a human right for all people in Scotland
  • "Increase access to nutritious, culturally appropriate and affordable food". Invest in local food partnerships to build greater local food resilience
  • Tackle the digital divide. End digital exclusion by placing a duty of responsibility on public bodies to enable digital access
• Communities and Collective Endeavour: focused on empowering people, communities and frontline teams to drive new ways of working which started to emerge during the pandemic, and develop new arrangements for local governance:
  • Co-producing policies and programmes with the public through citizen participation in design and delivery, and supporting the inclusion of a wider portion of society
  • "Values-based leadership" to empower frontline teams to deliver flexible services based on community needs and priorities
  • "People, communities and places, building on strengths and assets" to share responsibility and ownership with communities to build local resilience capabilities

Throughout the pandemic, the media has played a critical role in communicating aspects of crisis management, containment and response. A further opportunity may lie in harnessing the current levels of public engagement that have been developed through COVID-19 response to drive a new narrative. Consider the potential for media communications to:

• Support and drive a national recovery and renewal narrative that focuses on the next steps, generates awareness and interest from the public and builds a collective national effort to recover and renew from COVID-19 (as was highly effective for response and the recruitment of volunteers)
• Clearly communicate who is responsible for recovery and renewal priorities, what these priorities are and why, and how citizens should be encouraged to participate in recovery and renewal efforts
• Generate public interest in specific topics/recovery areas to encourage donations/funding for organisations that are working to create societal changes that reduce inequalities
• Local government and voluntary organisations can utilize the media to engage the government and public in societal changes that are crucial, through agenda setting, i.e. influencing public interest and the importance placed on certain topics through the deliberate coverage of certain topics/issues. Agenda setting has been found to influence public agendas, spending/funding generation and policies, with the media prompting policymakers to take action and satisfy the public's interest
• Generate funding by mobilising a local and national community of supporters

Peer reviews can offer local governments an opportunity to reflect, assess and improve their preparedness for disaster (ISO 22392). This process can also enable collaborative dialogue on recovery and renewal plans, ensure transparent assessment and create value when building local and national resilience. Consider:

• Establish a peer review mechanism to enable external critique of review recovery and renewal plans
• Connect local governments to national associations that can facilitate a connecting structure between cities and regions to share lessons, knowledge and insights
• Conduct focus groups/workshops that enable local governments to 'pause and reflect' on lessons learned from their response to COVID-19 and collaboratively discuss recovery and renewal
• Appoint a panel of 'officer and member peers' to review local government plans for recovery and renewal in their communities

We identify the core barriers to co-production during the pandemic: Pace, distance and complexity, and provide a broad framework which can be designed into a project's main policy framework to facilitate co-production in preparedness and response.

Follow the source link below to TMB Issue 33 to read this briefing in full (p.3-6).

The pandemic has demonstrated how human health and environmental health are intertwined. Eco-system based strategies combine ‘natural resource management approaches and disaster risk reduction methods (e.g. early warning systems)’ to improve prevention and preparedness, reduce disaster impacts on communities and support recovery from disasters. Local governments can identify ecosystems and increase understanding of their potential role in reducing disaster impacts (e.g. coastal wetlands/floodplains) and their ‘contribution to climate change mitigation and adaption’. In India, ‘Wetlands International’ works with civil society partners and communities on strategies to reduce disaster risk, e.g. restoring wetlands so that they can act as a natural buffer to floods. Consider:

• Update and collate information on local natural areas (e.g. peatlands/wet grasslands) and their current and potential uses for climate change mitigation
• Assess the condition of local eco-systems to determine if actions are required to restore them as degraded environments can drive disaster risk and negatively impact recovery efforts
• When designing community development plans, ensure they consider the potential negative effects on local natural resources
• In Myanmar, a local-level disaster risk reduction policy and planning framework sets out how communities follow ‘structural (resilient infrastructure/homes), non-structural (land use planning that integrates ecosystem protection measures) and ecosystem-based (natural resource management) measures, at the household and community level’, to reduce disaster risk
• Develop solutions to address current and future environmental risks, such as maintenance of green and blue infrastructure through nature-based solutions or protection of the ecosystems (e.g. forest conservation)
• Protect and restore ecosystems to the extent that they offer sufficient adaption and mitigation benefits to current and future risks

The tourism sector has been severely impacted by the measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. While measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are likely to continue (e.g. overseas travel restrictions) as restrictions ease, there may be opportunities to pivot and drive additional demand for domestic tourism. Consider:

• Create domestic tourism profiles (e.g. Tourism Research Australia) that describe who visitors are, what they want to do, and where potential opportunities lie for different destinations to target and attract new domestic visitors:
  • When creating profiles, partner with tourism agencies that have expert knowledge on the needs and priorities of different demographics
  • Make the information publicly available, so that local governments and tourism businesses can work together to plan recovery and domestic tourism marketing strategies
• Appoint a local Culture and Tourism liaison, partner with local tourist operators and businesses, and initiate targeted programmes to attract domestic tourists to local areas
• Seek funding and resources to support the re-generation or renewal of local tourism and culture businesses (e.g. heritage sites), e.g. based on knowledge gained from domestic tourism profiles, identify what businesses can do and provide guidance and financial support for them to pivot their offering to maximise their trading potential
• Partner with transport providers (e.g. train operators) and offer discounted fares to encourage domestic travel over the summer months (in line with national COVID-19 guidelines)
• Engage with large corporations and companies to explore the potential of conference style events that bring teams together, in response to the shift towards remote working
• Create promotions, packages and experiences to attract and grow holidays linked to conference-style events, or people who are looking to work remotely in a holiday location (e.g. mid-week offers)

Previous issues of TMB have detailed Impact and Needs Assessments (Issue 8,15 and 32) to collect information about effects, impacts and opportunities from the crisis alongside pre-crisis needs. These can be used to create an overall understanding from which recovery and renewal strategies can be developed and actioned. TMB Issue 9discussed the recovery actions that can follow an Impact and Needs Assessment, such as recovering operations and preparedness. In light of the most recent lockdown and the updates that may be made to Impact and Needs Assessments, we revisit the discussion on what the next steps could be. Consider:

• Identify the effects, impacts and opportunities to inform the development of transactional recovery strategies and transformational renewal initiatives. For example, for the opportunity of 'enhancing community resilience; the local resilience capabilities that have been to active and effective during COVID-19';
  • Transactional recovery: Identify community initiatives that will deliver the strategic priorities of the recovery partnership, increase collaboration, assess the need to fund those using existing resources, and measure their impact on the partnership's performance
  • Transformational renewal: Repurpose community liaison officers to work with selected communities and foster connections, secure seed funding for their self-generated activities, and focus on rebalancing inequalities and other partnership aims
• Review each theme identified through the Impact and Needs Assessment in collaboration with relevant partners to assess the feasibility of achieving the desired effects
• Forecast the capacity and capabilities required to delivery on actions - draw on existing/recruit additional resources
• Identify the duration and effort required to establish and deliver actions
• Assess the impacts that may occur from pursuing recovery actions, compared with not pursuing them
• Specify data for monitoring and evaluating, for example:
  • Renewal objective: Increase capacity
  • Outcome indicator: Build community awareness and understanding of potential risks and impacts of emergencies
  • Measure: Proportion of people who understand warnings (tested through risk preparedness exercises with the community)

We bring together international lessons and actions to address the attainment gap and support vulnerable children who have lost out on significant learning time during the pandemic.

Read this case study in full by following the source link below to TMB Issue 33 (p.13-14).

The UN reported that Moroccan women accounted for just 21% of the country’s labour force, with 54% of those working concentrated in the informal sector (World Bank estimates 2019). The impacts of the pandemic on these trends are illustrated in a recent UK report by the Women and Equalities Committee. The report highlights that women were ‘a third more likely to be employed in sectors that were “shut down” during the first national lockdown, and thus disproportionately at risk of job loss’. The recommendations set out in this report and a UN Policy Brief prompt thinking as to how recovery strategies can address impacts, mitigate the reinforcement of inequalities and how renewal initiatives can transform the position of women in the labour market. Consider:

• Review schemes that were introduced to protect jobs and income to identify inequalities that may have been exacerbated. Integrate knowledge gained from this review into future crisis planning (e.g. integrate an ‘Equality Impact Assessment’ that will draw on evidence of existing inequalities to inform employment support schemes that may be required during future crises)
• Ensure women are equally represented in the planning and decision-making processes for recovery strategies and renewal initiatives
• Identify how the pandemic has had gendered effects on predominantly female run businesses (e.g. closures of businesses such as hairdressers), and if targeted support may be required as part of recovery planning. Repeat this for other communities/groups to identify whether they have been disproportionately impacted by the effects of COVID-19 and containment measures
• Conduct a gender analysis on recovery strategies and renewal initiatives to ensure that national and local investment plans will not create unequal outcomes for men and women, and reproduce inequalities (e.g. underrepresentation of women in sectors such as ‘science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)’, which have been targeted for investment globally)
• As part of local and national economic regeneration programmes, ‘fund training schemes specifically aimed at women’ and other minority groups to increase ‘representation and career progression in the Digital, AI and the Green Economy sectors’
• Review policy and legislation around flexible working to ensure they reflect the positive lessons learned on remote and flexible working during the pandemic
• Actively support legislation to expand redundancy protection to protect pregnant women and new mothers
• Recognise that women are not a homogenous groups - review equalities data to ensure that large data sets consider how other factors (e.g. race, class, religion and others) combine to shape the experiences of women in the labour market

The devastating psychological impacts of COVID-19 and associated measures (e.g. quarantine/social distancing) is widely acknowledged. A recent UK study found that 'expertise-by-experience' can enhance the effectiveness of policy design, service development (and renewal) and research. Consider:

• Conduct a service user analysis to identify current and potential service users
• Use this analysis to target service users to involve through consultation when developing mental health strategies e.g. to gain knowledge and insights on their perspectives and experiences of mental health services prior to and during COVID-19. For example, investigate COVID-19 impacts on service delivery (e.g. remote provisions via telephone/video calls) and identify the benefits, challenges and opportunities created by these changes
• Develop a strategy that reflects the insights and knowledge gained through consultation with users' on their experiences and needs
• Revise current legislation, regulation and policy to assess the effectiveness of current frameworks based on knowledge and insights gained from service user experience
• Translate the knowledge gained into visible action by integrating learning from these insights into mental health recovery strategies and renewal initiatives
Secure and allocate appropriate funding and resources to demonstrate a long-term commitment to co-production of service strategy design, delivery and research with mental health service users, to build trust and increase participation

Community members are often the first individuals to respond to a disaster, and are often present to support recovery long after the immediate risks end. Throughout COVID-19, communities have demonstrated how they are part of a local resilience capability. We have seen them respond on an unprecedented scale, and in a diversity of ways. This presents an opportunity to increase preparedness for, and resilience to, future crises by recovering and renewing community capabilities. Consider:

• Encourage dedicated community resilience programmes and volunteer groups (or formally recognise current groups that are already working to build community resilience):
  • Identify if additional funding is required for these groups to continue their work
  • Support online groups (e.g. Facebook groups) as community resilience initiatives
  • Appoint a liaison to support communities and volunteers
  • Help increase the volunteer capacity and resources available where asked
  • Initiate activities to retain the volunteers from the pandemic, develop targeted recruitment of new volunteers, and convert 'spontaneous volunteers' into organised volunteer roles (seeISO 22319 'Guidelines for planning the involvement of spontaneous volunteers')
• Establish modular training programmes to ensure that communities are equipped with the knowledge, skills, abilities, resources and tools that enable them to respond to emergencies and optimise the delivery and achievement of long-term recovery and renewal goals following crises (e.g. CERT, USA):
  • Identify the range of skills that may be required, and when, covering a broad range of potential crisis events
  • Tailor training programmes, by supplementing core community response training with targeted training that reflects geographical factors and the likelihood of certain events (e.g. floods)
  • Ensure training incorporates a variety of learning styles, such as classroom based learning, hands on skills demonstrations (e.g. using a fire extinguisher/first aid), and simulation exercises that replicate disasters
  • Offer classroom based training online, and at times that take family/work commitments into account, to maximise potential engagement
• Develop a training package for emergency responders that educates them on how to manage the potential that volunteers offer during a crisis
• Familiarise emergency responders and volunteers with each other through collaborative training/simulation exercises

COVID-19 has dominated news, media, and local and national government communications for the best part of a year since the pandemic began. One study found that excessive media use was associated with negative psychological outcomes, such as anxiety and stress. Positivity can aid stress management and reduce levels of anxiety/depression. Consider:

• Demonstrate that there is a world outside of COVID-19 by communicating positive stories unrelated to COVID-19
• Encourage more positive COVID-19 stories to come through, for example:
  • Create a local news special that celebrates the effort of local volunteers or local government during the pandemic
• Use communication channels (e.g. social media/newsletters) to communicate positive stories:
  • Invite local community members to share positive news and stories that can be shared and promoted through these channels
  • Invite school children to draw and write positive messages and hang them on the trees/fences of local parks/buildings
  • Encourage people to take regular breaks from consumption of COVID-19 news (signpost to community groups that may be running weekly bingo/quizzes online)
• Create a call-to-action for local volunteers and begin inviting the community to take part in and create new positive local initiatives that are focused on recovery and renewal from COVID-19

People have experienced different levels of isolation during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Many people will be enthusiastic about socialising again, but others may be nervous or anxious about resuming activities that they once took for granted, such as returning to shops or busy spaces. Having to process and remember new rules as restrictions ease may be an additional concern for people who are already feeling overwhelmed. Consider:

• Work with befriending services and community organisations to mobilise volunteer 'buddies' to help those who are feeling anxious about coming out of isolation. For example, buddies can:
  • Accompany people on their initial outings, perhaps starting with a walk down the street and working up to a trip to shop for food
  • Support those who are socially isolated for reasons other than 'vulnerability', e.g. they have recently moved into an area and have not established social networks
• Communicate directly with community members to help them understand their local restrictions as lockdown is relaxed, and the support that is available, e.g. through traditional media outlets, social media, or leaflets directly to people's homes
• Educating on how people can reduce their stress through self-care, e.g. breathing exercises, or signpost to support from mental health services (see TMB Issue 7)

Many local/town centre businesses will be micro- and small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have been severely impacted by the pandemic and lack internal resources to support recovery. In Pakistan, MSMEs contribute 40% to GDP and are critical to the economy, as they are in many other countries. In developing support strategies for local businesses and MSMEs, it is important to recognise that the pandemic has changed working practices and locations, and how we shop and entertain ourselves. Small businesses may not have the resources to access the type of data that can inform them on these potential changes to consumer habits, which in turn could impact trade levels as restrictions ease and these businesses re-open. Local governments can support them by facilitating access to this information. Consider:

• Build capacity of local government staff to undertake local economic assessments and develop small town regeneration and renewal plans (e.g. train staff to conduct economic impact assessments to identify businesses that may struggle post-lockdown and strategies that will support local economy recovery)
• Engage with local businesses, MSMEs and organisations that represent them (e.g.FSB UK) to draw on their perspectives and expertise when developing recovery and renewal plans
• Identify what has gone well in previous phases of re-opening, what could be improved and the support needs of these businesses (e.g. management of queues/health and safety measures to mitigate and contain the virus)
• Provide support grants to MSMEs for business regeneration or local marketing strategies to promote local businesses
• Conduct local and regional consumer habit surveys, in partnership with neighbouring local authorities, to identify the expectations of local consumers, and their potentially changed habits
• Communicate findings rapidly to local businesses so that they are informed and can prepare/pivot their businesses appropriately
• Develop an evidence-based local economic strategy that recognises changed consumer habits and demands, in partnership with local businesses
• Provide guidance to local businesses on how to adapt and where new business opportunities may lie (renewal)
• Signpost local businesses, particularly MSMEs, to training for digital skills and to advice on finance/investment in new technologies
• Develop a mechanism whereby local government can share lessons and knowledge between each other easily to learn from each other (e.g. collaborative 'light touch' impact assessments as described in Briefing A)

In health systems across the world, screening programmes and non-emergency surgical operations have been postponed and cancelled to reduce transmission and free up capacity to treat Covid-19 patients. The USA, UK and Canada have been working to re-start non-COVID related healthcare since the first wave of COVID-19, with subsequent COVID-19 surges creating further challenges, particularly for those countries who are yet to tackle healthcare waiting lists. Those working to reduce the backlog report that some patients continue to defer seeking care so not to increase pressure on services, or because they fear catching the virus. Continued delays will decrease quality of life, increase treatment costs, and worsen outcomes, as the conditions individuals are suffering from deteriorate. There may also be knock-on effects on social care. Consider the measures explored by the UK, USA and Canada:

• Proactively engage the public (e.g. through local communications) to instill confidence in the safety and continued functioning of healthcare systems and encourage them to seek care if they need it
• Ensure ample PPE is available to prevent unnecessary challenges in the delivery of health and social care
• Inform plans by developing rigorous forecasts of future patient demand and service pressures
• Enhance national and local partnerships developed during the pandemic to address the backlog of people needing care. For example:
  • Begin to increase resource capacity through recruitment now to ensure sufficient capacity is available in the future
  • Extend surgical operating hours, including at weekends
  • Draw on volunteers to support vaccination programmes to enable trained healthcare staff to focus on elective care
  • Pool resources between local hospitals and centralize waiting lists so that patients can be treated wherever there is capacity
  • Make greater use of virtual care to increase outpatient access
  • Pilot alternative health care testing programmes (e.g.home testing kits for HPV)

Factors such as underlying health conditions, confined and over-crowded living spaces, limited facilities (e.g. running water, adequate sanitation), stigma and discrimination mean that Roma, Gypsy, Traveller and Boater communities are particularly vulnerable to the risks and associated impacts of COVID-19. Virus infection and death rates of these communities are currently unknown in the UK meaning formal data collection is needed. People in these communities are also likely to not be registered with a GP, to work in precarious job roles or be self-employed, meaning there is possibility that these communities will fall through the net with regards to COVID-19 vaccine programmes and the business/financial support initiatives provided during the pandemic. Consider:

• Partner with local and national organisations that work with Roma, Gypsy, Traveller and Boater communities to better understand their needs during the pandemic
• Work closely with the owners and managers of all residential sites and waterways for these communities to ensure that they stay open and alternative accommodation is arranged for people who become unwell and are required to self-isolate
• Provide additional temporary water, sanitation and waste disposal facilities to those communities who cannot access public facilities (due to closure of public infrastructure during lockdowns)
• Open additional local authority caravan sites temporarily to prevent overcrowding at designated caravan sites as COVID-19 requires these communities to remain static (e.g. holiday campsites that are not in use and would have basic facilities such as running water already in place)
• Establish a designated helpline in partnership with local health authorities (e.g. HSE Midlands Traveller Health Unit) to deal with COVID-19 queries
• Introduce a temporary moratorium to prevent people from being evicted from unauthorised camp locations
• Relax rules temporarily so those living on canal boats can moor in a safe place for an extended period of time
• Establish a targeted education support programme for children in these communities who are at risk of digital exclusion during periods of school closure
• Communicate with Roma, Gypsy, Traveller and Boater communities and the organisations that represent them to ensure that they are aware of and have access to social support mechanisms provided during the pandemic, e.g. Self-employment Income Support Scheme, vaccine programmes
• Include people who are living in these communities in research and outreach programmes to ensure learning is gained from their experiences and the diversity of impacts of COVID-19 on their lives is taken into account when planning for recovery

Strong collaboration between local government and their partners, communities and local businesses is required to anticipate challenges in the aftermath of COVID-19. Further, co-operation in the design of recovery strategies is critical to ensure communities are engaged and empowered in their recovery. Recovery strategies will need to be tailored to address the diversity of impacts and needs of different communities. Consider how to:

• Conduct an impact assessment to identify where COVID-19 has created effects, impacts and opportunities (see TMB 8) - and identify which of these impacts will bring longer-term challenges in recovery
• Refresh impact assessments with updated information as other effects, impacts and opportunities become known
• Identify other challenges that lie ahead as we progress to living with COVID
• Review what planning is required and what partnerships will support recovery:
  • Define recovery goals in partnership with the community and local organisations, and account for the need to measure progress and outcomes in the future
  • Plan for the need to adapt/pivot and establish new local resources, services and programmes to address pre-existing, new and emerging needs of communities, e.g. infrastructure planning to address housing supply challenges/employment programmes for young people
  • Maintain and enhance partnerships that have been developed through the pandemic, by bringing these partners together to co-produce plans and actions to address the new and emerging challenges
• Identify logistical and operational challenges that may occur as continuous management of the virus is required
• Review lessons from previous phases of track and trace/vaccination programmes, recognise the challenges, such as people not responding to track and trace or vaccine hesitancy, and prepare strategies to address these (see TMB 31)
• Manage the expectations of communities, to ensure that they understand that potential future outbreaks may mean restrictions may be re-introduced
• Review communication strategies for previous localised restrictions, consult with local partners on their effectiveness

The ALARP principle acknowledges that we might not be able to eliminate all risk, as risk is part of life, but we may be able to manage it. It is necessary to control risk, particularly when it comes to public health and safety. Throughout the pandemic we have continuously acknowledged the existence of COVID-19 risk and managed this risk to as low a level as practicable through various containment measures. When assessing COVID-19 risk ALARP, consider:

• What level of COVID-19 risk is as low as reasonably practicable and acceptable, e.g. for lockdown to end (this could be based on factors such as levels of hospital admissions due to COVID-19, or the number of people vaccinated)
• The likelihood of the hazard or the risk occurring and what degree of harm might result from the hazard or risk
• What actions are available to minimise the risk
• What cost is associated with available ways of minimising the risk - Is the cost proportionate to the risk
• Communicate with the public and educate them about risk being ALARP, to increase understanding that we will continue to live with COVID-19, and that recovery will consider risk in terms of ALARP
• Develop guidance for businesses (e.g. nightclubs) on operating according to the principles of risk ALARP in relation to COVID-19 containment

We present a high-level report of the 'light touch' Impact Assessment conducted by Essex Resilience Forum and Recovery Coordination Group following the first wave of COVID-19. Lessons include the need to revisit/update impact assessments to identify new impacts from subsequent waves.

To read this briefing in full, follow the source link below to TMB Issue 32 (p.2-5).

The 2021 UK Census offers a unique opportunity to increase our long-term understanding of the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on different communities. In due course, local government can use the insight that the Census provides to plan and provide funding for services that will be critical in recovery and renewal, such as changes in housing, education and healthcare. Grassroots organisations, charities and businesses can also use this information to inform their future work and to secure funding. Consider:

• A targeted and localised communications campaign that highlights issues that are relevant for local people in their community:
  • Engage local community members/groups that may have influence and knowledge on the priorities of specific communities to inform communications and support the encouragement of people to take part
• Partner with organisations that work with different communities to promote the value and benefits that the information gained through the Census will bring
• Tailor communications and ensure that the value and benefits detailed are relevant to particular groups (e.g. people with disabilities, ethnic communities)
• Develop a variety of resources that support people to take part, for example:
  • Create a variety of resources (e.g. animation films) that explain how to complete the Census and where people can get support with filling out the Census form, signpost people to organisations that can help
• Ensure all resources are accessible in terms of language and consider access needs of people with disabilities

The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy provides a comprehensive view of the UK’s national security and international policy[1]. This case study will detail the key messages from this review relative to local and national resilience.

Building resilience in the UK and internationally (IV. Strategic Framework - Section 4)

The review recognises that national resilience goes hand in hand with global resilience. The unprecedented challenges brought about by the global COVID-19 crises highlights how international cooperation is critical yet fragile under such immense stress, unaided by the historic preference for efficient governance and processes rather than robust resilience capabilities. The review sets out the UK’s priorities for strengthening both national and global resilience (p.87):

• Build national resilience to mitigate the impacts of ‘acute shocks and longer-term challenges’ on the lives and livelihoods of people in the UK, through robust risk planning, ‘effective and trusted governance, government capabilities, social cohesion, and individual and business resilience’
• Build health resilience at national and global levels to improve global pandemic preparedness through a ‘One Health’ approach informed by learning from COVID-19
• The development of a ‘comprehensive national resilience strategy’ (p.88):
  • A ‘whole-of-society’ integrated approach to resilience that focuses on: ‘improving public communications on preparedness; strengthening the role and responsibilities of local resilience forums (LRFs) and assessing the resilience of critical national infrastructure (CNI)’
  • Review risk assessment approaches, ‘increase local and national capabilities (people, skills and equipment) and strengthen analytical, policy and operational tools’ (p.89)
• Funding and resources through the Spending Review (SR 2020) commitments include; the establishment of a ‘Situation Centre’ which will generate and produce live data, analysis and insights to decision-makers on real time events in the UK and across the world to increase the UK’s ability to quickly identify, assess and respond to national security threats and crises (p.104)

Climate change agenda

The review recognises the urgent need to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss to drive forward a ‘zero-carbon global economy, support adaption and resilience, and protect the most vulnerable’, and to build resilience to climate change impacts at local levels, e.g. against floods (p.89):

• ‘Accelerate the global and national transition to net zero by 2050’ through a variety of initiatives (e.g. increasing support for net zero innovation and new industries)
• Drive ‘sustainable and legal use of natural resources by supporting agriculture that regenerates ecosystems’ and increases the availability of and accessibility to sustainable food resources (p.90)

Connecting resilience, health and migration

Outbreaks of infectious disease are likely to become more frequent in the future and efforts to manage and mitigate their effects is essential. The review supports the view that the resilience and health sectors are inextricably intertwined and require strategic prioritization at local, national and global levels through (p.93):

• Equitable access to healthcare (e.g. COVID-19 vaccines) for global, national and local recovery from the current pandemic through ambitious domestic vaccination strategies and by providing support for developing countries to increase access to vaccines globally (e.g. via the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility initiative[2])
• Reviews of biosecurity strategies to recognise the interconnecting relationships between population ‘health, animals and the environment’ and the development of a robust approach to the resilience of healthcare supply chains (p.94)
• Increase of crisis response capabilities at local levels by providing funding (£5.4bn) to support local authority response capabilities (p.104)
• Investment and cooperation in the reformation of the global health system that recognises the potential value of data and identifies the strengths required between health and economic institutions for resilience (p.94)
• Global coordination and collaboration to increase and improve research and development for vaccination, therapeutics and diagnostics, to strengthen preparedness for pandemics on global scales (p.94)

Migration poses a multitude of complex challenges, such as risk to the lives of the most vulnerable and pressures on host country institutions and systems (e.g. health). To build resilience in this capacity, the UK is committed to providing support that addresses the root drivers of migration, e.g. to improve ‘stability and socio-economic conditions in fragile regions’ (p.95).

Implementation of the Integrated Review

To ensure the successful implementation and delivery of the goals set out in this review, the UK is prioritising (p.97):

• Flexibility, agility, accountability for delivery and strong ministerial oversight when dealing with complex strategic issues, to increase coherence, structure, the ability to react quickly to and deal with cross-cutting challenges and effective implementation;
• Building support for strategy implementation through strategic communications and community engagement
• This review reinforces the view of The National Risk Register[3] on how community engagement and participation in risk planning is essential. The pandemic has provided local and national governments with a unique opportunity to harness and develop volunteers and community response and recovery capabilities to strengthen community resilience and increase its positive impacts on preparedness for future challenges caused by COVID-19 and future crises in a broader sense
• The attainment of a culture that supports integration, adaption and innovation through inclusion and participation. To do this, the review acknowledges the need to further develop and harness the opportunities provided by the pandemic, those that will achieve a culture that manifests the collaborative, agile and inclusive behaviours that enable integration, for example (p.98):
  • The mitigation of cognitive biases that impact decision-making through a systematic process of challenging procedures, decisions and strategies
  • Increase awareness of, connectedness to and representation of all people in the community
• The importance of having the right people with the right knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) to form ‘flexible, diverse and multidisciplinary teams’. To accelerate progress towards professionalisation, training and skills, the UK will review the viability of a dedication College for National Security, in preparation for the next SR (p.99)
• The establishment of a ‘Performance and Planning Framework’ and an ‘Evaluation Taskforce’ to provide continuous review and assessment of integration performance and impact measurement (p.99)

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy

[2] https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax

[3]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952959/6.6920_CO_CCS_s_National_Risk_Register_2020_11-1-21-FINAL.pdf

Lockdowns, shielding and school closures have significantly reduced social contact for many people, including older people, children, people with underlying health conditions and those with disabilities. Prolonged isolation from family, friends and social activities poses significant risks to mental health and well-being. To address the impacts of this, consider:

• Establish a community-led mental health and well-being initiative, to support those who may be at risk of more serious distress, to keep people in the community connected and enable socialisation for those who are isolated
• Provide Psychological Frist Aid (PFA) training for those involved in the initiative (see TMB 17)
• Involve local voluntary organisations and groups, and local businesses in establishing and funding the initiative
• Develop a 'check-in' system to build relationships with people in the community and develop an understanding of needs and concerns of those shielding or isolating
• Establish a buddying or be-friending programme to enable local volunteers to support the needs of people in the community by shopping for food, picking up prescriptions or simply just calling virtually/popping by for a chat from the garden:
  • Match a volunteer buddy with up to 10 vulnerable adults/families
  • Buddies can link those who are isolating into existing groups and social activities in the community
• Set up online social activities:
  • Virtual story-telling for children by senior citizens, and vice versa
  • Weekly bingo, book club, quiz night, coffee mornings and kids discos
  • Add humour and prizes for all, such as drawings made by children, to mitigate competitive behaviour in games
  • Online home exercise classes or gardening tutorials
• Recognise that vulnerable people who are isolating may not have access to the internet for virtual activities so also run non-online events:
  • 'Door-step book club', where buddies call to those shielding and discuss books from the person's garden, ensuring they are socially distanced
  • Encourage community donations from businesses/households of unused computers/tablets
  • Develop and deliver local newsletters to include activities such as crosswords/puzzles, and stories written by community members

Although measures to control the spread of the virus have had some positive environmental effects, such as decreases in global emissions of carbon dioxide, the use of single-use plastics has accelerated. For example, some schools have changed to using disposable cutlery during lunches due to COVID-19 restrictions; and bag use has increased to curb virus transmission. Furthermore, PPE waste has strained the capacity of waste management systems due to the complex composition of some PPE materials, making waste recycling a challenge. Consider:

• Address the challenges faced by waste management systems by including surge capacity and the environmental impact of waste in disaster management plans
• Prioritise reusable personal protective equipment
• Move from a linear to a circular economy to prevent products (including plastic) from becoming waste:
  • Introduce a phased ban on the use of all types of single-use plastic, e.g. via a tax on plastic packaging
  • Partner with organisations such as 'Recircle', to develop strategies to recycle rubber, a product that accounts for almost 10% of micro plastic waste found in the sea
• Commit to action at local levels, e.g. introduce a community single-use plastics policy and action plan:
  • Partner with local waste authorities, charities, community groups, schools, businesses and residents to create action plans and campaigns to reduce the use of single use plastic in the community, e.g. 'Good to know' posters in schools that provide fun facts on the benefits of re-cycling to increase awareness in young people
  • Collaborate with local water management authorities to install COVID-safe water fountains across the community, enabling free refills of water

As schools begin to re-open, it is important to consider the wide range of needs and emotions of young people and staff whose lives and education have been disrupted by the pandemic. Pupils and staff may be anxious or hesitant about returning to school and may require additional support. Consider:

• Encourage schools to identify learning of what went well and what could be improved based on their experience of previous lockdowns - and use this learning to improve planning
• Identify the current capacity of services and forecast potential demand for social services to which schools may refer children and families. Create additional capacity where forecasted demand exceeds current capacity
• Work closely with schools to monitor school attendance and identify children who have not returned or are showing signs of distress:
  • Encourage school staff to reach out to families to understand the challenges that they are facing in returning to school
  • Enhance partnerships between schools and social services, to ensure any child who needs additional support is identified and appropriate support is offered
  • Ensure schools refer families who are identified as struggling or in need of additional support to specialist services
• Assess the impacts of further disruption and change for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their carers/specialist teachers/support staff in mainstream schools:
  • Staff illness or self-isolation may mean that schools do not have adequate levels of staff with vital specialist training - schools should inform local authorities to discuss alternative arrangements for vulnerable children in this event
  • Encourage schools to complete risk assessments and begin to plan for how one-to-one specialist teaching will take place safely and potential disruptions identified and actions taken to mitigate their occurrence
• Allocate funding to provide additional mental health support in schools for pupils and staff who may have experienced trauma, separations from or loss of loved ones or whose family may be struggling financially, e.g. due to job loss
• Encourage schools to prioritise children's wellbeing especially in the first few weeks, avoid rushing to reinstate routines or adding pressure on teachers and students to catch up
• Request a temporary suspension of school inspections to give staff time to implement and adjust to new procedures that may be required, such as health and safety protection measures

People with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed or not in education or training, which makes them more vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic, including increased risk of poverty. Recovery strategies to address the economic impacts of the pandemic should be disability-inclusive. Consider:

• Review/amend social protection systems to better protect people with disabilities during COVID-19:
  • Raise poverty thresholds to take disability-related additional costs into account
  • Revise the definition of disability in assessment procedures, to ensure they are functioning-based rather than impairment-based
  • Train volunteer community members to support the rapid identification of people with disabilities for social protection or other assistance: these community volunteers are sometimes called 'key informants' (KIs), are knowledgeable about the topic, the local area and the people who live there
• Ensure application procedures for social protection programmes and support services are accessible in the light of COVID-19 social distancing regimes:
  • Include disabled people's organisations when reviewing the accessibility of application processes and when disseminating information about support programmes
  • Adapt application and enrolment procedures to support the inclusion of people with disabilities
  • Provide disability training to programme staff and volunteers, e.g. disability awareness
  • Ensure programme information and application materials are available in a variety of accessible formats, e.g. Braille/videos/simplified text
  • Establish COVID-safe community-based registration services to bring services closer to people, and offer person/home-based assessment procedures for those with mobility limitations
• Ensure methods to deliver social protection services and welfare payments are accessible:
  • Allow welfare payments to be paid electronically or enable people with mobility difficulties to nominate a trusted individual to collect their
  • Ensure service points are physically accessible and within the person's local community
• Ensure employment schemes are adequate and accessible for people with disabilities during COVID-19:
  • Set up employment schemes to actively employ persons with disabilities, integrating such schemes into broader employment recovery schemes, e.g. green recovery
  • Make infrastructure accessible, e.g. buildings and workplaces
  • Introduce unemployment insurance to cover the informal sector, as people with disabilities, in particular women with disabilities, are more likely to be employed in the informal sector where there is an absence of job security, unemployment insurance and paid sick leave

Views from the Frontline (VFL) found that many communities feel that they would benefit significantly if they were to be included in the planning, preparing and monitoring of disaster risk interventions. Communities, and the people within them, are acutely aware of their vulnerabilities and will have diverse needs and priorities. By including the community in the development of plans and actions, local governments can recognise these diversities and directly respond through policies and interventions. Further, inclusion and co-operation can increase a community's awareness of the valuable resources that are available to them before, during and after disasters. Consider:

• Facilitate regular interaction of local government with communities and grassroots organisations in decision-making processes and disaster risk reduction programmes:
  • Establish community consultations/workshops
• Engage and involve local stakeholders in the preparation of local policies, plans and actions aimed at disaster risk management:
  • Ensure the adoption of an inclusive approach when doing so, e.g. including volunteers, marginalised people (women, children, people with disabilities, migrants, older people, LGBTQI+)
• Collate knowledge and ideas, and generate collective action between local government and communities on what is required to address different types of disaster risk:
  • Collaborative knowledge sharing and action can mitigate threats, address vulnerabilities and improve the community's sense of security and safety
• Involve local knowledge of communities to improve risk mapping, generate local ownership and empowerment, and increase awareness and preparedness:
  • In Tanzania, local residents carry out remote detection to identify sanitation issues in rural areas by sending SMS messages to local engineers and media outlets
  • This raises the awareness of local people quickly to potential risks and enables local authorities to monitor water supplies remotely and at a lower cost

Billy Tusker Haworth, Lecturer in International Disaster Management at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, highlights the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and other queer identities during the pandemic and demonstrates the need for more nuanced and inclusive crisis response and recovery strategies. This briefing presents short term recovery strategies and longer term transformational activities to improve the care and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ people during crises.

Read this briefing in full by following the source link below to TMB Issue 31 (p.2-5).

Concurrent emergencies such as disruption to water supply or contamination of water resources can have serious impacts on healthcare facilities and the health of individuals, which may be amplified during a pandemic. Water outages or contaminated water can disrupt clinical procedures, e.g. maintaining a sterile environment in hospitals. Protecting water supply is also crucial during a pandemic, as poor hygiene is a catalyst for the rapid spread of infectious disease. Consider:

• Early scenario planning to consider different types of water shortages alongside the pandemic, and assess potential impacts on health facilities and public health
• The need to establish new systems to provide immediate support to communities in the event of water supply disruption or contamination during COVID-19:
  • Evaluate emergency response measures (e.g. mass water distribution) to determine if they are COVID-safe, and make necessary amendments if required
  • Plan for the need to construct and install handwashing stations in affected communities, to prevent rapid spread of the virus
• The potential for water stagnation to occur in buildings that have been unoccupied over the last year, which may lead to contamination
  • Identify buildings that have been unoccupied and plan for maintenance contractors to test and repair water systems before allowing the building to re-open

Many people, particularly those shielding, may be anxious about having annual servicing and repairs done to their homes, property or possessions e.g. cars, bicycles. Thus, they may delay routine maintenance and servicing of gas and electric appliances, vehicles, etc. or be encouraged to personally attempt maintenance or repair that they are not skilled to safely complete. This may put them, and others, at risk. Consider:

• Communicating the importance of annual servicing, repairs and maintenance in keeping people safe, including:
  • Encourage residents to check the expiry of, and keep up to date with, servicing, maintenance and repairs to avoid the risks of faulty boilers, for example
  • Signpost residents to safe working conditions that customers may expect of local organisations when they work in people’s homes
  • Encourage local organisations to detail the COVID-safe work practices that they have in place
• When restrictions ease, there may be a rush for maintenance and repair services, (e.g. roadworthiness/vehicle testing and servicing), which may cause a backlog or delay in service delivery:
  • Remind residents and encourage them to check when they are required to renew their MOT – the UK introduced a 6 month extension for vehicle roadworthiness (MOT) certificates in the first lockdown as garages were forced to close, so this will have disrupted normal scheduling
• Those who may be struggling financially due to the pandemic may be concerned about the affordability of maintenance and servicing:
  • Remind residents that keeping up to date with annual services can prevent future maintenance that may cost more to repair/replace
  • Signpost residents to financial advisory services (see TMB 30)

Although home-based working has become the norm for a large percentage of the population, many workers have had to be physically present in their usual workplace. Many who have had to travel to workplaces during the pandemic have changed their mode of transport due to potential infection risks, delays and inconvenience due to cancelled or reduced public transport - i.e. they have changed their commute from public transport to private cars or bicycles. This has reduced their travel time, especially as traffic volumes are below pre-pandemic levels. Consider:

• That traffic congestion and the demand for parking space could increase dramatically as restrictions ease and more people opt for private transport, which may lead to increases in:
  • Infrastructure maintenance costs on roads and motorways
  • Negative environmental impacts, e.g. pollution
  • Road traffic accidents and increased risk to cyclists and pedestrians, plus loss of public space, which may reduce the number of people who choose to cycle or walk
  • Costs and challenges for freight and delivery services
• A travel awareness communication campaign, prior to an ease of restrictions:
  • Raise awareness of the benefits of sustainable travel for improving air quality and reducing pollution
  • Promote the health and well-being benefits of 'active transport' such as cycling
  • Communicate the stringent safety measures in place on public transport to increase confidence and encourage people to travel by bus/train
• Draw on learning from previous crises to predict likely behaviours and inform policies that are fit for purpose, e.g. following the 2008 economic crisis, increased traffic increased congestion (Madrid, Spain)
• Expand and improve cycling and walking space and infrastructure around workplaces
• In cities, reduce speed limits to allow pedestrians and cyclists to be more confident and allow for social distancing
• Promote and expand schemes such as 'Cycle2Work' by removing spending caps and allowing people to by bikes through the scheme that are appropriate and relevant for them (see TMB Issue 7):
  • Introduce a reimbursement scheme to reward cycling commuters, e.g. Netherlands offer 0.19 cent (euro) per kilometre cycled to work, or interest-free loans to purchase bikes
  • Trial an e-bike hire scheme in cities, e.g. Leicester (UK)
• Review congestions charge policies and assess if they are appropriate for post-COVID activity
• Introduce new policies, e.g. workplace parking levy, a charge on employers who provide workplace parking (Nottingham City Council, UK)

A number of countries have been praised for their management and containment of COVID-19, and are delaying vaccination delivery as they to continue examine data on different vaccines (e.g. Australia/New Zealand) and build public trust (e.g. Japan)[1]. Other countries continue to grapple with the virus and are yet to begin a full roll out of vaccination programmes, primarily due to supply issues[2]. In the UK, various factors have enabled more covid-19 vaccine first doses per 100 people than any other nation of comparable population size[3]. These factors are addressed in the four key areas of a national vaccination plan[4];

• Early investment in supply and coordinating activities, e.g. the establishment of a UK Government Vaccine Taskforce with the remit of ensuring the UK population would have access to a safe and effective vaccine
• A clear initial aim for the vaccination programme (see TMB 28): “the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems”[4]
• A focus on Place: creating a network of vaccination sites to ensure safe and easy access for the whole of the population, e.g. active hospital hub sites and local vaccination centres
• A focus on People: the identification of priority groups and rapid recruitment and training of vaccinators (including a range of non-clinical support staff to increase capacity)

Local government have played a critical role in leading communities through the pandemic. They have harnessed strong community links and established partnerships with emergency services and the voluntary, community and faith sectors which have proven invaluable. For example, local governments have supported the planning of local health protection and emergency response, including supporting vaccine delivery[5],[6]. Below, we offer lessons from UK case studies that demonstrate the actions of local government in supporting vaccine delivery.

Manage logistics[7]:

• Take responsibility for logistical challenges to relieve the pressure on healthcare staff so that they can focus on administering vaccines
• Provide logistical support services to vaccination clinics and centres by mobilizing volunteers and council staff as stewards to all vaccination sites
• Set up marquees at new clinic sites, install heating, resolve parking problems, and organise additional bin collection services to deal with waste

Address vaccine hesitancy:

• Train community champions[8] or create an army of vaccine advocates[9] to address vaccine concerns and build trust, working with volunteers, and community and faith leaders. Create videos with key COVID-19 safety and vaccine messages in different languages to dispel myths
• Hold online discussions with councillors, healthcare planners and local general practitioners, to create a two way conversation with the local community; to hear, listen and respond to their important concerns and questions[10]
• Establish a programme to follow-up with those who have refused the vaccine. For example, The Health Sandwell team[10] are addressing vaccine take-up in their area by using their trained negotiation skills which they normally use to support people to stop smoking
• ‘Making every contact count approach’[11], where workers in non-healthcare settings are trained to provide guidance and interventions to the community on various health matters such as healthy weight and nutrition to promoting good mental health. For example, Gateshead council works with more than 40 organisations from across the public, private and voluntary sectors to address vaccine hesitancy in the community

Support accessibility:

• Recruit local vaccinators, e.g. retired health workers[12]
• Recruit or mobilise local community volunteers to provide transport for people who have mobility issues[13]
• Set up vaccination clinics in local community venues used by different groups, e.g. mosques

The key learning gained from the vaccine roll out in the UK reflects:

• The community leadership role of local government
• The importance of strategic partnerships within the community
• Harnessing these partnerships to enable the co-production of systems and actions between official bodies, community voluntary organisations, businesses and individuals, that have direct benefit for the community as a whole

References:

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/08/why-the-delay-the-nations-waiting-to-see-how-covid-vaccinations-unfold

[2] https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40212677.html

[3] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/uk-covid-vaccination-doses-per-capita?tab=chart&stackMode=absolute&time=2025-08-03&region=World

[4]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951928/uk-covid-19-vaccines-delivery-plan-final.pdf

[5] https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/covid-19-vaccination-case-studies

[6] https://www.opml.co.uk/blog/five-lessons-for-local-governments-during-covid-19

[7] https://www.local.gov.uk/sheffield-city-council-dealing-logistics-so-nhs-can-focus-jabs

[8]https://www.local.gov.uk/birmingham-city-council-training-community-champions-address-vaccine-concerns

[9] https://www.local.gov.uk/sandwell-council-creating-army-vaccine-advocates

[10] https://www.local.gov.uk/sandwell-council-creating-army-vaccine-advocates

[11] https://www.local.gov.uk/gateshead-council-using-making-every-contact-count-approach

[12] https://www.local.gov.uk/cambridgeshire-and-peterborough-working-whole-community

[13] https://www.local.gov.uk/kirklees-council-weve-set-free-transport-service-get-frail-residents-vaccination-clinics

View this case study in its original format (including references) by following the source link below.

While restrictions are gradually eased, religious festivals will also take place, e.g. Easter, Ramadan, and Ridvan. These occasions are often celebrated through community gatherings and special religious services/activities that enhance connectivity for people. As traditional celebratory activities have been unable to go ahead over the last year, and the message of lockdown easing takes hold, consider the need to:

• Review local plans that were in place during religious festivals in 2020:
  • Consult with community members when revising previous plans, to understand what has gone well and what could be improved this year
  • Support communities in the planning of COVID-safe celebrations for 2021, e.g. by allowing worship to be held in community spaces such as parks or public gardens
• Recognise and acknowledge the influence of faith and faith leaders in building trust and influencing behaviour:
  • By directly engaging in conversations with communities about religious celebration planning, other conversations can emerge, e.g. vaccination safety, concerns and attitudes towards uptake

The live music and entertainment industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic, with the majority of live events cancelled in 2020. A targeted contact tracing programme could enable the return of live entertainments events and keep the public safe, by identifying and containing a spread of the virus quickly. The contribution of the live entertainment industry to the economy is vast, and critical for GDP, generating employment and attracting tourism. Consider:

• Contact tracing as a targeted initiative to enable the return of live entertainment
• Scope costs of such an initiative and assess affordability:
  • Consider regional collaboration to lower costs
  • Seek funding or grant support, e.g. Arts Councils
• Establish and train a dedicated events contact tracing team to:
  • Provide contact tracing services
  • Develop educational materials for events companies, their employees, and customers
  • Provide on-site environmental health consulting to assist events businesses and venues in being COVID-safe
  • Support businesses in scheduling appointments at testing facilities
• Design an incentive and enforcement scheme to encourage commitment to a contact tracing programme and the implementation of COVID-19 safety measures
• Introduce an audit and certification programme to approve live events (see TMB Issue 28 for guidance on certification programmes)

While the vaccine programme may be in its early stage in many countries, thought is required on how to access people who are not on any social services list or registered in any location. This includes homeless people, illegal immigrants, stateless people and refugees who are not in the 'system'. Excluding such people from the programme risks the virus continuing to affect them, and then spreading into other parts of society. Consider:

• Take a national perspective on how to involve people who are marginalised from mainstream public services in the vaccine programme
• Establish who is responsible for vaccinating unregistered people
• Decide whether all vaccination centres are open to vaccinating unregistered people
• How partners that have strong community links can disseminate the vaccine message to unregistered people
• Assess the consequences of unregistered people not being vaccinated
• When the first vaccination of an unregistered person should take place and a target time frame in which to vaccinate all unregistered people
• Identify challenges for the vaccination programme in vaccinating unregistered people
• Recognise that un-registered people may be fearful or hesitant to come forward to receive the vaccine:
  • Consider a moratorium/amnesty on those who regard themselves to be illegally resident in the country to receive the vaccine
  • Work with partners and external organisations who have links to un-registered people to communicate that they can register to receive the vaccine without fear of immigration enforcement activities

Due to lockdown measures and temporary breaks to in-person public service provision, communicating specific information to migrants and refugees on their rights and obligations has been challenging. This includes communications on re-settlement programmes to support their integration into communities (see TMB Issue 29 for guidance on national resettlement programmes). Some countries have introduced temporary policy changes and targeted communication of such changes is crucial so that migrants are aware of the essential services that are available to them during the pandemic, e.g. Spain suspended the obligation to have valid documents in order to access essential public services such as healthcare and vaccination. National information strategies can be complemented locally by reaching out directly to migrants living in communities. Consider:

• Identify and establish contact with the leaders of refugee and migrant groups to communicate important messages
• Collaborate with migration support services, NGOs and local volunteers to develop a targeted online communications platform for migrants and refugees, e.g. “Migration Information Hub”, Leeds City Council, UK
  • Use the platform to inform migrants about COVID-19 related issues and guidelines; access to health care, food, housing, work rights, visa status, signpost immigration services and detail any changes to policy measures
  • Ensure alternative communication strategies are explored, such as information leaflets through migrations support services reach those who do not have access to the internet
  • Provide information on how victims of discrimination can get help and support
• Collect further data and information on reaching specific groups through consultation with the relevant communities, to improve future preparedness for crisis communication with migrants and their families
• Ensure easy access to information by translating key material into the languages of migrant communities:
  • Recruit translation volunteers to support the translation of information and development of multilingual media for the platform, e.g. YouTube videos
• Organise free workshops for migrants and refugees via Zoom, e.g. ‘How to access health services’, to inform on free services, including mental health facilities
• Develop and deliver targeted communication strategies to influence communities’ perceptions of migrants, working with local community leaders and groups, and organisations that support and advocate for migrants:
  • Tackle and counter misinformation online to prevent prejudice against migrants and mitigate the negative impact of the health crisis on immigrant integration
  • Set up a social media campaign that directly addresses the prevention of discrimination and spread of misinformation, e.g. “Somos Panas", Columbia
• Invite the public to help counter the spread of misinformation by sharing fact-based information with their own communities

Data from the EU shows that 18 year olds who are in care are more likely to be not in employment, education or training, and experience higher levels of social exclusion or homelessness. COVID-19 has exacerbated their financial insecurity, poor mental health, and limited support networks as they transition to independent living. In addition to assessing the capacity of social work provision (TMB Issue 6), consider:

• Formally designate people who are leaving care as belonging to a vulnerable group
• Extend social protection programmes to make support services, such as financial support for food and accommodation, immediately available to those who leave care
• Ensure social services maintain regular personalised contact with those who leave care to advise them of what support is available during COVID-19
• Increase the capacity and flexibility of online communication with those who leave care, including availability of support forums
• Increase the capacity of mental health services, including outreach services and crisis support teams, by drawing on trained volunteers and enhance training in psychological first aid and safeguarding
• Partner with private care agencies, non-governmental organisations, corporate partners and care professionals to establish support and training/employment programmes
  • Establish a mentor programme to strengthen the support network of care leavers during their transition from care to independent living (e.g. ProgramaMentor, Galicia, Spain)
  • Provide employment advice to those who leave care, such as guidance on CV writing via an online workshop
  • Host virtual career or industry insights days to support those who leave care in making decisions on their next steps regarding education and employment
  • Establish targeted education and employment support for those who leave care, such as practical skills training on computing, email writing, giving presentations, and interviews; plus volunteering opportunities, work experience and apprenticeships for when lockdowns and restrictions end

The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women's experience of work. Women are more likely to work in low-paying and informal jobs, and also constitute a significant proportion of healthcare professionals and essential workers at the frontlines. Women working in these areas, e.g. cleaners, carers, catering staff and early learning and childcare workers, and frontline workers, have had to cope with the immense pressures of providing essential services during the pandemic while also caring for children and relatives. Employers should recognise and address the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on women's experience of work, including groups of women who have been badly affected by job disruption, such as BAME women, single parents and young women. Changes to workplaces are also a direct consequence of the pandemic, meaning that some women may be at higher risk of violence or abuse. Employers play a vital role in helping women who experience abuse to access support, and should recognise that sexual harassment doesn't just occur face-to-face, but also through online platforms. Close the Gap offer guidance on an intersectional approach to workforce planning, to support local government to develop gender-sensitive employment practices. They advise to consider:

• Participate in an employer accreditation programme, e.g. Equally Safe at Work
• Collect new intersectional, gender-disaggregated data on the impact of COVID-19 on employees, e.g. access to childcare, well-being, the experience of employees at work during COVID-19:
  • Conduct a gendered analysis to identify varying experiences of women and men during COVID-19
  • Use this data and analysis to inform any return to work plans/policies and to promote staff well-being
• Conduct an equality impact assessment prior to the implementation of new workplace policies
• Engage with women working in lower paid roles to ensure their experiences are used to inform plans for recovery
• Offer support to women who are working at home, including:
  • Conduct risk assessments to determine support needs for working from home
  • Assess working arrangements and their sustainability
  • Offer flexible working to staff with caring responsibilities
  • Regularly check in with employees to see how they are managing
• Available support for female employees who are more likely to be affected by COVID-19, including those who are disabled, pregnant, returning from maternity leave, BAME
• Raise awareness of Violence against Women (VAW) policies in view of the rise in domestic violence during lockdowns:
  • Communicate zero tolerance of VAW
  • Signpost to local specialist services, e.g. Women's Aid
  • Raise awareness of reporting processes for VAW