TALKING BUSINESS


WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH MK COUNCIL SETS THE PACE FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE


Delivering under pressure is business as usual for Milton Keynes Council, explains its chief executive Michael Bracey, alongside senior colleagues involved in its Covid-19 response. Councils roll their sleeves up and get things done, and dealing with a global pandemic is no exception.


A new telephone-led hub was set up


The story starts in February 2020, when rows upon rows of shampoo bottles are laid out on tables ready to be bagged up with toothpaste, socks, deodorant, T-shirts and other essentials. More than 100 British citizens are on their way from Wuhan in China, returning to the UK via a 14-day quarantine at Kents Hill Conference Centre in Milton Keynes. The local team – council, hospital, other partners - have had two days’ notice to prepare for their arrival, and these comfort packages are the tip of the iceberg. Milton Keynes Council’s early experience of


Covid-19 was unusual, but it helped set the pace for what was to follow. Almost overnight, the council stepped up to help vulnerable local people deal with the impact of Covid-19, alongside redesigning itself to protect staff and customers, and keep essential services running. “Councils aren’t always associated with being


fast and flexible. But in reality, we run 250 services that respond to changing circumstances all the time. We know how to get things done


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and we’re connected to people and communities in lots of useful ways,” explained Michael. “This is why we can organise resources to


distribute £58m in Covid-19 business funding and ramp up public health support to control local outbreaks without taking our eye off the other essential ways we serve local people, whether that’s building a new school or helping 150 people out of street homelessness.” Head of HR Musrat Zaman


workers, and our former Saxon Court offices are now a mass vaccination centre.” The council put in new measures to protect its


continued: “We quickly redeployed teams whose usual roles had been paused. Some took on the task of getting essential medicine and groceries to people who were shielding, and we also helped a local Food Bank expand its offer, by creating a new warehouse and arranging thousands of deliveries. We repurposed buildings, for instance turning the central library into a rapid test centre for key


‘AROUND 70,000 PEOPLE NOW FOLLOW OUR UPDATES’


workforce and customers. Around half the council’s staff are based at facilities such as children’s centres, in residents’ homes, or elsewhere around the borough, and each service was reviewed with new protections added such as PPE and booking systems. Practical steps underpinned


cultural changes, said Bee Lewis, head of property and facilities: “We restricted the number of users of the Civic, as well as


removing some workspaces from use, and limited numbers in meeting rooms. We encouraged good behaviours


like mask wearing, washing hands and wiping desks through messages over our PA system, and clear posters and floor stickers which we also made available to local businesses.”


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