Leaders across Cheshire have given their commitment to work together to fight the Covid-19 Pandemic

The partners have been working effectively for many years and this means we have had a solid platform to support our strategic response to this crisis.

They agreed to continue to do everything they can to protect local people, businesses and their workforces and help the area recover over the weeks and months.

The Leaders from the NHS, Local Government, Police, Fire and the business sector have agreed that they will:

• Help each other, in a spirit of mutual aid, to ensure that we can continue to deliver essential front line services in Cheshire and Warrington, particularly those services that support the most vulnerable, putting the interests of our residents at the heart of their work

• Support and protect all of our key workers who are working tirelessly and in challenging conditions to protect our residents

• Work together to ensure the government understands the impacts of this crisis on our residents, businesses and organisations. We will ensure national requirements are implemented locally and that resources are used where they are really needed.

• Continue to provide support to our local businesses so that they are ready to re-open when restrictions are lifted.

• Identify and support those people that are impacted, both by Covid-19 itself and by its wider consequences

Leaders also started to plan, together, how we will lead the sub-region so that it can recover from this crisis and can continue to be lead the way for sustainable and inclusive growth to enable all our residents to thrive in the future.

Chair of Cheshire Fire Authority, Cllr Bob Rudd, said: “We are working closely with all our partners to ensure that everyone in our communities is being supported.

As with the majority of organisations across the UK, we have adapted our working practices during this challenging time.  For example, although we cannot carry out our safe and well visits in person, we are able to communicate information on the telephone, by email or on social media. This also applies to our Protection team who are ensuring businesses which are open are fire safe and compliant and those that are closed are safe from fire and are able to eventually re-open safe and compliant. 

All our staff, be they operational, prevention, protection or support, are reinforcing this partnership work with around 90 of our staff volunteering alongside our partners to deliver medicines, food parcels and provide assistance in any other way required.

The safety and wellbeing of our communities is at the heart of everything that we at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service do, and never more so than at this time. 

Notes:

• The Cheshire and Warrington Sub-regional Leaders Board is a collaborative partnership which brings together key public and private sector partner organisations from across the Sub-region to promote the interests of Cheshire & Warrington.

• The Membership of the Board includes;

  • The Leaders and Chief Executives of Cheshire East, Cheshire West & Chester and Warrington and Halton Council.

  • The Police & Crime Commissioner

  • The Chief Constable

  • The Chair of the Fire & Rescue Authority

  • Chief Fire Officer

  • Chair and Chief Executive of the Local Enterprise Partnership

  • The Chair of Cheshire CCG representing CCGs

• Councillor Sam Corcoran, the Leader of Cheshire East Council, is currently the Chair of the Leaders Board.