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Answer:

One key consideration in reopening will be the safety of your staff and volunteers. Your team will need support to help them to feel safe. Make sure that you are consulting with them and involving them in the redesign of your services.

a) Check the government pages on Working Safely During Coronavirus for detailed guidance. The information is updated regularly so check back if there are new announcements, e.g. if new requirements around testing are introduced

b) The Government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can. However, the Government expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer. Make sure you communicate with your team and provide opportunities for feedback.

c) Identify and speak to members of your team may be unable to return to work due to being classed as clinically extremely vulnerable/clinically vulnerable. What reasonable adjustments can you make to help them work safely from home?  Read the HSE guidance on protecting vulnerable workers.

d) Be mindful of staff and volunteers who live with people from vulnerable groups, have caring commitments have other concerns and who may be anxious about returning to work. Keep equality and diversity issues in mind – what is reasonable for some people might not work for others.

e) In light of emerging evidence that COVID-19 mortality is disproportionately higher in people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, you may decide to complete a risk assessment with BAME staff to identify those at higher risk. Guy's and St Thomas' has published some guidance on how to approach this.

f) Consider adapted working hours to reduce the number of people in the building at any one time and partnering for staff so that the same groups are consistently working together.

g) Develop contingency plans to cover staff or reduce/cancel services if team members become ill, need to self-isolate, or if further lockdown measures are re-introduced

h) Make sure you support the mental wellbeing of all staff through the changes you will need to make. 

i) Consider the role that staff members play in the community in sharing messages about Covid-19 and encouraging preventative measures. Will they need additional training to support them in this role?

Answer:

A large part of reducing the risk of Covid-19 will be around the behaviour and vigilance of your team. This HSE guidance on ‘Talking with your workers about preventing coronavirus’ is a great starting point as you begin to reopen.

a) You no longer need to stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with. There are also now no limits on the number of people you can meet. However, in order to minimise risk at a time of high prevalence, you should limit the close contact you have with those you do not usually live with and increase close contact gradually. This includes minimising the number, proximity, and duration of social contacts.

b) You may wish to  put up signs and issue information to help promote voluntary social distancing.  The CPNI has a set of downloadable workplace posters and guidance on how to use them.

c) You may wish to avoid sharing workstations.  If workstations do need need to be shared ensure they are thoroughly cleaned after each use.

d) You may wish to use back-to-back or side-to-side working whenever possible and consider using screens or barriers to separate people from each other.

e) Consider where the high traffic areas in the building are likely to be, and whether any areas may need to remain closed.  Can you implement a one-way system to reduce contact?

f) Introduce a bookings system, if appropriate, so waiting times are minimised.

g)  Keep activity time as short as possible, with fast transitions into and out of activity spaces.

h) Try to reduce the number of people each person has contact with by restructuring your activities and staggering start and finish times.

i)  Where practical, meet people outdoors.  This is safer than meeting indoors because fresh air provides better ventilation.

j)  See the Government guidance on COVID-19 for more information, including updated guidance following new announcements.

Answer:

COVID-19 spreads through the air by droplets and aerosols that are exhaled from the nose and mouth of an infected person. The Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport.

a) Some exemptions apply; check the detailed government guidance for more information on who should wear face coverings, enforcement, and safe usage.

b) Employers should assess the use of face coverings on a case by case basis depending on your risk assessment of the workplace environment, any other appropriate mitigations you have put in place, and whether reasonable exemptions apply. For example, there will be times when screens or visors are in use, or when a staff member is not in close proximity to people they do not normally meet, and so it will not be necessary for staff to wear a face covering.

c) Where you are requiring staff to wear a mask in the workplace, ensure staff have received guidance and/or training in how to use this safely and effectively.

d) For recommendations and requirements in specific settings please check the Government’s workplace settings guidance.

e) Amend any online information and update social media to highlight any new restrictions to potential visitors and to let people know what to expect when they first arrive at your building.

g) What will be your policies and procedures for dealing with anyone who refuses to comply with social distancing measures? Discuss and agree these in advance of re-opening or running an activity and make sure your team know what to do.

Answer:

Guidance on maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace is available on the government website.

NHS QR Codes and App 

Venues in certain sectors should continue to ask customers, visitors and staff to 'check in', to help stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Those venues must:

  • Ask every customer or visitor (over the age of 16) to provide their name and contact details
  • Keep a record of all personnel working on their premises and shift times on a given day and their contact details
  • Keep these records of customers, visitors and staff for 21 days and provide data to NHS Test and Trace if requested
  • Display an official NHS QR code poster so that customers and visitors can ‘check in’ using the NHS COVID-19 app as an alternative to providing their contact details
  • Adhere to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

  1. The full list of settings that need to display a QR code is available here. The general principle is that events, venues and facilities that are open to the public should use a code; regular office settings do not need to do .

  2. Customised QR codes must be created via the official government website.  Your QR code should be displayed clearly at the access points to your venue. Visitors can use the NHS Covid-19 app on their smartphones to ‘check in’ to your premises (this data stays on their phone and is not shared).

  3. NOTE:  The rules on what you need to do when a group enters your venue have changed. You must now ask every customer and visitor to scan the NHS QR code using their NHS COVID-19 app, or provide their name and contact details, not just a lead member of the group. 

  4. If you are currently using your own QR code to collect contact details you must change to the official NHS code. 
  5. Further help on QR codes and posters is available on the NHS website.
  6. You do not have to ask people who choose to ‘check in’ using the official NHS QR code to provide their contact details. If there is an outbreak associated with a venue, a message will be sent to the relevant app users with the necessary public health advice.

Collecting information

  1. If visitors are not using the NHS app to check in to your venue or event, you should collect the following information from them:
    1. the name of the customer or visitor
    2. a contact phone number for each customer or visitor. If a phone number is not available, you should ask for their email address instead, or if neither are available, then postal address the dates and times that people are at work
    3. Date of visit, arrival time and, where possible, departure time If a visitor is likely to interact with only one member of staff (e.g. for advice appointments) the name of the staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the visitor

  2. All designated venues must also keep a record of all staff working on the premises on a given day, the time of their shift, and their contact details. This covers anyone providing a service or activity including volunteers. Venues must keep these records of staff, but staff can choose to check in using the NHS QR code poster in addition, if they wish.

  3. No additional data should be collected for Test and Trace

  4. You should collect the information in a way that is manageable for your organisation. If not collected in advance, information should be collected at the point that visitors enter the premises or at the point of service.

    How records should be maintained
  1. You should hold records for 21 days. This reflects the incubation period for COVID-19, which can be up to 14 day, plus an additional 7 days to allow time for testing and tracing.

  2. After 21 days, visitor information collected for Test and Trace purposes should be securely disposed of or deleted.

  3. Records which are made and kept for other business purposes do not need to be disposed of after 21 days. The requirement to dispose of the data relates to a record that is created solely for the purpose of NHS Test and Trace. All collected data, however, must comply with the General Data Protection Regulations and should not be kept for longer than is necessary.

Promoting Test and Trace

  1. Visitors may have concerns about how their data will be used, so you may want to provide online information explaining the key points:
    1. Information will be kept for 21 days and will only be used if there are confirmed cases of Covid-19 involving people who have visited
    2. Where there is a confirmed case of Covid-19, NHS contact tracers will contact facilities where visitors have been to provide as much information as possible

  2. You can check the detailed guidance about information sharing and download a template privacy notice from on the government’s coronavirus pages.

  3.  

    Leaflets and posters on Test and Trace, including some in community languages, are available from Public Health England.

Failure to comply

Collecting contact details and maintaining records for NHS Test and Trace is a legal requirement and failure to comply is punishable by a fine:

  • first fixed penalty: £1,000
  • second fixed penalty: £2,000
  • third fixed penalty: £4,000
  • any further penalty notice: £10,000

The person responsible for the organisation is liable. This could be the owner, proprietor, or manager with overall responsibility of the organisation, business or service.

Answer:

For the proof of address, you will need to scan in the completed prospective tenant form after it is signed so you can simply scan the three proof of address documents in the same file.

Alternatively you can scan the three documents into one file and attach in one of the ‘spare’ upload slots on the portal.

For the accounts, there is a slot on the portal to upload your most recent accounts. You can provide the link to the relevant Charity Commission or Companies House pages for your previous two years’ accounts in the prospective tenant form.

Answer:

We will view any video links that are included in submissions. They can provide very powerful and compelling evidence.

Answer:
  1. You will receive an automatic message confirming that your report has been received.

  2. You will be contacted again with specific information about how it will be managed. We aim to get in touch within five to ten working days (from when you submitted the report). 

  3. You will be notified that an officer from the council will be contacting you to progress the matter further. We will not pass your details to the persons causing the ASB, without your permission to do so. We will try and work with you to formulate an action plan to tackle the ASB.

  4. You may also be notified after an initial assessment of your report that it has been transferred to another more appropriate team at the council or another agency such as a housing provider or the police. You will be given as much information as possible about what you can expect if a report is transferred to another team or agency.

  5. Your report will also be used for statistical purposes to help us monitor and improve our service to you.
Answer:

Please ask:

  • your managing agent for a copy of the Intrusive Survey Report for your building
  • your managing agent for a copy of the Fire Risk Assessment for your building. It will let you see what risks have been identified and what actions have been recommended to address the risks
  • them what has changed that has led to the decision to appoint a Waking Watch
  • your managing agent what other steps to address the fire safety risk they have considered and rejected. This could be improvements to fire doors, temporary alarm systems or changing evacuation procedures
  • your managing agent if they have secured three independent quotations for the Waking Watch provider
  • to see the service specification for the Waking Watch provider so you can see what service they should be providing to you
  • your managing agent if they will be applying to the Waking Watch Relief Fund to pay for any Waking Watch required
  • your manging agent what steps they are taking to address the fire risk more permanently. This will mean that Waking Watch can be removed as soon as possible
Answer:

Please ask:

  • the insurance provider what information they’ve seen that led them to increase the premium. Has the insurance provider been given an accurate picture of your building and the risks?
  • your managing agent if they looked around and got independent quotes for insurance.
  • your managing agent what, if any, additional premium has been added which is paid to either the managing agent or the freeholder. Ask if this can be removed.
  • what the insurance provider said could be done to reduce risk and reduce the premium. For example, would a temporary alarm system reduce the premium? Will the premiums reduce if the remediation work is completed? Would the premium reduce if unsafe cladding is removed pending any replacement?
  • or check the FCA website for the latest information given to insurers.
Answer:
  • Ask your managing agent for a copy of the Intrusive Survey Reports for your building which lead to both the previous and downgraded EWS1 rating. It will help you understand what new information came to light. 

  • Ask your managing agent for a copy of the Fire Risk Assessment for your building. It will help you see what risks have been identified and what actions have been recommended to address the risks.

  • Ask your managing agent if they will be applying to the Building Safety Fund to pay for any remediation work needed.
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