'On the hoof policy' with 'no guidance' - Doncaster mayor on Covid-19 communication

The borough’s directly-elected mayor said the council often heard things in the media before the announcement and when official confirmation finally came, more detail and guidance was missing.

Doncaster's rolling seven-day average of Covid-19 is currently 231 cases per 100,000 with over 4,000 cases since the pandemic began. There have also been 290 Covid-19 related deaths. The England average is 157 per 100,000.

The mayor added that the guidance needed for councils to implement new policy would sometimes arrive as much as a week after the announcement.

Mayor Jones also said the delays often made it ‘near impossible’ to properly plan ahead and urged Government to better work with councils on issues that affect local authorities.

“We’ve heard about things before we’re officially told that affect us in terms of funding for example - often there is no detail to what’s been said and we need to know this right away,” Mayor Jones said.

“We tend to get ministerial briefings or announcements at 7 or 8 at night with the promise of guidance to follow and it can take one or two weeks to come.

“We try to plan ahead for what we think is coming but it is near impossible to do that. Government should be working with councils - even things like announcements before they happen so we get some notice.

“It’s totally wrong, you never run anything in that way and what you need is where announcements are made, guidance comes with it there and then.

“It appears things are being done on the hoof without realising all the implications or working through to pass that guidance out.”

Mayor Jones added that the council is closely monitoring the numbers as latest figures show over 110 people are in hospital being treated for Covid-19 across Doncaster.

“We’re hoping that everyone in Doncaster abides by the rules because it’s safeguarding lives at the end of the day,” Mayor Jones said.

Number 10's press office has been contacted for comment.

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