Leadership blog - 17.04.20

At the end of another unprecedented and hugely demanding week, it's been confirmed by the Government the lockdown will continue for at least another three.

It's tough for everyone and my heart goes out to those who've suffered illness and loss due to Coronavirus and to those struggling with the impacts of the restrictions in place to reduce its spread. It's a cruel disease and it's changed a lot of people's lives beyond recognition and in that context I'm very proud of our city on a number of counts.

I'm very grateful to the vast majority of people who've stuck to the rules, stayed at home and helped protect the NHS, ultimately saving lives. As the Leader said in his vlog at Easter, to not be able to see and spend time with friends and family is incredibly hard, but the sacrifices we make now will ensure that as many as possible of us can do that once again when the worst of this pandemic is over.

I'm so proud of our NHS staff in Sunderland, the emergency services, carers, people working in shops and making deliveries and everyone else at the front line keeping essential services going.

And I'm extremely proud of the council team and everyone in it, who've never let up in over four weeks now, making sure vital services are delivered and all communities and residents, especially the most vulnerable, are supported and cared for.

We know that as well as residents and communities, businesses and employers are facing the toughest time imaginable.  The lockdown restrictions mean that almost every business and organisation is affected - trade and turnover stopped overnight for many three weeks ago and the doors on premises were locked until further notice. Many staff have been furloughed and owners, managers and employees alike are very uncertain about what the future will hold.

Another source of pride has been that despite all this anguish, lots of businesses and organisations immediately stepped forward offering to help with the loan of vehicles, premises, equipment and anything else they can think of to help the city and its people get through this testing time. And then we've got a whole range of manufacturers switching the machinery back on, and even investing in new machines, to produce personal protective equipment to support both local care providers and the national effort.

Their commitment to being all in this together couldn't be greater and the council is doing everything it can to make sure they can access every bit of support and finance available. By the end of today we will have paid out over £30 million in grants to businesses and we're working on those applications where we need further information and to verify details.

Unfortunately, some businesses don't meet the Government criteria so we're going to be contacting them from next week and also getting in touch with those who haven't applied but we think may be eligible.

We have a and our teams are working around the clock to support as much as they possibly can.

Thank you to absolutely everyone in Sunderland playing their part to come through this as a city. Please continue to follow social distancing and lockdown restrictions - you are making sure you look after your own health and your family's, you're protecting the NHS and you're saving lives. Stay safe and have a good weekend.

Cllr Michael Mordey
Deputy Leader