Posted on Monday 9th November 2020
Highways crews who helped keep the county’s road safe during the crisis
A national campaign running this week will shine a spotlight on the work council staff do every day to make a difference to the lives of Staffordshire people.
From highways engineers carrying out essential road repairs to social workers supporting vulnerable adults and children, the annual #CouncilsCan campaign showcases the impact of local authorities in local communities, and will this year focus on the immense response of council staff to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Run by the Local Government Association (LGA), #CouncilsCan will be featured across social media throughout Tuesday 10 November.
In Staffordshire, in addition to helping residents with everyday enquiries and services, council staff have had to turn their hand to providing essential Covid-19 support.
Customer service staff have made thousands of phone calls to vulnerable adults and those isolating or shielding to make sure they are safe. Teams have also been undertaking local contact tracing and helping those isolating to sign up for priority food slots with local supermarkets.
Many staff members from non-essential services like libraries have also been redeployed to help with things like food parcel deliveries and contact tracing.
HR staff have helped pack and deliver over 4,000,000 items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline care workers, whilst Registration staff have helped set up the local Covid-19 testing centres.
Alan White, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said:
“Dealing with the pandemic has challenged all of us and for the county council and our staff it’s been all about protecting lives and livelihoods.
“From the outset, our priority has been to keep our communities safe and running, and to support care homes, schools and local businesses which is what we’ve done.
“I have seen scores of examples of great practice and efforts by individual staff. They have moved at pace, worked flexibly and used innovative approaches to help support the most vulnerable.
“Joining in with the #CouncilsCan campaign will be a great way of highlighting the important work council staff do every day in Staffordshire.”
People can join the campaign using the hashtag #CouncilsCan on social media during the day.