Agenda item

COVID-19 Vaccination – Prospective use of Great Hall

Marianne Fredericks asked a question of the Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee concerning the prospective use of the Great Hall as a mass vaccination site, as part of efforts to assist with the COVID-19 response.

Responding, the Chair confirmed that officers had looked into the possibility but had been advised that NHS England were not engaging with further mass vaccination sites at this stage and, consequently, did not have interest in exploring this option further. The City Corporation was, however, continuing to work with the NHS to explore localised pharmacy options for vaccination within the Square Mile and across North East London, as well as with the City and Hackney’s Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS partners to maintain the high rates of vaccination within the City.

The Chair noted that the Guildhall Yard was currently playing a significant role in the provision of testing and compatible uses of the Guildhall complex would be kept under review.

She also took the opportunity to invite Members to a briefing on Wednesday 31 March with Public Health colleagues and the Clinical Commissioning Group, adding that further details would be circulated by e-mail.

In response to a supplementary question from Marianne Fredericks concerning the prospective use of sites such as the Barbican Exhibition Halls, the Chair suggested that she might wish to discuss the matter further with relevant officers or at the Health and Wellbeing Board to see if there was any potential scope for this, but reiterated the general position of NHS England in respect of large venues for mass vaccination. She also added that, in respect of the Great Hall in particular, there would likely be a need to use this for City Corporation meetings in the near future so offering it as a potential site to the NHS could cause complications in due course. 

Following a further supplementary question from Paul Martinelli relating to the possibility of a physical Court meeting in April, the Chair sympathised with the desire to reinstate physical meetings but observed the need to comply with Government guidelines and social distancing requirements, which would be prohibitive until a later stage in the Government’s “roadmap” process.