Council chief: ‘Hull is facing its biggest challenge since the war but we’ll bounce back’

‘CHALLENGE’: Hull City Council Chief Executive Matt Jukes talking to The Hull Story. Image by Tom Arran Commercial Photography

In an exclusive interview with The Hull Story’s Rick Lyon, Hull City Council Chief Executive Matt Jukes has opened up about the unprecedented challenge presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the impact it has had on council services, his pride at how staff have responded, and why he is confident the city will bounce back

Hull is facing its biggest challenge since the Second World War but will recover from the Covid-19 crisis, according to the city council’s chief executive.

Matt Jukes believes the coronavirus pandemic has created “the most difficult set of circumstances the council has ever faced”, but remains confident Hull will bounce back.

He says services and resources have been stretched to the limit but thinks it is possible to protect public health and kick-start the economy at the same time if people follow the guidance.

“It’s a hell of a challenge,” says Mr Jukes.

“It’s the grinding duration that is the issue. We had the floods of 2007 and 2013 but with incidents like that, you set up your emergency response and then after two or three days you are in recovery. That’s the way those major incidents always play out – but not this time.

“In terms of people losing their lives and people losing loved ones, only the Second World War has been a bigger challenge than this. It has been very, very difficult for a lot of people.

“But I’m still ambitious and optimistic for the city, I really am, despite all of this. The one thing that Hull has really proved is that you can try and knock us down but we’ll get up.

“The city is opening for business again and we have some great things going on. The tension between keeping safe and getting our economy going is not an easy one, but if you do follow all the precautions now, that really will help.

“I wouldn’t want people to be depressed about the future of the city. It’s a challenging time for the whole country but when you look at some of the things that are still happening in Hull, it’s a great place to be.”

Mr Jukes admits the financial implications of the pandemic are a major concern to the council, which had already lost around 35 per cent of its central Government funding over the last 10 years.

“Austerity has hit our city hard,” he says. “We’ve been one of the hardest hit authorities in the country in that respect.

“We’ve had a lot to work through and the scale of the operation has changed immensely. From when we had the floods in 2007 to now, we’ve lost about half our staff, from just over 10,000 to just under 5,000.

“So, the capacity to deal with the challenges has reduced significantly.

“Despite this, we’d managed over the past four or five years to get the council onto a stable footing. Pre-Covid, we weren’t needing to make any major savings this year and we started to build up our reserves.”

‘PROUD’: Matt Jukes at the Guildhall. Image by Tom Arran Commercial Photography

That good work has been undone by the pandemic though.

The local authority has had to absorb the significant and unexpected response costs, including on the provision of PPE and setting up telephone and online emergency response platforms.

Hull has received £17m of the Government’s £3.2bn support fund for local authorities – which does not compare favourably with other, more affluent cities and regions across the country – but has been hit by the non-payment of business rates and council tax as premises have closed and people have lost their jobs.

As a result, the council is facing a financial shortfall of £35m by the end of the year and Mr Jukes says difficult decisions will inevitably have to be made.

“We’re having to start thinking about the savings we might make and that is very difficult because of those we’ve already made,” he says, speaking at the Guildhall. “The danger is that you start cutting into key services that people need.

“We’re not alone, and places like Leeds are in a similar situation, so we’re talking to the Government about that because the last things we want to do is cut services to residents. We’re working closely with the Government but we’re unclear at the moment how we can manage it.

“The Government are in crisis mode dealing with the developing situation, so are probably not looking as far ahead as we need to look at the moment but we’re engaging with them.”

Will the council have to make jobs cuts as a result of the financial black hole?

“I sincerely hope not but I can’t rule it out,” says Mr Jukes.

“I’ve said to our staff – who have been sensational – that we’re working hard to get the support we need. We hope and work for the best, and plan for the worst.”

Hull could face a local lockdown if there is a spike in cases, as Leicester did, with some experts also predicting a nation-wide second wave of the disease.

STRETCHED: Services and resources have been under pressure at the Guildhall. Image by Tom Arran Commercial Photography

The ongoing uncertainty makes recovery even more difficult but Mr Jukes is confident the council and its partner organisations are now well prepared to respond accordingly.

“There is concern about the September-October flu period, which always has a big impact, particularly on our elderly population,” he says.

“We’re ready to step back in with the arrangements we operated previously and the advantage we have now is that we’ve done it once.

“In terms of our care homes response team, for example, we can step that up in 24 hours now.

“There will be a quick response. We’ve learned lessons and we are more prepared in that sense.”

Mr Jukes, who has been chief executive of the city council for five years, says he is incredibly proud of its response to the outbreak in the most testing of times.

“I’ve watched in awe at some of the things our people have done,” he says.

“When we had to lockdown the offices and mobilise people very quickly for home working, we had hundreds of people step up to do that – manning phones and ringing people up to check they were OK.

“We walked dogs, we carried out food deliveries, we did all sorts and those teams came together from every service.

“It was really humbling and people don’t always see that.”

It is that response, and the combined efforts of the wider community, that makes Mr Jukes confident the city can recover from its latest major challenge.

“We will get over this,” he says. “We still have some great plans and we are determined and confident they will happen.”