PFCC thanks businesses for their support during the Coronavirus crisis

Businesses across Essex are coming forward to offer their much-needed services during the Coronavirus crisis.

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex is bringing together partners across the county to ensure a wide range of urgent needs are met.
The work is ensuring aid is being given quickly and businesses are gaining access to new opportunities to help them to stay afloat – or giving their time and resources for free.

The PFCC is working to match the needs established by the Essex Resilience Forum with the business solutions found via Essex Chambers of Commerce members.

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “We are fortunate in Essex to have such a vibrant and entrepreneurial business community. During these difficult times it is excellent to see how our communities come together, with both businesses and the public working hand in hand. The Chamber have a long track record of working effectively with businesses and the emergency services so it is no surprise that they have grasped this opportunity to make a difference.”

The Essex Resilience Forum is a partnership of organisations which respond to emergencies and provide information to enable residents and businesses to cope.

The Essex Chambers website is urging its 900 members to make it known if they have a service, product or resource which could help to support Essex during the pandemic.

Denise Rossiter, Chief Executive of Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: “We received a call from Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Jane Gardner to see how we could all work together.
“We are going out to our members to ask what services they can offer or whether they have staff they can redeploy to help in the current crisis. We are going out there and mixing and matching the needs with the offers of assistance. We are talking to every member we have got and are supplying Jane with a spreadsheet detailing what is out there. We are talking twice a week to ensure we are doing everything and anything we can. It is early days, but we have already seen one company help to move hospital beds from Basildon to Braintree and another offering its warehousing space.
“Lots of businesses need the work and want to help. We are the conduit to business and will do everything we can to resource these services right the way along.
“We are delighted to be working with the PFCC as we see this is such an important cause.”

Calls have been put out for the development of rapid sanitising equipment for ambulances and the manufacture and supply of testing kits.

Offers of help have already come from WTC Logistics in Basildon who source PPE Equipment, Wren Packaging in Southend, which is keen to support those affected by a collapse in their own packaging supply chain, and Great Wakering based Practical HR Ltd who offer guidance to business leaders and those responsible for employee issues in Essex.

You can reach Essex Chambers of Commerce via https://www.essexchambers.co.uk/home.htm