Steven Broomhead is chief executive of Warrington Borough Council and writes a regular column for the Warrington Guardian

In 30 years plus as a chief executive, I am used to pressure and having to implement evidence-based decisions quickly.

Last week was the most pressured, relentless environment I have ever experienced as we considered our deteriorating public health position in relation to the introduction of more local restrictions, moving from tier 2 to tier 3.

We agreed that it would be better to seek conversations with government rather than enter a tug of war as we had witnessed with Boris vs Burnham.

Government showed positive listening skills as we discussed the rising number of Covid-related hospitalisations, increasing GP interventions, and tragically the rising number of deaths.

Our key driver and outcome was about protecting the health and wellbeing of the town, not about a dash for the cash.

The deal we reached on the financial support for local businesses, and the enhanced public health measures, was done on a robust but fair basis as it is recognised that our economy is now facing significant challenges and adversity.

Similarly, on the list of businesses that would have to close, it was important to fully consider in equal measure the commercial/businesses impacts as well as the health risks and the evidence.

It was also important to clarify the legal background on what all of this is founded.

Lastly was the issue of the date and time – would it be better to go earlier given the rising health risks, or wait to give businesses more notice?

In the end it was concluded that earlier was better with midnight on Monday finally agreed to the new measures.

Whatever we do is of course subject to close public scrutiny and debate, but with my hand on heart I can say that we have taken evidence-based, carefully thought through decisions with recognition of the individual and collective consequences for residents and businesses.

The real challenge for the next few weeks is to support the public health messages and the restrictions with our consent and behaviours.

It’s getting more difficult, and the frustrations are immense, but unless we grit our teeth and remain determined the solution to removing the restrictions may be difficult to find. Solidarity to beat the bug is needed.

We will monitor the situation on a daily basis and agree a set of easily understood public facing ‘performance numbers’ so that everyone can see what progress is being made towards removing the town from tier 3, particularly as we move towards Christmas. It’s a great pity that government hasn’t come up with a list of such indicators, but as said before in this column, local leadership and finding resolutions are best, not centralised mixed messages and vacuous statements.