A major conference hosted by Hounslow Council and its partners is taking place to discuss the borough's recovery plans in the wake of coronavirus. Jon Varney, Brentford FC Chief Executive, is speaking at the conference. He is among more than a dozen people in key positions in the borough involved today.

It was announced earlier this summer that Jon is sitting on the Hounslow Recovery Programme Board. The Recovery Board includes senior figures from Heathrow, health and community partners, educational establishments, Brentford FC, the Metropolitan Police, and major businesses and developers. It will will coordinate how organisations from different sectors across the borough work together on a wide range of issues, such as jobs, training and learning opportunities; health and wellbeing; environment; community engagement and safety; investment, regeneration and housebuilding.

The conference is bringing together and recognise the community groups, businesses, faith leaders, public sector partners and residents who have played a role in the borough's response to the pandemic. Conference attendees will hear about and help shape a joint vision for Hounslow's recovery through workshops and discussions. As one of the hardest hit London boroughs - with 37 per cent of Hounslow's workforce being furloughed- Hounslow Council hopes the conference will build on the collaboration between many organisations and individuals which has grown since the start of the pandemic and begin further collective action to confront the challenges ahead across a range of social, health and economic themes.

Independent research carried out by Oxford Economics found that thousands of jobs are at risk in the borough and almost £200m could potentially being lost from the locally economy. A major factor is its proximity to Heathrow Airport and strong links to the aviation industry. 47.7 per cent of jobs in Hounslow are in severely impacted sectors, and 30.4 per cent of businesses in severely impacted sectors, and as many as 27,000 jobs are linked to the airport. More can be seen here.