Decision details

Date of Decision:

19 February 2021.

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Suzanne Joyner

Strategic Director, Children and Young People Services.

Specific Delegation:

(If any)

Non-specific.

Brief Description of Decision:

To allocate 80% (£593,000) of the Rapid Testing Fund (RTF) in accordance with the mandatory grant conditions, and to distribute the 20% (£148,000) discretional element - on an assessment of the emerging risks, and in line with the wider testing strategy.

Reasons for the Decision:

The Government announced an extra £149 million grant nationally to support the roll out of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) testing in care homes. The main purpose of the fund is to support the setup, training and implementation of additional rapid testing of staff in care homes, and to support testing visiting professionals. The expenditure must be incurred between t2 December 2020 and 31 March 2021.

The fund can be used for:

·       Staff costs associated with training and carrying out LFD testing.

·       Costs associated with recruiting staff to facilitate increased testing.

·       Costs associated with the creation of a separate testing area where staff and visitors can be tested and wait for their result. This includes the cost of reduced occupancy where this is required to convert a bedroom into a testing area, but only if this is the only option available to the care home; and,

·       Costs associated with disposal of LFD tests and testing equipment.

The fund is only intended to support additional rapid testing using LFDs. The Council has been allocated £741,000.

The Council has facilitated the distribution of the specified 80% of the Rapid Testing Fund in accordance with the grant conditions. This is recorded via the Record of Officer Executive Decision from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People Services.  If a home refuses its allocation the funding will be added to the 20%, in accordance with the grant conditions. 

Councils must use 20% of the fund to support the care sector to operationally deliver rapid testing, but this can be allocated at the Council’s discretion.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

There were no alternative options for consideration as the grant funding available is time limited and needs to be spent before the end of the financial year with clear grant eligibility criteria in place.

Conflicts of interest declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest declared.

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

N/A

Reports or parts of reports considered

The report of the Interim Assistant Director - Strategic Commissioning, Adult Care, Housing and Public Health - ASC Rapid Testing Fund and ASC Workforce Capacity Fund Briefing.