Agenda item

Update on the Council's response to COVID-19

Report of the Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

1. That Cabinet agrees provisional allocations of the grant subject to final adjustments for the purposes of:

a) School holiday food vouchers and support for uniforms - £315,000

b) Struggling with utility costs / debt - £35,218

2. That final allocations be apportioned across the approved uses when the final costs of food vouchers and support for uniforms is known.

3. That Cabinet note the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, including local outbreaks.

4. That Cabinet note the arrangements in place to respond to COVID-19.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report which provided an update on how the Council was responding to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The report also sought approval for the allocation of an additional £350,218 allocation of COVID Winter Grant in accordance with the priorities agreed by Cabinet in December 2020.

The report provided details on the four-step roadmap that had been set out by Government on 22nd February, 2021. Appendix 1 to the report was an overview of the announcements through the pandemic and the Council’s response to those announcements.

The Leader explained that Rotherham had been allocated an additional £350,218 as part of the COVID Winter Grant. In order to ensure that the additional grant was spent within the permitted timeframe and the benefits realised by Rotherham families, proposals had been developed to allocate the grant in accordance with the priorities previously agreed by Cabinet. It involved further provision allocation of:

- £315,000 to provide food vouchers for the Easter school holidays, and support for school uniforms, to children eligible for free school meals. The food vouchers were to the value of £15 per week for each eligible child. Support for school uniforms was £20 per eligible child.

- £35,318 to increase the funding available to support families struggling with utility costs/debts.

The Chief Executive explained that the infection rate in the Borough was falling and, at the time of the meeting was 140-150 cases per 100,000. This was, however, still very high compared to other areas in England and work was on-going to try and reduce the rate further. Targeted work was taking place and plans were in place for surge testing. The vaccine roll-out had been successful with over 90,000 residents receiving their first vaccination so far.

Work was on-going with private businesses with 5,000 businesses receiving support grants. Businesses were also contributing towards the “laptops for kids” charity scheme which aimed to provide school aged children with laptops so that they could continue learning remotely. Schools were also working hard with parents and children to ensure all needs were catered for and COVID regulations were followed. The Community Hub was continuing to support families. A new cohort of vulnerable residents had been announced by the Government which equated to an additional 6,669 residents being included on the Shielded Persons List. All residents within this cohort were being contacted via letter and/or text.

Cabinet Members expressed their support for the political decisions that they had made throughout the pandemic. They were especially proud of the food voucher scheme that had been put in place.

The report had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board as part of the pre-decision scrutiny process. The Board were fully supportive of the recommendations. It was noted that the Chair of OSMB and the Leader of the opposition had agreed to waive the call-in period for this item so that the much needed COVID Winter Grant funds could be allocated as soon as possible.

Resolved:-