Issue - meetings
Contain Outbreak Management Fund
Meeting: 05/07/2021 - Cabinet (Item 17)
PDF 205 KBPurpose
To agree a broad approach to the use of the COMF including the visitor economy fund.
Recommendation
That the proposed approach to the COMF allocations from the County Council and the Government is endorsed and authority is delegated to the Business Manager (Localities) to agree how this funding is used to best effect in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received a report from the Business Manager, Localities which asked Members to consider agreeing a broad approach to the use of the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF), including the visitor economy fund.
The report advised that funding had been allocated to Cotswold District Council by Gloucestershire County Council from their Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF), as part of the response to Covid-19. The Council, as well as all the other Districts in Gloucestershire, had been allocated £50,000 specifically to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission linked to the visitor economy, through measures to enable residents and visitors to be and to feel safe.
The intention was that the potential projects and initiatives eligible for funding should be identified and agreed as soon as possible to enable the funding to be spent by 31 March 2022. The report noted that guidance as to the criteria for funding had been produced and these were outlined in section 1 of the report.
The Council had also received a direct allocation of £97,403.03 funding from government, which was ring fenced for public health purposes in relation to the mitigation against, and management of, local outbreaks of Covid-19.
The report recommended that the proposed approach be endorsed and authority be delegated to the Business Manager (Localities) to agree how best to use the funding in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.
An alternative option was that Members could choose not to spend its allocation of COMF funding but this was not recommended because helping local communities to recover from the impact of Covid-19 was paramount.
Councillor Forde introduced the report and proposed the recommendations as laid out. This was seconded by Councillor Evemy.
Councillor Layton advised that she would be pleased to consulted.
Having considered the report, and having heard from the Members present, Cabinet
Resolved that the proposed approach to the COMF allocations from the County Council and the Government is endorsed and authority is delegated to the Business Manager (Localities) to agree how this funding is used to best effect in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.
Record of Voting - for 8, against 0, abstention 0, absent 0.