Agenda item

Mr R Gough, Leader of the Council; Mr P Oakford, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services; Mrs Z Cooke, Corporate Director of Finance and Mr D Shipton, Head of Finance Policy, Planning and Strategy were in attendance for the item.

1.    Mr Oakford introduced the item and provided a verbal summary of the types of Covid-19 support grants received from central government. He noted the diversity of grants received, in terms of both value and spending criteria.

2.    Mr Shipton gave a detailed overview of grant spending criteria, reporting and future funding. He confirmed that the Covid-19 Emergency Grant was un-ringfenced, whilst the Adults’ Social Care, Public Health, Winter Grant Scheme, Emergency Assistance, Home to School Transport, and Active Travel grants were ringfenced. Members were informed that a further £7.2m had been received from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in February, after the publication of the report. It was verified that Covid-19 grant spending was reported to MHCLG monthly and that the most recent submission was made in January 2021. Areas of increased spending during the pandemic were specified and included: Adults’ and Children’s Social Care; Home to School and Public Transport; and Environment. The Committee were notified that the Helping Hands Scheme had been funded through the un-ringfenced Emergency Grant. Future funding was summarised, it was noted that further financial support from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund and Clinically Extremely Vulnerable public health grants were expected in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

3.    A Member sought reassurance that due diligence had been done when grant funded contracts were awarded and monitored. Mr Oakford confirmed that commissioners within KCC had managed grant funded contracts and that he was satisfied due diligence had been done, given their detailed consideration and recommendations.

4.    Mr Oakford was asked whether the solvency of home to school transport providers had been analysed during the pandemic and what steps had been put in place to support public transport providers. He confirmed that KCC had provided bus operators with funding provided by central government. Mr Shipton added that continuity payments made to operators had originally been funded through the un-ringfenced Emergency Grant and were subsequently funded by the ringfenced Home to School Transport grant, following the return of children to school.

5.    A Member asked to what extent the Council, as an organisation, had learnt from and been impacted by the pandemic. Mr Oakford noted that the organisation had recognised and utilised its ability to react quickly and responsibly to emergency developments effectively. He acknowledged that it was too early to judge the overall performance of the Council during the pandemic, given the continued challenges faced. Members agreed that scrutiny of the authority’s overall handling of the pandemic was best suited at a later date.

6.    It was asked whether examples of best practice had been shared with neighbouring authorities during the pandemic. Mr Oakford confirmed that officers had attended meetings with their counterparts in peer authorities and had exchanged processes and learnings confidentially. It was added that Kent’s services were quality and value benchmarked against other authorities.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.