The Leader of the Council agrees to:
1) Accept the £4.5m COVID Winter Grant for use in line with the guidance published by Department of Work and Pensions and relevant terms and conditions;
2) Approve use of approximately £2.5m of the grant funding to support the provision of vouchers to families with children in receipt of benefits-related Free School Meals during the December 2020 and February 2021 school holidays;
3) Approve the use of the remaining grant funding, in accordance with the funding principles and criteria set out within the decision report and any associated Policy Documents/Funding Frameworks, to provide support to low income families in Kent, including allocating a proportion of the funding to District and Borough Councils in Kent, to allow for local targeting of support in line with the government guidance;
4) Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Finance to, in consultation with the Leader and Corporate Directors for CYPE and Adult Social Care, update, review and amend the proposed distribution of the funding in response to changing need and the emergency assistance landscape, as evidenced by the monitoring of grant expenditure, and to take other necessary actions including but not limited to entering into contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision; and
5) Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Finance to take other necessary actions, including but not limited to entering into contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision.