Issue details

Proposed Decision Updated – 3 November 2020 to include Kent Contract Tracing Service via Agilisys as part of the main decision.

Updated decision wording and details in PROD and Report.

Original content maintained below:

Proposed decision

As Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, I agree:

      i.     To accept the Local authority test and trace service support grant (£6,311,401) under the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DoHSC) terms and conditions. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-test-and-trace-service-support-grant/local-authority-test-and-trace-service-support-grant-conditions;

     ii.     The funding will be used for expenditure incurred or to be incurred in relation to the mitigation against and management of local outbreaks of COVID-19, including the following categories of work:

1.    Enhance the national response

2.    Enhance local activities

3.    Support population level approaches to managing outbreaks

4.    Overheads of administering the grant

The provision and related grant funding will be flexibly deployed to be responsive to local outbreaks and need.  A funding framework will be used by the Test and Trace Grant Monitoring Group to ensure consistency of decision making and alignment to grant terms, including appropriate funding to allow districts to deliver the relevant activity.

Reason for decision

The government has allocated £6,311,401 to Kent County Council from a new national funding package totalling £300 million. The purpose of the grant is to ‘provide support to local authorities in England towards expenditure lawfully incurred or to be incurred in relation to the mitigation against and management of local outbreaks of COVID-19’.

This funding will be used to support KCC’s statutory obligation to protect and improve the health of the local population as set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012, contribute towards the delivery of the Kent and Medway Local Outbreak Plan (https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/110224/Local-Outbreak-COVID-19-Control-Plan.pdf) and adhere to the DoHSC COVID-19 Contain Framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/containing-and-managing-local-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreaks/covid-19-contain-framework-a-guide-for-local-decision-makers#annex-2).

Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement (2015-2020)

Strategic outcome - Kent communities feel the benefits of economic growth by being in-work, healthy and enjoying a good quality of life.  The planned activity which the decision concerns, will support Kent residents to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. Also, any successful prevention of COVID 19 outbreaks will support local economic growth, social opportunities, and quality of life for Kent residents.

Options

The following options have been considered and discounted:

o Reject the funding - As with any grant there is an option to accept or reject the funding. The funding will support the local response to the COVID 19 pandemic, KCC’s statutory requirements and activity which is planned to or already taking place, therefore it was felt that rejecting the grant would not be in the public’s interest.

o Outsource the management of the grant – The management of the grant could be outsourced either in full or in part to a third party. Outsourcing the management of the grant was discounted to ensure that KCC could closely control and monitor the grant and ensure flexible application to emerging need.

o Allocate all the grant to the district councils - The grant in its totality could be disseminated to the Kent district and borough councils. However, it was felt that this would not support economies of scale, e.g. the development and roll out of a countywide campaign, and therefore this option has been discounted.