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Council’s working together to target use of £7m COVID fund
21/01/2021
Money from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund has been split between councils to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and support local public health
Oxfordshire County Council has received £7m from the national Contain Outbreak Management Fund to help in the fight against COVID-19 and to support businesses and individuals in the county. Half of this money has been passed to Cherwell District Council and the other local authorities in Oxfordshire so they can take measures to manage the pandemic, based on the services they provide.
The Contain Outbreak Management Fund provides funding to local authorities in England to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and support local public health. The government has told councils that some funding will continue until the end of March.
The county council is using its 50% of the money on local testing and contact tracing services, social care services, the COVID Secure team which helps business comply with regulations that help keep people safe, and to support the work of the voluntary and community sector.
Cherwell District Council has received just over £900,000 from the Contain Outbreak Management Fund. The Council says it is still finalising plans for the money, but its focus will be on using the money to raise awareness of, and compliance with, the COVID restrictions, and to fund community testing. They say they are developing their plans in consultation with the other districts, the city and county council “to offer a coordinated approach to stopping the spread of coronavirus”.
Councillor Ian Hudspeth, the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “All six councils have worked in very close partnership since the start of the pandemic. Although the grant funding comes to the county council, we felt that we must share it with our colleagues at district councils to help support the invaluable work they are doing.
“This money will continue to be of great assistance as we continue to manage the local impacts of the pandemic through what we hope will be its latter stages. The grant has been and continues to be of assistance for 2020/21, although it can be used for ongoing costs that run in to 2021/22.”
Councillor Barry Wood, the leader of Cherwell District Council, said: “As we know all too well the pandemic has been tough in so many ways, but one of the positive aspects locally has been the way each of the Oxfordshire councils have worked together as a team to help residents and businesses navigate this difficult period in our history. The sharing of this funding is a further indicator of this joint work and we will all continue to work hard for the people we serve.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam