Agenda item

The Chair invited Nicola Morton (Head of Programme, Local Government Finance) to discuss the update paper and recent activity. Nicola raised the following points in her update;

-          In advance of the second national lockdown the Government announced the Contain Outbreak Management Fund to provide £8 per head funding to local authorities.

-          Further business support initiatives have been announced in the Business Closure and Business Support Grants.

-          The Government has published the Tranche 4 funding allocation and methodology.

-          The Comprehensive Spending Review was due to be published on 25/11/20. Although the LGA’s submission was made on a Three-Year basis, the points presented remain relevant to the One-Year settlement to be announced. Lobbying efforts are continuing through Parliament, the media and contacts in Government departments.

-          On the Redmond Review, Nicola explained that a letter outlining the feedback of the Board has been sent to MHCLG.

In the subsequent discussion the following points were raised by members;

-          Members noted concerns with the Government’s decision to set a further One-Year Spending Review for Local Government. It was noted that continued delays to a multi-year settlement have exacerbated challenges around setting balanced budgets for local authorities.

-          Members stressed that the LGA must continue to push for a multi-year settlement in future reviews.

-          It was suggested that the fragmentation of funding further inhibited the budget setting process.

-          Concerns were highlighted with the resourcing for local testing programmes and the introduction of Lateral Flow testing and community immunisation. It was argued that limited resources would prevent effective service delivery. Sarah explained that costs of mass testing and immunisation are being discussed at length by the Group Leaders.

-          Arrangements around the distribution of the Contain Outbreak Management Fund were questioned. It was urged that a clear formula is needed to guarantee fair distribution.

Decision

The members of the Resources Board noted the report.

Action

Officers to proceed in line with comments from members.

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