Agenda item

COVID-19 Test, Track & Isolate Programme Funding*

Report of the Executive Director, Resources and the Director of Public Health

Decision:

13.1

The Executive Director, Resources and Director of Public Health, submitted a joint report:

· advising Cabinet of the current position regarding COVID-19 in Sheffield;

· describing the programme established to implement the Outbreak Control Plan and the estimated costs of implementing that programme;

· informing Cabinet of Government funding received to assist with the costs of preventing, mitigating against and managing local outbreaks of COVID-19; and,

· seeking approvals and delegations to continue this work.

13.2

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

(a)	recognises the hard work and the achievements of Council employees, partner organisations and the voluntary, community and faith sector (VCFS) in preventing, mitigating and managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 to date, an enormous effort that began in March 2020;

(b)	notes that in June 2020, Sheffield City Council (SCC) was allocated a ring fenced grant of £3,101,989 from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) towards expenditure incurred in relation to the mitigation against and management of local outbreaks of COVID-19;

(c)	notes that Sheffield City Council, along with 6 other Local Authorities, has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to request further funding of approximately £2m to implement Integrated Local Arrangements for Test, Trace and Support;
(d)	notes that in July 2020, SCC was allocated a grant of £774,649 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to support those struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19 and that this grant is not ring fenced but is expected to be used in accordance with DEFRA guidance;
(e)	notes and approves the Investment Plan described in Annex A of the report, including noting the expenditure already approved through the Category 1 Covid-19 decision making process, as set out in the report;
(f)	agrees to establish a fund as described in Annex A: Investment Plan of the report, sourced from DHSC funding received, for the purposes of providing grants to and purchasing services, as appropriate, from the VCFS;
(g)	to the extent not covered by existing delegations, delegates authority to the Executive Director Resources, in consultation with the Director of Public Health, to: (i) award grants; and (ii) approve procurement strategies and award contracts funded from the fund established in accordance with recommendation (f) above; and the Cabinet notes that a Steering Group will be established to provide advice and guidance as to the broad criteria for funding, with the Steering Group including the Executive Director, Resources, the Director of Public Health, the Executive Director, People Services, and appropriate Cabinet Members;
(h)	notes that the DEFRA grant for Food and Essential Supplies will be administered through the Local Assistance Scheme; and
(i)	to the extent not covered by existing delegations or the specific delegations outlined above, delegates authority to the Executive Director, Resources, in consultation with the Director of Public Health to take such other decisions as may be necessary to achieve the outcomes set out in the report.

13.3

Reasons for Decision

The recommendations described in the report will enable Sheffield City

Council to implement a Test, Track & Isolate Programme that will help to

deliver the Sheffield Local Outbreak Control Plan and to prevent, mitigate

against and manage local outbreaks of COVID-19.

13.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

The Test, Track and Isolate Programme has been established to implement the Outbreak Control Plan and to prevent, mitigate against and manage local outbreaks of COVID-19.

The Programme is organisationally complex (it involves multiple Council

services and partner organisations), it is technically complex (requiring new processes and systems to be established and incorporated into new and existing Council services), it provides a new and complex range of services (prevention, testing, track and trace, isolation support), and it exists in a complex environment that changes from week to week - based on the spread of the virus and changes in government policy.

The report describes what officers believe to be the best way of preventing, mitigating and controlling the virus in Sheffield. However, this will be kept under review and the approach described may need to change. The TTI Programme is agile and responsive, and is capable of adapting to changes in epidemiology and policy, in order to protect the health of the people of Sheffield.

There are also constraints over what the grants can be used for. The DHSC grant of £3,101,989 is ring fenced towards expenditure incurred in relation to the mitigation against and management of local outbreaks of COVID-19.

The DEFRA grant of £774,649 is not ring fenced but has been provided to support those struggling to afford food and other essentials due to COVID-19, and is expected to be used in accordance with the associated guidance and within 12 weeks of receipt.

Alternative options that have been considered and rejected include:

Implement Without Programme Management

This option was rejected because without the capability and capacity of the Council’s Business Change and Information Solutions business change resources deployed on the project, it would not have been possible to translate the outbreak control plan into a consistent and coherent programme of activity, capable of delivering the additional processes and systems needed to prevent, mitigate and manage outbreaks of COVID-19 in Sheffield.

Implement Without Additional Staff Resources

This option was rejected because without additional resources to backfill

existing staff or to provide additional knowledge, skills and capacity, then it is not possible to deliver the on the ground prevention, mitigation and outbreak management services needed to manage COVID-19 in Sheffield.

Implement Without Communications

This option was rejected because without regular communications to people and businesses, providing advice and guidance about how to prevent infections, how to behave if there is an infection, and the support available, all of which is designed and delivered in ways that will achieve maximum impact, including translations into foreign languages, then we believe the virus will spread quickly across the city resulting in damage to public health and economic prosperity.

Implement Without Local Testing

This option was rejected because without a local testing service we would not be able to manage small localised outbreaks, in a homeless hostel or care home for example, and fulfil our duties to protect public health and manage and prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. A scalable solution has been designed so that we only pay for what we need (recognising there are some structural/set up costs), and that testers will be asked to help with other response related work when not engaged in testing activity. This could be prevention work or communications activity for example.

Implement Without VCFS Assistance

This option was rejected because since the outbreak of COVID-19, the

Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector has provided tremendous support and resilience to communities in Sheffield. The connections, knowledge and understanding that these organisations have of their local areas will help us to be more effective in future prevention, outbreak management, testing, tracing and isolation support.

13.5

Any Interest Declared or Dispensation Granted

None

13.6

Reason for Exemption if Public/Press Excluded During Consideration

Annex A of the report is not for publication by virtue of Regulation 20(2) Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 because, in the opinion of the proper officer, it contains exempt information under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

13.7

Respective Director Responsible for Implementation

Eugene Walker, Executive Director, Resources and Greg Fell, Director of Public Health.

13.8

Relevant Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee If Decision Called In

Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee.

Minutes: