To authorise spend to fund the Council’s response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

To authorise the following spend which is outside the budget agreed by Council on 13 February 2020 to fund the Council’s response to the Covid 19 pandemic:

·       Providing accommodation for rough sleepers and provision of meals at an estimated additional cost of £532k (this is based on initial 3 month lockdown period and does not reflect potential future requirements for rough sleepers)

·       Additional one-off ICT software and equipment and mobile handsets to accommodate remote working £455k

·       Provision of food parcels and other costs in supporting vulnerable people through the locality hubs - £115k

·       One off additional costs in the Benefits Team to process increased numbers of Housing benefits claims and changes in circumstances. - £50k  

Note: the date of decision relates to the principle of releasing additional funding. A number of financial orders were issued over a period of time spanning April and May 2020.

To delay committing expenditure until the normal authority could be secured from Cabinet and Council would have been detrimental to the Council’s response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Signed off by Chief Executive.