The report of the Leader of the Council was
submitted setting out the details of the business undertaken by the
Executive.
The Leader and the Cabinet made statements and
responded to questions.
The following questions were submitted in
accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.1:-
1.
Additional Restrictions Grant
Question from Councillor
Fitzhenry to Councillor Hammond (Councillor Barnes-Andrews to
respond).
Please can you explain why
Southampton is one of the poorest performing local authorities in
the country for the distribution of the Additional restrictions
Grant.
Answer
- In December the
government provided £5 million through the Additional
Restrictions Grant scheme to disperse, on a discretionary basis,
before March 31 2022. This remains the case. On the 23 December the
Additional Restrictions Grant scheme open to submissions and
remains open, as the scheme expands each week.
- On the 25 February a
national newspaper reported that Councils were failing to
distribute funds and locally reported on the 11 March. These
reports were based on data from 17 January 2021. On the 17 Jan we
had administered 16 grant payments valued at £21,344 as
reported. By the 28 January we had administered 93 grant
payments totalling £83,600 and by the 1 March we have
administered 266 payments totalling £215,850. At the
end of March we will have administered nearly 420 payments
totalling £338,100.
- The difference in
performance is in part due to some local authorities decided to
provide larger one-off payments, in contrast we have chosen to
begin by providing ongoing monthly payments, which will continue
throughout the spring and summer as businesses reopen in line with
the governments ‘Roadmap’.
- We are targeting
businesses that are most in need and who have been unable to access
other support. Today we have launched a scheme for mobile workers
through capital grants potentially valued £1.6 million
through the Additional Restrictions Grant.
- The Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) only issued a
revised steer on this scheme on the 9 March 2021, with a request to
all Local Authorities to issue this funding as quickly as possible.
BEIS also announced that the complex landscape of different grants
will be simplified to two schemes, the Restart Grants and the
Additional Restrictions Grant. This is very welcome.
- I am confident that
we will issue the majority of this funding to those local
businesses most in need and strategically in line with the latest
‘Roadmap’ with the lifting of all restrictions by
June.
2.
School Attendance
Question from
Councillor James Baillie to Councillor Paffey.
What are the Council doing to
ensure the no child is left behind through not attending school for
the last 2 months?
Answer
All children have now been welcomed back onto school sites across
the city
and have received well-planned and delivered virtual lessons or
provision within the school throughout the most recent
lockdown. As a council we
have supported education leaders since the first lockdown
last year to ensure
good coordination and consistency of schooling in very difficult
circumstances. In particular:
·
Our School Improvement ...
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