Decision details

1.    As part of the national lockdown announced by the Prime Minister on 4 January 2021, the Government advised all Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) people to shield until 31 March 2021.

2.    To enable councils to support CEV individuals during this period, and for Tier 4 areas during the local restrictions from 20 December 2020 to 4 January 2021, funding was made available to councils. MHCLG committed to provide councils with funding equivalent to £14.60 per CEV individual on the Shielded Patient List (SPL) per four weeks, pro rata. Funding is calculated per CEV individual on the SPL within the local authority boundaries, irrespective of whether they require support.

3.    The dates covered and the funding allocated  to Surrey County Council are as follows:

20 Dec - 4 Jan         £321,753

5      – 31 Jan             £575,309

1 – 28 Feb*              £723,938

                                £1,621,000

* The SPL containing QCovid additions was updated in two tranches, on the 16 and 23 February 2021 respectively. Tranche 1 was under 70s and tranche 2 was over 70s.

The funding for December and January was received in the last week of March and we have been informed that the February allocations will be paid in April.   We have not received any communication relating to March funding as yet.

4.    MHCLG expect councils to use the funding to deliver the activities and outcomes outlined in the Shielding Framework. This includes the overheads of setting up and managing the local system, contacting CEV individuals within the area of intervention, assessing the food and basic support needs of CEV individuals and facilitating the delivery of that support where necessary, and reporting on the level of support provided. As outlined in the Framework, the funding accounts for the direct provision of food on an exception only basis.

5.    MHCLG also state that it is essential that upper tier authorities provide sufficient resources to lower tier authorities to carry out any responsibilities that they are asked to undertake to support CEV individuals.

6.    This paper seeks approval for the allocation of the funding for CEV support of £1,621m.

Proposals:

In line with previously approved allocations, it is proposed that this funding is allocated based on the Shielded Patient List (SPL), which provides a breakdown of CEV residents by district and borough, including an allocations to CEV residents known to social care that are supported by Surrey County Council.  The amounts retained by SCC are proposed to be used to cover costs within Customer services for the ongoing support to CEV residents through the community helpline.

Decision made:

It was AGREED that:

The following allocations would be made, in  line with the proposals set out above:

Reasons for Decision:

To support the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable during the Tier 4 and national lockdown periods, in line with the grant requirements.

The alternative is to not accept the funding allocation from MHCLG or to retain the total funding within the Upper Tier Authority which would not reflect where the costs are being incurred and impact on the ability of local authorities across the County to support Clinically Extremely Vulnerable Residents.

The allocation method proposed reflects the overall allocation methodology used by MHCLG.

None.