Issue - meetings

The Head of Policy, Communications and Governance introduced the report which outlined the Council’s action plan for recovery and renewal from the Covid-19 Pandemic following the allocation of £860,000 in unringfenced grants to the Council. The Committee was asked to consider the actions proposed and raise any new actions for consideration by the Policy and Resources Committee. A community resilience fund had been proposed whereby one-off payments could be accessed by voluntary and community sector organisations via the drafted application form, to fund projects that would benefit Maidstone residents.

In response to questions, the Head of Policy, Communications and Governance confirmed that more detail could be sought regarding the suggested resources assigned to each proposed action, and explained that there would be regular progress and spending reports brought to the Committee. If a change was recommended to the allocated resource for any of the actions, this would need to be taken to the Policy and Resources Committee.

Concern was raised that smaller organisations may not meet the eligibility criteria set out in order to apply for funding through the Community Resilience fund, and more flexibility in paying successful bids was suggested. It was also raised that bids should be considered by way of a self-selected panel taken from the Committee Members.

RESOLVED: that feedback on the action plan be reported back to the Policy and Resources Committee for consideration at their meeting on 20 October 2021.