£5m COVID-19 recovery package proposed for district

The wide proposals include new measures to support reskilling people whose jobs have been hit. Nearly 44,000 workers in Rotherham have been furloughed during the pandemic.

The council’s Cabinet will meet to discuss the plans on 16 August.

Councillor Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said: “The Covid pandemic is not over yet but we know that even when it is, the damage it has wreaked will be felt by the people of Rotherham for many years to come – whether that’s through the loss of loved ones, impact on physical and mental health, financial problems, redundancy or impact on life chances.

“Phase one of our recovery plan for Rotherham aims to provide the support many people of all ages will need to reset, recover and restart over the next seven months.

“With so many people impacted by Covid, we have to be careful to target it at people with the most pressing needs – including children and young people, homeless people, people who care for others, people who have lost their jobs and people suffering mental health problems.

“This is the start of a long road to recovery and there is still more we have to do – as a council and a community – to deal with the on-going impact and legacy of Covid-19 on our residents.”

If approved, the funding would be provided from the Community Outbreak Management Fund (COMF).

This would bring the council’s total Covid response spend through COMF in 2020/21 and 2021/22 to more than £10m.