Gravesham council has paid out more than £19million in government grants to support businesses during the pandemic.

A report put before the council's cabinet this week showed a total £19,346,599 had been paid - £15,229,000 during the first phase of lockdown and a further £4,117,598 paid since the start of November.

In comes in the same week it was revealed council's around Kent have been forced to draw on £35million in reserve funds to help them through the pandemic.

In Gravesham, cabinet members were provided with a detailed summary of the council's response to the pandemic, including its support of vulnerable people, interaction with external agencies, allocation of business grants, approach to rough sleepers, council tax support and approach to social media and communications.

The report states that by the end of the first lockdown period in July 2020, 5,214 vulnerable residents were directly supported by the council, with 11,491 phone calls made and 592 door knocks carried out where contact was not possible.

The council also worked with a number of partners and agencies to ensure the provision of services, forging new partnerships with The Foodbanks at the Hive and Riverside, the North West Kent Volunteer Centre and Council for Voluntary Services, and Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Between March-June 2020, the council’s Customer Services Team responded to 1,460 calls to the council’s dedicated COVID support line and 2,750 e-mails to the dedicated COVID inbox, as well as delivering 161 food parcels to residents in need.

The report also states Covid-19 has seen a "major culture-shift for the council with a significant proportion of officers now working from home", and members changing the way in which they work with the introduction of virtual meetings.

Summarising the response it adds: "the outcomes of the various strands of the review have demonstrated that the council has taken a very proactive approach to the pandemic and this continues to be at the forefront of thinking for Members, Management Team and council officers. The findings from this review have helped to inform processes and procedures which have had to continue to be used in response to the ongoing pandemic.

"At the time of writing, as there continue to be encouraging signs that the worst of the pandemic is now behind us, the Council’s attentions have increasingly been turning to recovery actions in order to support the community, local businesses and the Borough more generally."

It states recovery actions will be the subject of separate reports but include initiatives such as the Economic Stimulus package announced alongside the Council’s annual budget, and the Kickstart employment programme for young people within the Borough.

Read the full report here on the council's website.

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