Unspent £3.35m Covid fund to be spent on education, mental health and employment support across Rotherham

Local authorities across the country received money from the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund.

Rotherham received £8.6m, with £3.3m left over, to be used to “help reduce the spread of coronavirus and support public health activities with the latter being left to the judgement of Local Authorities in conjunction with their Director of Public Health”.

A report to Rotherham Council’s cabinet proposes where the cash should be spent.

A total of £350,000 will be set aside for educational initiatives, including support for disadvantaged pupils, reading programmes in schools, and “education recovery activity” for SEND students.

And £117,000 will fund an online counselling service for young people, with a further £133,000 will be used for “additional opportunities for young people who have lost out through Covid-19.”

And it is not just youngsters who will benefit – £340,000 may be set aside to help people into work through training schemes, CV and education support, and a money advice project to help residents with their finances.

An additional three mental health support workers could also be funded until March 2022, if the report is approved at the next cabinet meeting on August 16.