Chamber and committees

Dundee City Council has received £999,000 in Scottish Government capital funding through the Town Centre Fund. The council received £735,000 from the initial 2019-20 fund, and a further £264,000 in 2020-21 as part of the Return to Work economic recovery stimulus package announced in June 2020 to support local construction and boost jobs.

In 2020-2021 we have invested the following funding to drugs services and projects in Dundee:

• £4,366,586 to NHS Tayside covering Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Angus to support the delivery of alcohol and drug services
• £498,274 to Dundee City from the Programme for Government Local Improvement Fund
• £256,859 to Dundee City from the Programme for Government to support the 6 priorities of the Drug Deaths Taskforce
• £256,859 to Dundee based projects delivered by third-sector organisations through the Programme for Government challenge fund
• £153,980 to Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership from the additional £5 million funding announced for this financial year by the First Minister
• £130,764 to the University of Dundee from the Drugs Deaths Taskforce Research Fund

We have declared that a national mission is required to tackle drug-related death and have committed additional funding of £50 million per year over the next session of parliament.

Details of funding to NHS Boards can be found here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/alcohol-and-drug-partnerships-funding-allocations/

Details of Dundee’s additional Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) allocation can be found here - Alcohol and drug partnerships: additional funding 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Dundee is home to a world-class conference and events sector which, prior to the pandemic, brought a range of social and economic benefits to the city. We recognise the impact that COVID-19 restrictions are having on our vital events sector and will do everything we can to support and protect their valuable contribution. We have already allocated £31.5 m to support events businesses. As we move towards reopening we will work with public health colleagues and the Events Industry Advisory Group to enable the sector to reopen safely and sustainably as part of Dundee and Scotland’s recovery.

The following table shows the number of properties in Dundee receiving rates relief of 100% or less in each year since 2016-17.

Property-level data for 2017-18 is not available. The data includes all reliefs e.g. the Small Business Bonus Scheme, charitable rates relief; empty property relief; retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation relief, etc. 100% rates relief includes both single reliefs, as well as combinations of two or more reliefs summing to 100%.

Please note that these figures relate to properties, rather than businesses, as one business can occupy multiple properties.

It is anticipated that 5,422 eligible children and young people will benefit from the two new £100 Family Pandemic Payments in the Dundee City Council area, with an estimated £1.08 million to be made in awards. This estimate is based on the reported number of COVID Winter Hardship Payments issued, which, as of 5 February, were paid for 144,128 eligible children and young people across Scotland.

The first Family Pandemic Payment will be made around summer 2021, with the second payment made around Christmas 2021. The date for each round of payments will be confirmed following further discussion with COSLA and will be published on mygov.scot in due course.

Social Security Scotland was established in September 2018.

The number of carers in receipt of Carer's Allowance Supplement in Dundee City by financial year are:

The Scottish Government has provided a combined total of over £1 billion to support communities through the pandemic. This includes more than £550 million delivered through the Communities Funding Package. This investment has been allocated across councils, local services and directly to community and third sector organisations for a range of initiatives supporting those in need.

Investment for community groups and third sector organisations working locally in our communities has been delivered through a range of funds including the Third Sector Resilience Fund, Wellbeing Fund, Supporting Communities Fund and the Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme, which is being supported with a further £14 million in 2021-22. Details of these programmes and the type of support they delivered are available on the SCVO website at Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub – SCVO . Scottish Government worked with SCVO to develop the Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub supporting community groups with a single point of access for information and guidance about the pandemic and the funding available.

Further information on the distribution of the investment delivered through the Community Funding Package is available on the Community Mapping tool at: Community Funding Mapping (arcgis.com)

This additional investment has been made over and above the existing programmes supporting community-led regeneration and support for the third sector including the Empowering Communities Programme and the new £30 million Third Sector Growth Fund, announced on 21 March. The Investing in Communities Fund, part of the Empowering Communities Programme has provided essential flexibility for organisations throughout the pandemic to meet the needs of their communities and will continue to support community groups as we emerge and recover. It enables communities to decide on their own terms how to address local challenges, supporting community engagement, participation and empowerment for example through Participatory Budgeting. The Third Sector Growth Fund will focus on those organisations with the potential to grow, contributing to jobs and making a positive contribution in our communities as we go into a period of recovery.

Our Place Based Investment Programme will build on the strong partnership approach of the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and the Town Centre Fund supported with £325 million over the next five years. This capital programme will be a key mechanism in tackling inequality and disadvantage and supporting renewal and recovery in our communities. The Programme, working with COSLA and Local Authorities, will contribute to delivering our joint ambitions for net zero, wellbeing and inclusive economic development, 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, town centres, the place principle, and community involvement and ownership.

On 18 March, the COSLA President and I issued a joint statement on progress with the Local Governance Review. The statement is accompanied by new Democracy Matters material. This outlines how ambitious new community decision-making arrangements, with potentially significant powers and resources, could work in practice.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-governance-review-joint-statement-2/

The latest published data, obtained from the Pupil Census 2020 Supplementary Statistics, shows that there were 10,330 children registered on the rolls of all primary schools across the Dundee City Council area.

All children who are registered on the rolls of local authority run or grant-maintained primary schools within the Dundee City Council area, and across all of Scotland, will automatically become entitled to receive universal free school meals once the proposed expansion of universal free school meals to include all primary school children is introduced.