Decision details

The Director of Public Health has identified community engagement, including the network of volunteer hubs as having an important role in local preparedness and resilience in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The network of engagement will support and coordinate volunteering, including local welfare support, amplify campaign messaging and support outbreak management. The network will further strengthen our local eyes and ears for prevention and response, Consistent and regular public communication is essential in both preventing and managing local outbreaks of Covid -19. The engagement network will work closely with the Director of Public Health and the Bristol Public Health Team.
Funding is from the ring fenced Outbreak Management (Test and Trace Fund) and will pay for communications, campaigns and public messaging to support outbreak prevention and outbreak control.
The Outbreak Management Fund is a ring fenced grant to be used for the specific purpose of managing the local response to Covid-19, as described in the Local Outbreak Management Plan
The Director of Public Health, with the Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for advising the authority in relation to the Outbreak Management Plan and associated funding.

To use funding from the ring fenced Outbreak Management (Test and Trace Fund) to pay for communications, campaigns and public messaging to support outbreak prevention and outbreak control.

Consideration was given as to whether or not to invest in community engagement and volunteer hubs. However it is widely recognised that community response is essential to privation and response. Investing now will support the excellent work which has been developed over the past few months during lockdown, and to build on and strengthen this