Money from Dundee’s historic Common Good Fund could be targeted at supporting covid recovery in the city’s communities over the next year, if a report is agreed on Monday April 26.
Councillors are being asked to back a report that would mean £87,000 would be available for one-off investments in projects across the city.
For 2021/22 it is proposed that projects should have a focus on pandemic recovery within the city.
Of the total £110,000 available for the next year, initial allocations would be made of £20,000 to the Festive Fund; £1,500 to the Blood Transfusion Service and £1,500 to the Festival of Remembrance Service.
The balance would then be available for applications to come forward, which would be assessed through a Dundee Partnership process.
Examples of organisations which received funding last year include Bottom of the Hill Focus Group, Unicorn Preservation Society, Dundee Independent Advocacy Support, Lochee Community Group and Dundee Thegither. A full list is available in the report here
The policy and resources committee will hear that the Common Good Fund stretches back to the creation of Burghs as trading counties. A Burgh became a trading county when the King licensed that Burgh to have markets, and at that time a Burgh Fund was set up and is now referred to as the Common Good Fund.
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 stated that the then district council must “have regard to all inhabitants of the district” when administering the fund.
Lord Provost Ian Borthwick said: “The Common Good Fund has a long history of supporting people in communities across the city. We are keen that this year, the funding can be used as part of process of community recovery from the pandemic.
“This has been an especially tough time for people and we will be keen to hear from groups and organisations looking to assist on the ground. We will make sure that the application process is publicised widely when it goes live.”
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
