LGA responds to expansion of testing to council workers

Responding to the letter from Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick to councils on COVID-19 testing for local government key workers, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“Councils want to continue playing a leading role in supporting local communities and the national effort to defeat this disease. As the Secretary of State rightly points out, council staff are doing an amazing job to protect the most vulnerable and keep services running.

“Social care staff, those working with vulnerable children and adults, homelessness support services and many others working in councils need to be able to stay on the frontline to help those most in need during this pandemic. Expanding testing to all local government workers is an essential part of this.

“The Government’s testing regime should also be complemented by making use of existing local knowledge and skills on the ground.

“Where councils do help test those with COVID-19, any demand on existing services would need to be met by additional resources and funding. We look forward to working with the Government on the detail.”