Herts County Council has drawn up a £9.6m 'recovery' strategy to support residents and businesses across the county including Hitchin in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

While vaccination rates may be high and hospital admissions low, estimates suggest that as many as 40,000 Hertfordshire residents could be suffering from 'long Covid'.

And up to 200,000 residents – that's one in six – are likely to have a mental health concern arising from the pandemic.

In addition, children are still catching up after a year in and out of the classroom – with referrals to children's services increasing.

And referrals to the county's 'money advice unit' point to growing levels of economic hardship.

The 'Covid Recovery Strategy', drawn up by the county council, brings together a series of projects designed to support health and well-being and economic recovery over the next two years.

The strategy – which will need the approval of a future meeting of the cabinet – was outlined to a meeting of the county council's resources and performance cabinet pane on Monday (July 5).

And in a statement issued after the cabinet panel meeting on Monday, executive member for resources and performance Cllr Bob Deering said: "We have seen the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on our residents, we've witnessed the disruption to education, and we know there is increased demand across social care.

"We have to take action now to address these issues before they take on even more significance which is why we have established this crucial fund.

"We want Hertfordshire to be a county where people have the opportunity to live healthy, fulfilling lives in thriving, prosperous communities, and supporting our residents as we recover from the pandemic is key to ensuring this continues to be the case.

"As part of Covid recovery, we will continue to progress towards achieving this vision, acknowledging the good practice prior to the pandemic, but also building on new ways of working, delivering services and maintaining close engagement with local communities."

According to the report to the cabinet panel, over the two-year period £3.263m of the overall recovery fund will be allocated to adult care services projects and £3m to children's services.

A further £2.2m will be allocated to 'Building Life Chances', which is designed to tackle the impact on families – including family incomes.

There is an additional £680,000 allocated to 'environment and infrastucture' projects and £60,000 to community protection.

Councillors will also be allocated additional funds – totalling £390,000 – to directly support projects that promote social, economic or environmental well-being in their local divisions.

A breakdown of the strategy shows that as part of the £3m allocated to children's services projects, there is £1.27m to support schools with 'educational recovery activities' and mental health support.

There is £200,000 a year for enhanced support for vulnerable families through family centres, £100,000 a year to support new parents who were formerly in 'care', £100,000 a year for 'care' leavers apprenticeships and a further £100,00 a year to look at youth employment.

The £3.263m adult care services allocation includes £500,000 to counter domestic abuse and violence against women.

And there are also projects to support the carers of vulnerable adults and residents with learning disabilities and autism.

In addition, the £2.2m 'Building Life Chances' initiative will include crisis intervention funding, community projects and financial advice.

It will include £500,000 to support informal youth activities, £228,000 to support 'lockdown babies' and projects £340,000 for projects focussed on fuel and food poverty.

There are also £440,000 plans to extend the SaverCard scheme – providing half price discount on bus travel – to include 20 to 25-year-olds and for the introduction of 'smart ticketing'.

Meanwhile the report to the cabinet panel also highlighted the £144m that had already spent on the immediate response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the county.