The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has confirmed allocations for the £500m additional funding for councils announced earlier this month (July 2).
Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that an additional £500m would be given to support councils, as well as measures to ease financial pressures.
The distribution break-down has been calculated based on levels of population and deprivation in the area, as well as reflectiing the cost of services in different parts of the country.
Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
“Councils are playing a vital role in our national fight against coronavirus, providing a lifeline for so many and supporting communities at a time when they need it most.
“That’s why we are giving them an extra £500 million – taking our total additional funding provided to £4.3 billion – and today I am setting out how this will be allocated to councils fairly based on the pressures they have told us they are facing.
“This comes on top of the co-payment scheme announced last week that will compensate councils for irrecoverable income losses from sales, fees and charges.”
Included in the £500m breakdown, listed on the Government website, the Department for Education will use £6m to support the small number of councils facing cost pressures with regard to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children.
In this third tranche of funding, Birmingham has received the biggest portion of funding with £13,968,987, followed by Kent with £10,312,480 and Essex with £9,181,359.
Responding to the allocation, Cllr Carl Les, County Councils Network Spokesperson for Finance, said:
“The extra £500m provided by the government to councils is a vital piece of support that will help meet the additional costs of Coronavirus being borne by county authorities. The latest Delta returns showed that our member councils account for 39% of cost pressures facing the sector this year. Across the three tranches of funding counties have received 36% of the total, with the last two announcements being slightly below what we hoped for.
“While any additional funding is very welcome, county authorities will still have a gap between their estimated cost pressures for the remainder of this year compared to the grants they have received so far. In particular, there will be major additional costs coming further down the line in adult social care, children’s services, and school transport so further funding will be needed.
“We await the publication of the detail for the government’s compensation scheme for lost income in council fees and charges. However it is crucial the government brings forward an ‘income guarantee’ for lost council tax and business rate income, which pose the largest financial risk to councils over the coming period. We are confident that the Secretary of State Robert Jenrick is monitoring the situation closely and we are grateful to him for listening to our concerns.”
Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA Images
