Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed today that councils across England will have access to £51.3 billion next year.
This represents a £2.3 billion increase on this year, including access to an extra £1 billion for social care to help support vulnerable adults and children.
The funding package gives councils the resources they need to continue to deliver services and support their communities during the pandemic, while protecting council taxpayers from excessive increases.
It will also enable councils to play a crucial role in the nation’s recovery in helping schools and local businesses to reopen safely and support the most vulnerable.
Final allocations for the £670 million fund to enable councils to continue reducing council tax bills for those least able to pay have also been confirmed, which will help households impacted financially by the pandemic.
This is above the usual council tax support available for councils each year.
Mr Jenrick has also extended the scheme that compensates councils for income lost during the pandemic from services including car parks, leisure facilities and museums until June 2021.
This follows £1.55 billion of unringfenced funding which was announced in November to help councils continue to support their communities during the pandemic.
This means a further £3 billion of additional support for councils to deal with the pandemic in 2021-22 has been confirmed, taking the total overall amount of pandemic support to over £11 billion.
Commenting, Mr Jenrick said: “Councils have played a key role during the pandemic by delivering vital services and supporting the most vulnerable backed with over £8 billion of emergency support from government to date.
“I am pleased to confirm a £51 billion funding package for next year that increases funding for social care and other vital services by £2.3 billion. We are also giving councils an additional £3 billion boost to the level of Covid support available.
“This is a fair and generous settlement that gives councils the resources they need to continue to deliver important services and support their communities while protecting council tax payers from excessive increases.”
