Allocations of the £500m for councils for Coronavirus costs: CCN response

Today the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government has published the allocations of tranche three of its grant funding to councils to address the additional costs of providing Coronavirus.

CCN member councils will recieve 33% of the total £500m allocated today.

The government has yet to reveal the full details of its compensation scheme for councils in terms of lost income from fees and charges.

Below, the County Councils Network responds to the allocations announcement.

Cllr Carl Les, finance spokesperson for the County Councils Network, 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 had 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 from sales, 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.”