Eddisbury MP welcomes extra £5.4 million for two Cheshire councils to support local services during coronavirus

Edward Timpson MP has welcomed the announcement that two Cheshire councils will receive a further £5.4 million from the Government to help pay for their response to coronavirus, as part of a £500 million package of additional support.

The extra £500 million—which brings support for pressures they are facing to £4.3 billion—will ensure councils in England can continue to deliver crucial frontline services, support those most in need and continue delivering for residents.

In total, since the pandemic began, the two councils will have now received an additional £44 million. This additional support forms part of a comprehensive package of Government support to help councils respond to the pandemic, including an unprecedented new scheme to help councils recover lost income, including from car parks and museums that have been shut during the lockdown.

In addition, the Government has announced a co-payment scheme that will compensate councils for irrecoverable income losses from sales, fees and charges.

Edward Timpson said:

“The staff at Cheshire East and Cheshire West & Chester Councils have played a sterling role in coordinating the local response to coronavirus, and I’m sure everyone in our community will join me in thanking them for everything they’ve done under extraordinary circumstances.

“The Government said at the beginning of this crisis that they would stand behind our councils, and I’m delighted that they have done, protecting local services and ensuring local authorities come through this difficult period with stable finances.

“This additional £5.4 million shows they’ve continued to listen to local concerns and will protect the local services in Eddisbury on which we all rely.”

Communities Secretary, the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, added:

“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.”

The Government is supporting council finances during coronavirus:

•           Covering local authorities’ Covid-related expenditure. The additional £500 million announced on 2 July brings total funding given to support local councils during coronavirus to £4.3 billion. We recognise that councils are best placed to decide how to meet pressures in their local area, which is why this £500 million was not been ringfenced.

•           Establishing a major new scheme to reimburse councils for lost income, helping them with their cashflow. Where losses are more than 5 per cent of a council’s planned income from sales, fees and charges, the Government will cover them for 75p in every pound lost.

•           Supporting councils with irrecoverable tax losses. An apportionment of irrecoverable Council Tax and Business Rates losses between central and local government will be agreed at the Spending Review. The repayment of collection fund deficits arising in 2020-21, will be spread over the next three years rather than the usual period of a year, giving councils breathing space in setting budgets for next year.

•           Giving councils billions in financial relief, to help with their cashflow during this difficult period. We enabled councils to defer £2.6 billion in business rates payments to the government and brought forward care grant payments worth £850 million, paying them in a lump sum to provide immediate support for frontline social care services and ease pressures on council’s finances.

•           Providing over £27 billion since the start of the pandemic to support councils and communities through Covid-19. In addition to direct support for local authorities, including support for social care, we’ve provided discretionary local authority grants, £9.7 billion in business rates reliefs for hard hit sectors, a £500 million council tax hardship fund and £12.3 billion in small business grants.