Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what fiscal steps he is taking to support (a) Stoke-on-Trent City Council, (b) Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and (c) Staffordshire County Council during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has made a commitment to support all authorities with the additional cost pressures from the extra work and the specific tasks we have asked them to carry out as a result of the pandemic, including in relation to social care – both adult and children’s, public health services, shielding the most vulnerable, homelessness and rough sleeping, supporting the NHS and managing excess deaths.

The £3.2 billion package of support, which has distributed £16.1 million to Stoke-on-Trent, £1.4 million to Newcastle-under-Lyme and £37.8 million to Staffordshire, recognises the additional costs and pressures on finances councils are facing as a result of the current crisis. It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to making sure all councils have the resources they need to support their communities through this challenging time. This is a significant package of support which responds to the range of pressures councils have told us they are facing.