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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support district councils in their response to the covid-19 outbreak.

On 2 July the Secretary of State announced a further £500 million in unringfenced grant funding for councils to meet pressures they are facing in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This unprecedented package of support includes £4.3 billion of support for councils’ spending pressures, comprising £3.7 billion of unringfenced grants and the £600 million Infection Control Fund, bringing the total amount of additional support for councils, businesses and local communities to almost £28 billion.

The Government is also meeting 75p in the pound of lost income such as parking fees and museum entry charges, where that loss of income is more than a council could have been expected to plan for. For many councils, this will be a significant portion of the income lost as a result of the pandemic, particularly where these income streams make up a disproportionate portion of income relative to the size of the authority.

I have heard from many district councils, and the District Councils’ Network, and can offer the reassurance?that our aim is that all councils will be funded for their Covid-19 pressures and placed on a stable financial footing.

Across all three tranches of funding, 86 per cent of Districts have received more than £1 million in support. Individual allocations of the latest £500 million can be found on the Gov.uk website.