Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to devolve decision-making on local COVID-19 restrictions to local government; and if they have any such plans, whether district councils in two-tier local government areas will be included in the bodies making those decisions.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Central Government is working closely with local areas through the Joint Biosecurity Centre, NHS Test and Trace and Public Health England to support local decision-making and keep Ministers updated on outbreaks. Under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No.3) Regulations 2020 which came into force on 18 July, local authorities have new powers to impose restrictions in respect of venues, events and public outdoor places. These powers are in addition to the existing powers they have under diverse legislation such as public health, health and safety and environmental health laws. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care retains the ability to direct local authorities to take action, and to consider whether any use of these new powers is appropriate. Where more restrictive powers are needed, this will be a matter for Ministers. At every step, central Government will remain integral to the response and will ensure it is appropriate to protect the public.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support district councils respond to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
My Department has been working closely with district councils and sector representing organisations throughout the response to this crisis to understand the challenges they face. We also recognise the excellent work already being done up and down the country by all councils to support their communities during the crisis.
On 16 July 2020, my Department confirmed allocations for individual councils from the £500 million of additional support for coronavirus related spending pressures. The funding has been distributed between district and county councils to reflect the pressures they have reported. This is in addition to the £3.2 billion announced in April, taking the total given to councils to help their communities through the crisis to over £3.7 billion in unringfenced funding, an unprecedented level of additional financial support in recent times.
We have a number of established engagement channels in place to help ensure effective communication, feedback and information sharing and to provide support and latest guidance for councils;
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the financial sustainability of district councils.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Councils across the country are supporting communities, protecting the most vulnerable and helping the NHS in our efforts to combat Covid-19. In order to meet additional cost pressures, the Secretary of State announced further measures as part of a comprehensive package on 2 July. The package included an additional £500 million of support for councils for the coming weeks and months of recovery. This is in addition to the £3.2 billion already announced, taking the total unringfenced funding given to councils to help with the additional costs of coronavirus to over £3.7 billion. In total the Government has provided £5 billion in cashflow measures and almost £28 billion in additional funding for local communities, to ensure they can meet the unique pressures that the Covid-19 pandemic has placed upon them.
The Secretary of State has also announced measures to address lost income, including:
These measures amount to a comprehensive package of support. We will continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on local government.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer (b) District Councils’ Network on the Government’s plan to tackle the financial challenges faced by (i) borough and (ii) district local authorities.
Answered by Simon Clarke
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. Our unprecedented package includes £4.3 billion 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 result of the pandemic, particularly where these income streams make up a disproportionate portion of income relative to the size of the authority.
I regularly speak to the District Councils’ Network and individual councils. I 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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
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.
Answered by Simon Clarke
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the District Councils’ Network on the Government’s plan to tackle the financial challenges faced by district councils as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
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.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the adequacy of funding for district councils.
Answered by Simon Clarke
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.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to provide support to district councils in two-tier local authority areas that are facing reductions in income and increases in expenditure as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Allocations of the additional £1.6 billion support for councils to respond to coronavirus were announced on Tuesday 28 April. This is an unprecedented package of support which responds to the range of pressures councils have told us they are facing and takes the total amount provided to local councils to over £3.2 billion. Across both waves of funding, almost 70 per cent of district councils will receive £1 million or more in support, whilst 90 per cent of the funding will go to social care authorities.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure the allocation of the additional £1.6 billion support for local authorities is adequate for borough councils in two-tier systems.
Answered by Simon Clarke
MHCLG continues to work with local agencies, including local authorities, on their preparedness to manage a Covid-19 outbreak.
Allocations of the additional £1.6 billion support for councils to respond to coronavirus were announced on Tuesday 28 April. This is a significant package of support which responds to the range of pressures councils have told us they are facing and takes the total amount provided to local councils to over £3.2 billion. Across both waves of funding, almost 70 per cent of district councils will receive £1 million or more in support, whilst 90 per cent of the funding will go to social care authorities. These allocations provide more funding to lower tier authorities than the first wave of funding.