Government money allocated to Shropshire Council to help meet the costs of the coronavirus pandemic is not enough, the authority’s chief executive has warned.
The council has been allocated £8.95 million out of £1.6 billion the government pledged earlier this month to support local government through the crisis.
This is on top of £8.97 million awarded out of the first £1.6 billion announced in March, bringing the council’s total to £17.92 billion.
But Karen Bradshaw, interim acting chief executive, said the money would not cover all of the council’s additional outgoings and income loss as a result of the virus outbreak.
She has pledged to push the government for more money in order to avoid cuts having to be made to services.
Ms Bradshaw said: “We welcome the additional funding from the government, but our early estimates of additional costs and loss of income due to the coronavirus pandemic currently exceed the total amount of funding that has been awarded to Shropshire Council.
“We will continue to deliver services and provide support to the vulnerable, communities and the economy, but will continue to lobby government for sufficient funding to cover the cost and impact of COVID-19 in Shropshire, most notably in the areas of adult and children’s social care.”
The financial impact of coronavirus on councils is down to additional work being undertaken including getting rough sleepers off the streets, supporting clinically vulnerable people and providing assistance to the public health workforce. Meanwhile councils are suffering from significant loss of income from car parks and areas including leisure services and museums.
The council’s finance boss has estimated the financial hit to be around £20 million, but said the true cost will not be known for some time.
James Walton, director of finance, governance and assurance, said: “We are pleased that the government recognises that significant financial implications are falling on local government as a result of our actions to help manage the pandemic, although it is far too early to estimate with any certainty what the final cost to Shropshire Council will be.”
The government has confirmed the funding will not be ringfenced, saying councils are best placed to decide how to meet pressures in their local area.
The funding has been distributed between councils based on their population and the latest assessment on the challenges they are facing.
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