British city hit by virus makes plea to PM Johnson for lifeline
London: Liverpool made a desperate plea to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a financial lifeline to cope with COVID-19 epidemic.
In a direct letter to 10 Downing Street, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and the six city and borough political leaders warned that recovery from the local health, economic and social crisis caused by COVID-19 represents the greatest challenge for the area since 1945.
“With only 100 million pounds (FJ$ 274.31m) allocated so far from the central government, concern is growing that local authorities here are staring into a funding black-hole of almost a quarter of a billion pounds (FJ$6.69m),” the report alerted.
Longstanding health inequalities in the Liverpool area mean residents are significantly prone to the physical and financial impacts of COVID-19, the report said.
“This is expenditure that we haven’t made by choice, but by necessity. We are putting food on the table for families who would otherwise go hungry, housing the homeless, co-ordinating a massive volunteer response, supporting those who are out of work due to the crisis, supplying PPE to our frontline workers and care homes, keeping transport running for essential journeys and doing everything we can to help local businesses stay afloat,” said Rotheram.
“For an area still fighting its way through funding cuts, whilst managing higher levels of deprivation and illness than other areas in the UK, it is a monumental task,” the mayor added.
Mr Rotheram said the sums of money involved are a stark indication of the devastating impact of COVID-19 on communities in the Liverpool area.