Leaders say support for firms must speed up
COUNCIL leaders have said financial support promised to businesses closed down as a result of the county’s current Tier 3 Covid restrictions needs to be sped up - with a warning that some firms cannot wait any longer for the help.
It is three weeks since a series of tortuous negotiations between Lancashire’s political leaders and the government saw the county secure £30m in funding to aid those firms forced to shut and others affected by the closures.
However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed that the money has not yet been received by local authorities - while the government awaits a consensus among council leaders about how it is shared between them.
It is understood that Lancashire’s 15 council leaders agreed by a majority last week that the cash should be split on the basis of the number of residents living in each area - a so-called “per capita” distribution. That would see Hyndburn receive around £1.4m.
However, some authorities are thought to have wanted the payouts to reflect the fact that certain parts of the county have more businesses of the type closed under Tier 3 - including non-food pubs and bars - and for the funding to be weighted accordingly.
Hyndburn’s Labour leader Miles Parkinson said it was “not a good place to be” that Lancashire had still not begun the process of splitting up the cash so long after it was agreed.
The Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government did not respond to a request for comment.