Council get cash to ease budget loss due to Covid

MORE than half a million pounds has been given to Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to help it over money lost due to Covid-19.

It will receive £639,000 as part of £1 billion of additional support announced by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The winter windfall is not ringfenced, which means it can be spent on anything.

It is no secret that the pandemic has hit the council hard and, at one point, the impact totalled an incredible £3.6m in losses.

Previously, the government had given almost £1.5m to help and some savings were made, but there is still a shortfall and more cash could be needed depending on how badly the second wave of the virus hits the local economy.

Brent Davis, executive director at the Town Hall, welcomed the cash injection, but said it was too early to say what the latest funding would be used for.

“The government’s allocation of an additional £639,000 of nonringfenced Covid-19 funding is clearly welcome news,” Mr Davis said.

“While it will help the Borough Council deal with both the additional costs and reduced levels of income resulting from Covid-19, at the moment it is unclear exactly what the overall effects of Covid 19, and in particular a possible second wave of infection, will be on service delivery and demand for2020/21 and beyond.

“It is not possible to identify at this point in time precisely what the extra funding will need to be used for.”

Nuneaton’s MP Marcus Jones said he hoped that the Town Hall would be able to make good use of the money. “This is really positive news, the government have clearly understood the challenges that local authorities have faced from the loss of income during the pandemic, which threatens to impact the provision of council services,” he said. “This money is unringfenced so it can be spent on any purpose that the council see fit and I hope that it will be wisely spent to the benefit of local residents.”