FINALLY...
but it shouldn’t have taken this long PRIME MINISTER CONFIRMS £24M PAYOUT OVER ARENA ATROCITY
THE Prime Minister has confirmed £24m in funding to pay for the ‘exceptional’ response of public services in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack.
Late last year, the Manchester Evening News joined politicians in pushing the government to commit funding following the atrocity on May 22 after it announced no cash had been promised six months after the blast.
In November the government confirmed it would be providing the funding. A £24m package has now been agreed – around £350,000 short of the total amount needed. Nearly £10m will refund Greater Manchester Police for extra staffing and other pressures following the atrocity.
Around £4m will go to the region’s hospitals and its ambulance service, while £2m will fund mental health support.
The government is also to cover the full costs of upcoming coroner’s hearings – money Manchester council would otherwise have had to find, expected to amount to more than £5m.
An extra £451,000 will be provided in extra social care funding, alongside an £80,000 pot for small businesses affected by the blast – and a further £1m to the We Love Manchester emergency fund.
At the same time Marketing Manchester, the city’s tourist agency, has been handed £250,000 to help promote the region as a destination.
Prime Minister Theresa May said the city’s ‘strength and resilience captured the nation.’
“Nowhere was this more apparent than at the One Love Concert and city vigils where people joined together not only in grief, but to demonstrate to terrorists that they will never win,” she added.
“We were clear immediately following the attack, just as we are now, that the government will do everything it can to respond to the needs of victims of terror.”
Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “Manchester’s public services, including the council, responded magnificently to a terrible set of circumstances in the aftermath of the May 22 attack.
“Inevitably, this response incurred significant costs and it is only right and proper that – as they promised at the time – the government should pick up these costs rather than the people of Manchester having to do so.
“Manchester has been unstinting in its calls to the government to recognise its commitment.
“While we welcome the fact that they have gone a large way towards addressing this, it is disappointing that they have not reimbursed the full costs incurred by the council as a result of this horrific event.”
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said ‘important outstanding issues’ remained, which he and Sir Richard will ‘seek to resolve with the government.’