Council challenge

Town halls need ‘ safety net’

IT WAS a sobering reminder about the virulence of Covid- 19 that this country’s death toll surpassed 50,000 on the day Britain fell silent to mark the Armistice and, in a poignant coincidence of timing, the centenary of the Unknown Warrior’s burial in Westminster Abbey.

Though the current enemy is an invisible one, it is wreaking havoc on the lives and livelihoods of so many people and it is taking a collective effort, and much sacrifice by businesses and individuals, to try and suppress the spread of the virus.

And while this is placing the Government’s finances under unprecedented strain, it’s also important that the Treasury recognises – as a one- off in this month’s Spending Review – the immense ongoing pressures facing town halls across the region and beyond.

Some were edging towards the possibility of bankruptcy before the pandemic and few will be surprised by the warning by the County Councils Network that just one in five of England’s largest councils are confident of setting a balanced budget next year without dramatic reductions to frontline services.

All authorities are in a similar position – Halifax MP Holly Lynch has warned that Calderdale Council is facing a £ 15m deficit from Covid once Government grants are factor into the equation – and the value attached to local services, and supporting the vulnerable, is epitomised by the widespread public support for footballer Marcus Rashford’s agendasetting campaign on child food poverty. Given this, the Treasury risks a political own goal of its own if it does not acknowledge the difficulties facing councils in the Spending Review.