£10.5m boost to help support services

Council chiefs have welcomed a £10.5million boost in funding from the Government to help tackle pressures stemming from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Government announced £1.6billion of additional funding for local government sectors to help them respond to Covid-19.

Sunderland City Council has been allocated a £10.5million slice of the funding as part of efforts to support adult social care and other service areas.

The £10,592,357 sum is the second-highest allocation in the North East behind Durham County Council, which is set to receive around £18.5 million.

It is hoped that taking some pressure off front-line services could help free up bed space and capacity in the region’s hospitals dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak. Cabinet Secretary Councillor Paul Stewart, said the extra funding would help the council meet local challenges.

“By allocating this additional funding, the city council has more financial resources to meet the challenges our city and its residents are facing with Covid-19,” he said.

“As is set out in the guidance, there is the immediate and continuing social care response – as well as its increasing demand.

“The funding will help address shortfalls in income and all the support we are putting in place for our residents and businesses.”

The Government Budget included a £5billion ‘Covid-19 Response Fund’ to help manage public service pressures from the virus – about a third directed to councils.