Councils offered hope over financial future

COUNCILS should have confidence they will be in “good financial health” by March 2021, the Communities Secretary has claimed.

Robert Jenrick told MPS he is working with Chancellor Rishi Sunak over the issue of tax losses for local authorities.

Labour’s Clive Efford (Eltham) warned councils face a multi-billion pound deficit as a result of Covid19 response costs.

Concerns have also been expressed about income loss from council tax and business rates.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Jenrick said: “We said at the outset of the crisis that we would ensure councils have the resources they need and it’s exactly what we’re doing.

“We’ve now brought forward over £4 billion for Covid-related expenditure.

“We’ve also created the income guarantee of 75p in the pound for lost income on sales fees and charges.

“And I’m working with the Chancellor with respect to tax losses, so councils have the confidence to move forwards and end the financial year in good financial health.”

Mr Jenrick also said a further package of support could be made available to help leisure centres not owned or operated by local authorities.

He said the income guarantee scheme applied to council-run or operated facilities.

He went on: “I appreciate there are many leisure centres which are not owned and operated by local councils and I’m working with the Culture Secretary (Oliver Dowden) to see what further package of support we might be able to bring forward to assist.”

For Labour, shadow communities secretary Steve Reed earlier warned councils “still face a funding gap”, adding that they would be “forced to make severe cuts to plug this gap”.