Northumberland’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Nick Oliver has welcomed the announcement that Northumberland will receive a further £2.7 million from the Government to help pay for its response to coronavirus, as part of a £500 million package of additional support.

The extra £500 million – which brings support for pressures they are facing to £4.3 billion – will ensure councils in England can continue to deliver crucial frontline services, support those most in need and continue delivering for residents.

In total, since the pandemic began, Northumberland will have now received an additional £2.8 million. This additional support forms part of a comprehensive package of Government support to help councils respond to the pandemic, including an unprecedented new scheme to help councils recover lost income, including from car parks and museums, which have been shut during the lockdown.

In addition, the Government has announced a co-payment scheme that will compensate councils for irrecoverable income losses from sales, fees and charges. And to enable them to get on the front foot and build much-needed breathing space into their budgets, the Government is also allowing them to spread their tax deficits over three years rather than the usual one. This will allow authorities to pay deficits off in a reasonable timescale and will limit their cashflow pressures.

Commenting, Cllr Oliver said:

“The staff at Northumberland have played a heroic role in coordinating the local response to Coronavirus and I’m sure everyone in our community will join me in thanking them for everything they’ve done under extraordinary circumstances.

“Northumberland Conservatives are keen to get our county moving again and our Conservative government said at the beginning of this crisis that they would stand behind our councils and I’m delighted that they have done, protecting local services and ensuring councils come through this difficult period with stable finances. This additional £2.7 million shows they’ve continued to listen to local concerns and will protect local services in the county on which we all rely.

Also commenting, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said:

“Councils are playing a vital role in our national fight against coronavirus, providing a lifeline for so many and supporting communities at a time when they need it most.

“That’s why we are giving them an extra £500 million – taking our total additional funding provided to £4.3 billion – and today I am setting out how this will be allocated to councils fairly based on the pressures they have told us they are facing. 

“This comes on top of the co-payment scheme announced last week that will compensate councils for irrecoverable income losses from sales, fees and charges.”