Hartlepool council given £1m Covid funding from Government - but bosses say they will continue to 'press for more'

Last week ministers revealed a £500 million pot would be handed out to local authorities in England, alongside a scheme to cover the proportion of councils’ lost income.

According to the latest allocations, Hartlepool will receive £1.013 million from this tranche of funding, adding to the £5.963 million it received in the previous two rounds.

This takes the total to date received by the authority to help deal with pressures stemming from the coronavirus outbreak to just under £7million.

Council chiefs in Hartlepool welcomed the support from ministers, but stressed they will continue to press the case for more funds to fully cover the costs from Covid-19.

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesperson said: “This further funding for additional costs incurred in relation to Covid-19 is welcome, and it is also helpful that the Government has said it will be providing additional money to partly offset loss of income during the pandemic.

“It is important to note, however, that local authorities will still have to fund 29% of any income shortfall themselves.

“We will continue to press our case for more money to fully cover our costs and income losses to ensure that local services and residents aren’t adversely affected in the longer-term.”

Hartlepool Borough Council had previously received £3.404million from the first tranche of government Covid-19 funding, followed by £2.559million from the second round.

In a report to the finance and policy committee last month council chiefs said they hoped the third tranche of government funding would come.

In the report it was also estimated they face a £2.906million funding shortfall up to July 2020 because of costs associated with the impact of coronavirus.

The four month forecast up to July stated this included £2.174million in Covid-19 related expenditure and £2.737million in income losses due to the pandemic.

Council chiefs had previously warned Hartlepool could face a £6million shortfall of funds over the next two years due to the impact of Covid-19 pressures.

The government has promised a new scheme to provide further support for local authorities, which is expected to partly cover the costs of ‘irrecoverable income losses from sales, fees and charges’.

Local Government 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.

“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.”

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