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Local authority coronavirus funding allocations revealed
Individual councils have been told how much money they will receive from the additional £1.6bn emergency coronavirus funding pot announced by the government for local authorities earlier this month.
Birmingham City Council is set to receive the largest share of funding (£31.6m), followed by Kent County Council (£27.8m), Essex County Council (£26.2m) and Hampshire County Council (£24.3m).
The government said the funding split between county and district authorities will be 65:35, with money being distributed based on population and the latest assessment on the challenges they are facing.
County councils are legally responsible for providing social care to residents, while district councils are responsible housing services.
It comes just over a week after housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced an additional £1.6bn in funding for local authorities, bringing the total amount councils have been given to respond to the crisis to £3.2bn.
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It is expected that councils will use some of this funding, which is not ring-fenced, to procure accommodation and support services for rough sleepers who are being temporarily housed during the crisis.
It is also expected that the funding will be used to cover adult social care costs and other services to support vulnerable people, including domestic abuse survivors.
Last week, councils and charities told Inside Housing that a larger dedicated funding stream was needed to procure emergency accommodation for rough sleepers, given the competing pressures on council resources.
Just £3.2m in dedicated funding has been given to local authorities to pay for emergency accommodation since the start of the crisis, despite councils being told to house all rough sleepers for the duration of the lockdown.
Mr Jenrick said: “Councils are playing a central role in our national fight against coronavirus and the government continues to back them at this challenging time.
“That’s why I announced an extra £3.2bn of support for councils to help them to continue their extraordinary efforts.
“Today I’m setting out how the latest £1.6bn of this will be allocated to councils in the fairest way possible, recognising the latest and best assessment of the pressures they face.
“We are backing local district councils and a clear majority will receive at least £1m in additional funding.”
