Coronavirus West Berkshire: Council to receive funding boost to deal with impact of Covid-19

Council has already received £3.2m for initial response

West Berkshire Council is to receive additional funding to help it respond to the impact of coronavirus.

The council will receive a proportion of an extra £1.6bn earmarked for local authorities.

West Berkshire Council received £3.2m of Government funding in March to support its initial response to the coronavirus.

The council said that the additional funding would assist in covering further costs faced due to the virus in the short term and and would enable it to continue to provide vital services.

Council leader Lynne Doherty (Con, Speen) said: “At the start of this outbreak I, along with council leaders across the country, asked the Government to reassure us that they would provide us with all of the financial support that we might need to respond effectively within our local areas. I am pleased to say that they have not let us down.

“The Government’s swift response enabled us to quickly set up our new Community Support Hub (CSH), ahead of the enhanced social distancing arrangements that came into place on March 23.

"The CSH is the vital link between those residents who need support and those who can help them. Through it we have already helped hundreds of vulnerable local people and have coordinated almost 90 community groups across the district.

“In addition to this money, we have been provided with up-front grant payments to support cash flow, a Council Tax Hardship Fund and additional funding for the cost of providing support to rough sleepers and those as risk of rough sleeping during this time.

“To mitigate some of the impact on our business community, we also made the unique local decision not to call-in business rates in April and May and our Business Rates Team has been working hard to distribute a further £29m Government grant to support eligible businesses in West Berkshire.

“I am truly impressed with how agile the local authority has been, with staff stepping up to help in numerous ways both behind the scenes and on the front line. This further funding is very welcome and I can assure residents that we will continue to deliver the excellent local services our residents need.”