Buckinghamshire councils to receive portion of £1.6bn Government grant

This extra £1.6 billion takes the total given to councils to help their communities through this crisis to over £3.2 billion, an unprecedented level of additional financial support in recent

times.

The funding will mean councils can continue to provide essential services and support to those who need it most.

This includes getting rough sleepers off the street, supporting new shielding programmes for clinically extremely vulnerable people and assistance for our heroic public health workforce and fire and rescue services.

The funding will also mean councils can provide vital services including adult social care and children’s services.

Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, Cllr Martin Tett said:

“Local government are playing a crucial role in working with our businesses and residents to keep people safe, protect jobs, and support the people of Buckinghamshire during the coronavirus crisis so it’s good to see that government have been listening; for that and the additional funding we are grateful.

"Our staff have been reprioritised and money reassigned to other service areas to make sure we can meet the increased needs of our residents and businesses during this time, with a focus on protecting and caring for our most vulnerable.

"We have set up eight local support hubs, working with the NHS we have a new 240-bed care and reablement centre for vulnerable adults, we have a new online community support hub and are working with and to support businesses, voluntary and community organisations on our local response.

"Our staff are working hard to support those in need, especially our most vulnerable, as a result of the pandemic as well as maintaining existing services as best we can. This comes at an additional cost to the council.

"Alongside this we have a reduced income as fees and charges for services in places like planning, car parks and other areas have stopped. This may also impact our ability to achieve planned savings so we will need to continue to review the impact of the coronavirus crisis over the coming months.

"We don’t yet know the size of this additional allocation but this extra funding will undoubtedly contribute to closing the gap.”

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has written to all councils in England to thank them for their continued efforts as they work around the clock to support their

residents.

In his letter, the Local Government Secretary called them the “unsung heroes” of the coronavirus response who are helping to keep the country moving by ensuring vulnerable people receive the care they need and essential services continue.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: “Today's announcement of an additional £1.6 billion of new funding to councils means we have now provided them with over £3.2 billion during this pandemic.

“I promised Local Government would have the resources they need to meet this challenge and today demonstrates my commitment to doing just that. We stand shoulder to shoulder with local government and my priority is to make sure they are supported so they can continue to support their communities through this challenging time.

“Up and down the country council workers are the unsung heroes as we tackle this virus. They are in the front line of the national effort to keep the public safe and deliver the services

people need. Never has this been more important and we are all rightly grateful for everything that they are doing.

“This new funding will support them through immediate pressures they are facing to respond to coronavirus and protect vital services.”