Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19: Support for Local Authorities

Monday 19 April 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department has allocated over 9 billion directly to councils since the start of the pandemic.
  • Local authorities are set to receive over 3 billion of additional support in 2021-22.
  • Sheffield City Council has received support for covid-related pressures on local leisure services, including unring-fenced grants and income compensation.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 John Howell Con
Local Government
Context

The question stems from the need to address financial pressures faced by local councils due to the pandemic.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to support local authorities during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answer from Luke Hall

We have so far allocated over £9 billion directly to councils since the start of the pandemic and local authorities are expected to receive over £3 billion of additional support in 2021-22, responding both to expenditure pressures and loss of income. This takes the total support that we have committed to councils in England to tackle the impacts of covid-19 to over £12 billion.

Answered
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Q2 Clive Betts Lab Sheffield South East
Housing Local Government
Context

The question addresses concerns over the funding provided to leisure centres in Sheffield, managed by a separate trust from the city council.

Question

Will the Minister reassure me and residents in Sheffield that the money given to Sheffield City Council has gone properly to fund services in Sheffield and nowhere else?

Answer from Luke Hall

I thank the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee for that question. We have provided councils with a range of support for covid pressures on local leisure services, including unring-fenced grants, income compensation and the specific national leisure recovery fund. In all cases, Sheffield will comply with the funding conditions. My expectation would be that all that funding should be used locally to support local services in Sheffield.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not provide specifics on how funds were allocated or used exclusively for Sheffield's leisure centres and did not address the concern about potential misuse of funds.

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