Shadow Local Government Minister Mark Isherwood MS is calling on the Finance Minister to confirm her response to a letter sent by the Leaders of the 22 Local Authorities in Wales this week calling for Covid-19 support in the long term.
Although additional funding has been provided to support Councils amid the pandemic, Local Authority Leaders in Wales are concerned about the long term impact of the crisis on them, particularly given that much of the support at a national level has only been lined up until the end of June.
This week they wrote to the Welsh Finance Minister outlining their concerns and what additional support they require.
Mr Isherwood, who in recent week’s has been raising the plight of Local Authorities during virtual meetings of the Welsh Parliament, is urging the Finance Minister to give their letter her urgent attention and confirm her response to them as soon as possible.
He said:
"The UK Government has allocated over £2.2bn to Wales to offset the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, but it is the Welsh Government which determines how any funding is to be allocated.
“As Shadow Local Government Minister I have been calling for urgent measures from the Welsh Government to support Local Authorities in Wales. Only last week I spoke of the significant additional resources local authorities will need for the ‘Test, Trace, Protect’ strategy to prevent infection and track the virus as restrictions are eased. Local Authority Leaders in Wales have warned that some Councils will be crippled unless the Welsh Government totally commits to fully financing this.”
“Although the Supplementary Budget announced by the Welsh Government on Wednesday includes £78 million to support Local Government for the loss of income experienced as a direct result of the pandemic, and to help maintain the sector’s financial resilience and mitigate against cuts in services, much of this support at a national level has only been lined up until the end of June. As such, the 22 Council Leaders have written to the Finance Minister in the Welsh Government seeking 4 things: Council Tax Reduction Scheme support, with more people in need of this at this time; Council Tax collection support, where they expect fewer people will be able to pay their council tax liability ; the £23m consequential from the UK Government ‘Track and Trace’ money to be passed through quickly; and for longer term certainty for July onward of the loss of income funding.
Mr Isherwood added: “Many Local Authorities find themselves in an unenviable position, and some were already in a worse position than others not least in part because of funding settlements from the Welsh Government before the pandemic, where four of the five authorities to see the largest increases are Labour-run Councils in South Wales, but four of the five to receive the smallest increases are the same authorities in North Wales.
“The Supplementary Budget was brought forward to detail how the Welsh Government will allocate £2.4 billion – £2.2bn of it directly from the UK Treasury – dedicated to mitigating the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
“In recent weeks Local Authority representatives have been repeatedly expressing concern that the financial impact of Coronavirus will have a long-term impact on County Councils unless they receive further financial support from Welsh Government, where the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has stated that Councils across Wales face losing out on around £170m of previously budgeted for income due to the lockdown. It is vital that the Finance Minister addresses this and responds to the letter from the Local Authority Leaders urgently.”