Emergency coronavirus funding announced: This is how much councils in West Sussex will receive

The Government has announced almost £1 billion in extra emergency cash for councils in England.
Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Credit: UK Parliament, Creative Commons LicenseRobert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Credit: UK Parliament, Creative Commons License
Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Credit: UK Parliament, Creative Commons License

It is the fourth round of funding the Government has rolled out since March, and brings the total amount awarded to £4.6 billion.

The grants are not ringfenced, so cash-strapped councils under pressure because of the pandemic will be able to use them however they see fit.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

West Sussex County Council is set to receive £4,448,231.00 in the latest round – which equates to £5.10 per person.

It means the council has received £45,856,028 overall to date – or £52.61 per person.

The coronavirus crisis has created a ‘perfect storm’ for councils’ finances, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), both by increasing spending and reducing incomes.

Local authorities have incurred costs supporting rough sleepers and shielders, buying personal protective equipment (PPE) and helping with test and trace and infection control, while social distancing rules have increased costs of delivering services like social care.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At the same time their income from service charges, council tax and commercial rents has fallen.

Council leaders across the country have welcomed the additional funding, but warned it will not be enough to fully address the financial challenges they face.

Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association’s resources board, said: “This much-needed support is helpful but significant challenges remain.

“It is vital that the Government addresses in full the financial challenges facing councils as a result of the pandemic, including all lost income and local tax losses.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The amount of funding issued to each councils varies, with some receiving less than £1 per person.

The full break-down for the latest funding across councils in West Sussex is as follows:

Crawley has received £511,805.00 – or £4.51 per person – the highest amount in West Sussex.

Meanwhile Arun has received £498,760.00 – or £3.06 per person and Adur has received £174,454.00 – £2.71 per person.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Worthing has received £290,888.00 – or £2.61 per person and Chichester received £239,009.00 – or £1.95 per person.

However Horsham has received £100,000.00 – just 69p per person and Mid Sussex has received £100,000.00 – just 66p per person.

The Government says its funding formula takes into account an area’s population size, levels of deprivation, the cost of delivering services in different parts of the country, and how much funding councils received in the previous three rounds.

Overall, this is how much councils have received in emergency grants from the Government to date:

Crawley has received £1,904,593 – or £16.78 per person.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Worthing received £1,612,945 – £14.49 per person, Adur received £943,294 – £14.67 per person, and Arun received £2,437,779 – £14.96 per person.

Meanwhile Chichester received £1,671,565 – or £13.63 per person, Horsham received £1,753,289 – £12.07 per person, and Mid Sussex received £1,808,353 – or £11.91 per person.

The figures do not include individual support packages being negotiated by councils moving into Tier 3 restrictions, such as Greater Manchester, which had asked for £65 million to see it through a winter in lockdown.

Carl Les, finance spokesman for the County Councils Network, said the latest funding announcement was ‘unexpected and disappointing’ for county authorities, warning it was not proportionate to the scale of the problems they face.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Our members were already facing a funding shortfall, and it is critical that all councils receive the funding they need to cover additional expenditure, which will increase over the winter months,” he said.

“Even if these resources were proportionate, county authorities still face severe financial uncertainty in the next financial year and beyond, with underlying funding gaps exacerbated by coronavirus.”

Mr Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “Since the start of the pandemic, we have backed local councils with the funding they need to support their communities, protect vital services and recover lost income.

“This extra £1 billion funding will ensure that councils have the resources that they need over the winter and continue to play an essential role on the front line of our response to the virus while protecting the most vulnerable and supporting local businesses.”