BCP Council awarded £3.9m of Covid support funding

The council has been given £3.9 million of the £1 billion pot which has been made available to cover extra costs it has taken on in recent months and “lost income” lockdown measures have led to.

The funding has been welcomed by its leader, councillor Drew Mellor, who said it was “both welcome and needed”.

Every council in the country has been awarded at least £100,000 with the government saying allocations had been determined based on areas’ population and levels of deprivation.

The latest round of funding was announced earlier this month with individual local authority grants announced on Friday (October 22).

It came following calls for extra support from councils which are facing financial blackholes worth tens of millions of pounds.

Local government secretary Robert Jenrick said the money would “support communities, protect vital services and recover lost income”.

“This extra £1 billion will ensure that councils have the resources 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,” he said.

The funding will not be ringfenced to allow each area to prioritise how they respond to financial pressures.

Cllr Mellor welcomed the extra funding allocated for BCP Council.

“I am delighted that the government continue to proactively support local authorities as this funding announcement is both welcome and needed,” he said.

“I will keep making the case for BCP at government levels as the pandemic evolves and have confidence that they'll keep listening.”

On top of the funding allocations, the government has also announced that it will provide £100 million to support local authority-run leisure centres.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said these facilities were a “crucial” part of efforts to keep people fit and that the money would help keep them open.