Ahead of Thursday’s Local Government Settlement, Cllr Kieron
Williams is demanding Ministers keep their promise to Southwark council to
fully reimburse the cost of Covid to our local authority – currently standing
at £95.9m.
At the start of the crisis, Ministers promised to support
councils to do ‘whatever is necessary’ to tackle the pandemic, however last
month’s Spending Review saw no additional money to tackle the enormous
Coronavirus funding blackhole facing councils this year – currently standing at
£7.4bn.
Instead the Spending Review delivered:
A £1bn Council Tax rise facing every household in 2021
A public sector pay freeze
The likelihood of further cuts forced by the continued pressure on council budgets
Cllr Kieron Williams said,
“Coronavirus has hammered Southwark – but our council
has done everything it can to combat the crisis from distributing PPE to
supporting the most vulnerable with thousands of emergency food parcels. That’s
been hugely expensive – Covid has cost Southwark £95.9 – but there’s no
question it was the right thing to do.
“Back at the start of the crisis, Ministers promised
to stand behind areas like ours to ensure that we never have to choose between
the direct cost of Covid and vital local services – but now they are nowhere to
be seen. At last month’s Spending Review, instead of additional support we got
a £1bn council tax rise and a public sector pay freeze.”
“At this week’s local government settlement, Ministers
must return to their promise. Our council must have the resources to tackle
Covid and keep providing for our community. So my message to this government is
simple – don’t break your promise to Southwark, don’t abandon our community in
hour of need.”