Scarborough Council gets a total of £2 million from the Government to offset cash losses from Covid pandemic

The Government has released almost £1 billion to local authorities to allow them to continue their ongoing work to support communities during the pandemic.

Scarborough Council has been given £643,759, bringing its total grants from the government during the pandemic to £2,019,862.

The money will be used to address the council’s projected budget shortfall of more than £4 million, revealed in its September budget.

Scarborough faced a shortfall of more than £10 million due to the pandemic, most of which had been addressed by funding from the government but the authority was still anticipating having to borrow just over £4 million to balance the budget.

To address the ongoing challenges local authority leisure centres are facing, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has also confirmed that £100 million will be used to introduce a new fund which will support council leisure centres most in need.

Further details on the scheme will be released in the coming days.

These funds are part of a package of support for councils, which also includes up to £465 million through the new Local Alert Level system, £300 million to support Test and Trace and £30 million for enforcement and compliance. Councils can also claim funding through a compensation scheme for lost income from sales, fees and charges.

Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, welcomed the news of the funding.

He said: “I very much welcome this injection of cash to enable Scarborough Borough Council to continue its excellent response to the pandemic and help businesses and individuals in need of help.”

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick MP 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.”

The funding has not been ringfenced.

The government has asked councils to use this funding to prioritise the running of vital services and protecting the most vulnerable and public health.