Northamptonshire councils given £17m emergency coronavirus cash

An extra £17.7m has been given to councils in Northamptonshire to help them with their emergency coronavirus response.

Alongside health bodies and the police, local authorities are at the forefront of putting together emergency plans to try and cope with the virus that has been surging across the world.

The Government announced on March 19 that it would be giving a £1.6bn emergency handout to the country’s local authorities and it was announced yesterday (March 30) that Northamptonshire County Council will receive an additional £17.2m to help cover additional pressures created by the coronavirus crisis. The districts and boroughs will also receive emergency funding.

The bulk of the funds are intended to help the council enhance the discharge process from hospitals so that elderly people who no longer require urgent treatment can be returned home and their bed freed up for the care of coronavirus patients.

It will also cover follow on costs for adults in social care or for people who need additional support when they are back in their homes or care places. The county council is coordinating the management of volunteer groups who have signed up to help out vulnerable people affected by the virus and will have extra pressures from safeguarding vulnerable children who may no longer be in school.

A council spokesman said: “We have been allocated £17.2m from the government with guidance on how this should be used. We are monitoring how this money is spent and a protocol has been developed to ensure governance is in place.”

Additional cash is also going towards all of the boroughs and districts and is intended to help rough sleepers, to whom all councils with responsibility for housing have a duty of care. Shelters have said they intend to stay open but the situation could become difficult if volunteer numbers drop due to self isolation.

Corby will receive £37,241; East Northamptonshire Council £42,443; Wellingborough £42,529; Kettering £44.458; Northampton borough £120,318; South Northants £33,962 and Daventry has been allocated £37,299.

The Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioners office has also been given an extra £95,000.

When the funds were announced the secretary of state for local government Robert Kendrick said: “The work of local authorities to deliver social care and other vital public services has never been more important than it is now – and will be – in the days and weeks ahead.

“That’s why we’re giving local councils £1.6 billion of additional funding to spend where it’s needed most, to ensure they can meet the cost of the increased demand for social care, and continue to protect the most vulnerable people in society.”

To date there have been 153 officially recorded coronavirus cases in Northamptonshire, however the actual figures are known to be much higher as people are typically tested when hospitalised.