Extra £11m allocated to Northamptonshire councils for COVID financial impact

Last month the Government announced an extra £900 million would be sent to authorities across the country to help them deal with the financial losses they are sustaining due to a lack of income and enforcing social distancing regulations.

The funding has been allocated based on population and levels of deprivation, whilst also considering the amount of funding each council has received from the Government so far. All councils received a minimum of £100,000.

As the biggest authority, Northamptonshire County Council again took the bulk of the new sum, receiving an extra £8.36 million. This, the fourth tranche of funding, takes the overall amount of support the county has received from the Government to £43.73 million.

Northampton Borough Council was the next biggest beneficiary, getting an additional £1.23 million to take its overall funding amount to just over £4 million.

Corby Borough Council was the third-highest earner, getting £438,936 in the latest round to take its total up to £1.35 million.

The Borough Council of Wellingborough received £355,082 in the latest allocation, rounding its total up to £1.34 million, while Kettering Borough Council received slightly less with £335,324, but it has had slightly more funding overall with its total standing at £1.57 million.

Daventry District Council meanwhile was granted slightly more than the basic minimum, gaining an extra £129,581 to take its overall funding to £1.15 million, which is the smallest sum across the county.

South Northamptonshire Council and East Northamptonshire Council each received the minimum sum available of £100,000, taking their respective totals to £1.18 million and £1.22 million respectively.

It means the county has received £56 million in total so far, with the funding much needed with many of the councils predicting an overspend in this financial year due to the impacts the pandemic is having.

Funding has also been allocated to the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, but no extra cash was afforded to it in the latest share, and it has received just £660,000 from the Government overall.

Announcing the extra funding allocations earlier today (October 22) the 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.”