Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 13
13
We urge the Government to consider ways of mitigating the uneven financial support across local...
Recommendation
We urge the Government to consider ways of mitigating the uneven financial support across local authorities and provide greater certainty to councils over what future costs incurred as a result of the pandemic it intends to cover. (Paragraph 55) Local authority commercial investment
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Providing certainty and stability to the sector throughout the pandemic has been a priority for the Government. The Government has demonstrated this by committing over £12 billion to councils in England to tackle the impacts of COVID-19, over £6 billion of which was unringfenced. Tranches 3 and 4 of our support through the pandemic alongside the additional £1.55 billion of unringfenced funding for 2021/22 distributed expenditure grant based on need through the COVID-19 Relative Needs Formula (RNF). This new formula was designed to account for population, deprivation and the varying costs of delivering services across the country. The Government has always ensured that funding is distributed according to need to local authorities, with each funding allocation informed by the latest assessment of pressures reported by councils. We have continued to work with local government, including through tailored financial monitoring. The Government is continuing to use monitoring information and engagement with the sector to inform its work on the ongoing Spending Review. The Government recognises that there will be individual authorities with either unique circumstances or residual issues resulting in significant pressures. We will continue to work with them and keep the situation under review.