FINANCE

Jenrick announces allocations for £1bn council funding

Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed allocations for individual councils from the £1bn of extra funding announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed allocations for individual councils from the £1bn of extra funding announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

All councils will receive a minimum of £100,000 from the fund, which has not been ringfenced.

But finance spokesman for the County Councils' Network, Cllr Carl Les, said the allocations were 'disappointing'.

He added: 'Government must now consider providing further funding to support councils who will now face a much larger shortfall than they anticipated.'

A new £100m fund has also been created to support local authority leisure centres during the crisis.

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: ‘It's vital that we keep ourselves fighting fit through the winter months and local authority leisure centres are crucial to this.

'This £100m fund will help keep leisure centres across the country open.'

Chair of the Local Government Association's resources board, Cllr Richard Watts, said: 'Social distancing means leisure services will continue to face a challenging financial position for the foreseeable future.

'That is why it is also vital the Government's Spending Review provides further investment so councils can protect and improve local services both this and next year, including leisure facilities.'

See the allocations here

FINANCE

Call for strengthening oversight of developer contributions system

By William Eichler | 06 June 2025

Weaknesses in the developer contributions system intended to fund affordable housing and local infrastructure are undermining the ability of councils to nego...

FINANCE

Government backs remote attendance at council meetings

By Izzy Lepone | 06 June 2025

The Government’s remote attendance announcement is a ‘positive step’ that gives councils greater power, says the Local Government Association (LGA).

FINANCE

EXCLUSIVE: Ministry scraps competitive bid element for fund

By Dan Peters | 05 June 2025

The next round of the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) will not be allocated by councils bidding, The MJ has learnt.

FINANCE

Reform of SEND cannot come quickly enough

By Simon Edwards | 05 June 2025

With deficits increasing and liabilities for SEND accruing interest on the existing debt, this issue can no longer be ducked, says Simon Edwards. 'This is wh...

Dan Peters

Popular articles by Dan Peters