Since the coronavirus crisis hit the UK last month, all district councils across the country have been working harder than ever for their residents and businesses and with our public sector partners across our local resilience forums. We have been battling to maintain key services, such as waste collection, homelessness provision and cleaner neighbourhood services.
Our customer services team has been set up to work remotely and answer the many queries we are receiving from residents and businesses. Meanwhile, our revenues and benefits team has been working around the clock to pay out millions to local businesses under the Government’s coronavirus grant scheme.
Community and COVID-19 groups are being supported by council staff, who are working closely alongside them to help provide vital food and supplies to the most vulnerable in our society. Our elections officer has been pitching in with our local food bank and our partnerships and sports officers have been working with local groups, contacting vulnerable people and running a micro-grants scheme. We’ve produced leaflets for voluntary groups and designed ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ posters for our bin wagons.
Our bereavement services continue to operate in the most difficult of times, allowing families to say goodbye to their loved ones safely. And our environmental health officers have been given the task of monitoring local businesses to ensure they are following Government guidelines.
We have been continuing in the knowledge that our financial situation is becoming precarious – our income has been significantly reduced while our costs are increasing. From the first £1.6bn made available to local government to help cope with the crisis, we received just £26,000.
The Government recently announced that councils will receive a further £1.6bn to help them deal with the immediate impact of COVID-19. This is very welcome. However, this extra funding will only plug the gap for a short time – and none of us know how long it will be before we approach anything like normality.
It’s crucial the Government continues to recognise the role of local government during and after this crisis, and ensures that we have the funding we need so that we can continue to support our communities through lockdown and beyond.
Paul Shevlin is chief executive of Craven DC