Rugby MP Mark Pawsey has welcomed news that Rugby Borough Council will receive an extra £1,078,728 in funding from Government to help to continue to support the community and deliver vital services during this challenging time.
This is part of an addition £1.6 billion being provided to local authorities, following an initial allocation of £1.6 billion in March 2020 to help them respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
The additional support will mean that Rugby Borough Council can continue to provide essential services, such as waste collection and running the local food bank, while also providing support to people impacted by the coronavirus. This includes protecting rough sleepers, with 90 per cent of rough sleepers offered safe accommodation so far, establishing shielding programmes for clinically extremely vulnerable people and ensuring there is additional support available across a range of other vital council services.
As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for District Councils, Mark had written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government calling for more funding to be provided to district councils, such as Rugby. Local councils have not only had to step up to aid some of the most vulnerable, they have also continued to provide vital services in the face of the significant pressures resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.
Mark commented:
“Rugby Borough Council, like all district councils across the country, have stepped up and is delivering for local residents during this extremely challenging time. As well as continuing to provide a number of key services the council has stepped in to support many of the most vulnerable people in our community by distributing food to those shielding and ensuring that the food bank continues to operate.”
Mark continued:
“I’m really pleased that the Government has recognised the concerns which I and the District Councils Network raised regarding funding for District Councils. The additional £1 million from the Government will help ensure essential services are not impacted by the extra demands placed on councils by coronavirus.”
Mark concluded:
“I know that staff at Rugby Borough Council have been working incredibly hard since this outbreak began and their work is appreciated by residents. The government, through this funding, is standing behind councils and giving them the resources they need to continue to deliver both their normal services and the additional responsibilities arising from coronavirus.”