MP calls on Government to increase council’s funding in response to COVID-19.
Keighley and Ilkley MP, Robbie Moore, has signed a joint letter, alongside all fellow Bradford District MPs to call on the Government to cover the shortfall in the council’s finances due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The council estimates that an extra £59m will have been spent if the current lockdown measures continue for the next three weeks, as announced by the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on 16 April. The council anticipates that the figure could be higher if the lockdown continues for a considerable length of time.
The Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government has already provided an extra £15.76m of un-ringfenced funding to Bradford Council to help ease pressure on services due to the Coronavirus outbreak. However, the cross-party group of MPs are calling on the government to match the entire funding shortfall.
Mr Moore said: “So far, the Government has stepped up to the mark with offering a financial support package to businesses, industry and the general public of over £350 billion through business grants, the Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. This unprecedented package of support will be remembered for generations to come. However, Bradford Council, like other local authorities, are incurring additional costs in dealing with the Coronavirus outbreak and we as a group of cross-party MPs are calling on the government to cover the bill for the local authorities response to the Coronavirus outbreak to protect frontline services.
“I cannot thank enough the hard work and dedication that all frontline staff at Bradford Council have shown through this challenging time. I am eternally grateful for the support that they have shown to residents and businesses during the Coronavirus outbreak”.
