Hertfordshire councillor seeks to reassure residents, despite funding shortfall

Hertfordshire is in a ‘strong position’ to support council services, despite a £25m Covid-19 funding gap, a leading county councillor has said.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the county council has been allocated £48m by the government, to cover the additional costs associated with the response to the virus.

But according to council estimates that’s £25milion lower than the £73m that’s needed.

Last month executive member for resources and performance Cllr Ralph Sangster had warned that without additional resources the county council would have to consider ‘extensive service reductions’ next year.

But at a meeting of the cabinet, on Monday (July 13), Cllr Sangster spoke out to reassure residents, after government announcements that more funding would be available for councils.

Hertfordshire is still waiting to find out how much of the government’s latest £500m funding package it will receive.

And the county, it was reported, will also benefit from a scheme to reimburse councils for the bulk of lost trading income, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

After updating members of the cabinet on the developments, Cllr Sangster said the council, “is confident it remains in a strong position to support service delivery, particularly throughout all its care settings in the county.”

He said: “The goverment’s response has been to announce a further cost funding package of £500m, with a new distribution formula which details how that’s to be distributed, details of which are yet to be announced.

“It was also signalled that this will not be the final figure and that future returns would be assessed as the response Covid developments over the coming months.”

The report to the cabinet had also highlighted the impact that a reduced rate of council tax could have on the county council – with a five per cent reduction on collections leading to a further £40million loss in income for the county council.

But Cllr Sangster said he expected potential losses from council tax income to be addressed in the Spending Review in the autumn.

And he concluded: “I would like to reassure residents that the the council is confident it remains in a strong position to support service delivery, particularly throughout all its care settings in the county.”