• Crawley Borough Council to benefit from extra £510,000 in funding announced by the Government.
• West Sussex County Council to receive an extra £4.45 million from Government.
• Councils have received £6.4 billion in additional direct support since April.
• Crawley Borough Council has been provided with £2.38 million in extra funding since the pandemic began, West Sussex County Council receives £74.09 million.

People living and working in Crawley will benefit after Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex County Council were given a share of £900 million in additional Government funding for local authorities.

The money will be used locally to help the councils cover coronavirus-related costs and ensure they have the resources needed to keep providing key services as we battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

It means Crawley Borough Council has now received £2.38 million in direct extra support from the Government since the start of the pandemic, with West Sussex County Council receiving £74.09 million.

Commenting, Henry Smith MP said that Government support is proving crucial to people living in Crawley as it means local authorities can continue to provide the essential services needed.

Henry said;

“The additional £510,000 announced for Crawley Borough Council is hugely welcome and will ease financial pressures on the local authority and ensure it’s able to continue providing vital services this winter.

“Just like the support being provided for people whose jobs are at risk – with over £200 billion so far to project jobs, incomes and businesses throughout and beyond this pandemic – the Government is keeping its promise to local authorities and ensuring they have the resources they need to continue supporting people.”

The Government have also announced a further £100 million established to support council-run leisure centres across the country, which are proving key to helping the health and well-being of people in the area.

The new funding means local councils will have £1 billion extra in funding this winter to help maintain vital services.

The funding has not been ring-fenced, meaning local leaders will be able to determine how to spend the additional funding in order to best protect public health, local vulnerable people and the running of vital services.

In total, over £4.6 billion of the £6.4 billion in additional government funding made available to councils has not been ring-fenced, reflecting the Government’s view that local authorities are best placed to determine local priorities.

This is the fourth announcement of extra direct support for local authorities since the start of the pandemic. It forms part of an unprecedented package of support for councils, which also includes up to £465 million through the new Local Alert Level system, £300 million to support Test and Trace and £30 million for enforcement and compliance. Councils can also claim funding through a compensation scheme for lost income from sales, fees and charges and further additional support will be made available to areas placed under Tier 3 restrictions.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, Robert Jenrick, commented;

“Since the start of the pandemic, we have backed local councils with the funding they need to support their communities, protect vital services and recover lost income.

“This extra £1 billion funding will ensure that councils have the resources that they need over the winter and continue to play an essential role on the front line of our response to the virus while protecting the most vulnerable and supporting local businesses.”

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Oliver Dowden, added;

“It's vital that we keep ourselves fighting fit through the winter months and local authority leisure centres are crucial to this. This £100 million fund will help keep leisure centres across the country open. I urge leisure centres to bid for the money and people to make the most of these precious local facilities.”