Julie James, Minister for Housing and Local Government
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The Welsh Government is today announcing further funding of up to £264m for local authorities to support them with the additional costs and loss of income suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic for the rest of the financial year.
This latest package takes the total amount of Welsh Government COVID-19 support available for local authorities to more than £490m. This funding will be administered through the Local Government Emergency Financial Assistance Fund to support a range of services such as social care, education and leisure. The package includes £25m for additional school cleaning until the end of March 2021 to make sure we can make our schools as safe an environment for our young people, our teachers and other staff as possible. Further education colleges will be also be supported with an extra £3.6m for additional cleaning costs to ensure that students and staff are able to work in a safe environment during the pandemic.
Our local authorities have done a fantastic job of rising to the challenges of COVID-19, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank them for their relentless work to keep services running while supporting people and local businesses..
I am making this statement in recess in order to keep members informed. I will be happy to make a further statement after recess if members would find it helpful.