Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement of a £500
million hardship fund in today’s Budget for councils to provide
support to vulnerable people in their local areas, Cllr John
Fuller OBE, Chairman of the District Councils’ Network,
said:
“We are pleased the Chancellor has announced funding for
councils to help working people suffering hardship as a result of
the coronavirus. The District Councils’ Network had a significant
say in the design of the fund and we are delighted to see this
announced today.
“It is a time to focus on working quickly to solve
problems, which is what district councils do best. We are
perfectly placed in the local community to deliver the support
where it is needed most, creatively helping hard working families
in whatever way they need.
“To make this investment really count it will be important
for it to be channelled directly to district councils, and with
full flexibilities and no ring fences so that we can rapidly
respond to the range of issues this will throw up across our
communities.
“There will be challenging weeks ahead for communities
across the country. As ever, councils stand ready to deliver the
vital services for families and businesses.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
The District Councils’ Network (DCN) is a cross-party
member led network providing a single voice to 191 district
councils. District councils in England deliver 86 out of 137
essential local government services to over 22 million people –
40 per cent of the population – and cover 68 per cent of the
country by area. They play a key role in local communities,
providing services such as building homes, collecting waste,
regenerating town centres, preventing homelessness, keeping
streets clean and maintaining parks.
