Thursday
25
April
Council income won't be hit as bad as first thought
21/06/2020 @ 09:24
The loss of income due to coronavirus that Powys County Council predicted to be nearly £6.4million is not going to be as bad as expected, councillors have been told.
Head of finance, Jane Thomas told members of the Finance Panel that position by the end of June is going to be better than they predicted.
This was revealed as Ms Thomas answered questions on what money can be claimed back from the Welsh Government for dealing with the flooding and coronavirus emergencies.
Finance panel chairman and independent member, John Brautigam, asked about the pandemic costs.
Mr Brautigam said: “To what extent are the Covid-19 costs being covered by the Welsh Government?
“Are they intending to cover the loss of income aspects or just the additional costs?”
Ms Thomas told members: “There is support for both elements but we are at different stages.
“In terms of additional costs the Covid19 hardship fund was set up by the Welsh Government very early on in the crisis.
“We’re already drawing on that and it’s for costs over and above that would be incurred normally.
MsThomas added that discussions through the WLGA (Welsh Local Government Association) and the Welsh Government were taking place around the impact of local authorities loss of income.
But, she said it would be unclear how much support could be expected until all 22 Welsh local authorities had worked out how much income they are losing due to the pandemic.
PCC had estimated that by the end of the first quarter of 2020/21 they would have lost £6,395 million of income that they collect such as, car parking, licence, planning fees as well as rents, bus revenue and leisure centres payments.
Ms Thomas added: “In terms of our initial projection we haven’t seen as much loss as was anticipated.
“We are updating that now for what’s actually happened and that will inform the decision making on that pot of money.”
By the end of the 2019/20 PCC had received £26, 625 of the £549,233 they had spent dealing with the flooding from the February storms.
The Welsh Government’s Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme (EFAS) is subject to a £517, 909 threshold.
Ms Thomas had to explain that further claims had been made in the new financial year.
Councillor Gwilym Williams said: “I see we’ve only managed to claim ,£26,625.
“Why couldn’t we claim more of what was spent?”
Head of finance, Jane Thomas, pointed out the threshold that PCC have to exceed before making claims, and that the fund does not cover building costs.
Ms Thomas said: “The flooding costs should be covered to an 85 per cent restriction.
“We’re still claiming for the flood costs that have come through since then as well.”
Head of finance, Jane Thomas told members of the Finance Panel that position by the end of June is going to be better than they predicted.This was revealed as Ms Thomas answered questions on what money can be claimed back from the Welsh Government for dealing with the flooding and coronavirus emergencies.
Finance panel chairman and independent member, John Brautigam, asked about the pandemic costs.
Mr Brautigam said: “To what extent are the Covid-19 costs being covered by the Welsh Government?
“Are they intending to cover the loss of income aspects or just the additional costs?”
Ms Thomas told members: “There is support for both elements but we are at different stages.
“In terms of additional costs the Covid19 hardship fund was set up by the Welsh Government very early on in the crisis.
“We’re already drawing on that and it’s for costs over and above that would be incurred normally.
MsThomas added that discussions through the WLGA (Welsh Local Government Association) and the Welsh Government were taking place around the impact of local authorities loss of income.
But, she said it would be unclear how much support could be expected until all 22 Welsh local authorities had worked out how much income they are losing due to the pandemic.
PCC had estimated that by the end of the first quarter of 2020/21 they would have lost £6,395 million of income that they collect such as, car parking, licence, planning fees as well as rents, bus revenue and leisure centres payments.
Ms Thomas added: “In terms of our initial projection we haven’t seen as much loss as was anticipated.
“We are updating that now for what’s actually happened and that will inform the decision making on that pot of money.”
By the end of the 2019/20 PCC had received £26, 625 of the £549,233 they had spent dealing with the flooding from the February storms.
The Welsh Government’s Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme (EFAS) is subject to a £517, 909 threshold.
Ms Thomas had to explain that further claims had been made in the new financial year.
Councillor Gwilym Williams said: “I see we’ve only managed to claim ,£26,625.
“Why couldn’t we claim more of what was spent?”
Head of finance, Jane Thomas, pointed out the threshold that PCC have to exceed before making claims, and that the fund does not cover building costs.
Ms Thomas said: “The flooding costs should be covered to an 85 per cent restriction.
“We’re still claiming for the flood costs that have come through since then as well.”
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service
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