East Sussex councils to split £32million coronavirus funding

On April 1, it was announced that the local authorities across the county would receive a £15.98m funding boost as part of a £1.6bn handout from the government.

When combined with an earlier round of additional government spending, the funding will see more than £32m is being split between local authorities in East Sussex, according to figures published yesterday (April 28).

Locally the largest share of the funding package has been given to East Sussex County Council, which takes more than £26.1m when both funding rounds are combined.

It received £16.29m in the first round of funding and £9.81m in the second round.

In general, the second round of funding will see larger amounts given to district and borough councils, as the majority of the first round went to top tier authorities.

For example Wealden District Council received just £52,000 in the first round, but is expected to have £1.6m coming in the second round, for a combined total of £1.65m.

Eastbourne Borough Council, meanwhile, is set to receive a total of £1.09m, with £64,000 of this from the first round.

Lewes District Council is to receive £1.06m, while Hastings Borough Council will receive £985,961 from both rounds. Rother District Council will receive a combined total of £1.003m.

The East Sussex Fire Authority, meanwhile, is set to receive just under £780,000 over both funding rounds.

Announcing the latest funding, local government secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Councils are playing a central role in our national fight against coronavirus and the government continues to back them at this challenging time.

“That’s why I announced an extra £3.2bn of support for councils to help them to continue their extraordinary efforts.”

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