The £1 million “Cost of Covid” for Council
The Covid-19 pandemic looks set to cost Cotswold District Council just over £1 million in 2020/21.
Costs to the council are forecast to be £977,000 over the amounts budgeted while the council is expecting to face an income shortfall of £2.81 million, £1.68m of that from car parking charges.
The Council expects to receive £2.77 million from the Government to cover exceptional costs associated with the pandemic, leaving a funding gap of £1.022 million to be found.
Cllr Joe Harris, Leader of the Council, said: “I am exceptionally proud of the way the Council and its staff have responded to the pandemic. Within a couple of days, almost all of our staff were working from home, not just carrying on with their jobs but busier than ever, setting up support for our most vulnerable residents, making sure homeless people had somewhere to stay and ensuring that local businesses received support grants.
“However this has come at a cost to the Council and there is a gap of around a million pounds between government support and the Council’s expenses. The Government has been very generous with kind words about how local councils have stepped up during the pandemic. Now they must ensure we are fully compensated for its impact on our finances.”