£6.5m in Covid-19 relief for Portsmouth and surrounding towns 'won't touch the sides' say council leaders

Local government Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced an extra £1bn of support for local councils, with Portsmouth City Council set to receive £5.3m.

The government will grant £100,000 to Fareham Borough Council, £298,016 to Gosport Borough Council, and £621,728 to Havant Borough Council.

But Portsmouth City Council is still facing a shortfall of more than £10m, according to council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson.

Councillor Vernon-Jackson said: ‘We’re not sure if there are any rules applied to this funding yet.

‘One of the things I am very concerned about is that the government is not funding families with kids on free school meals, so we will have to look at that.

‘We are still millions and millions worse off than we should be and that means we will not do building projects and road works that we wanted to do.’

‘The government said it would refund money the council has spent – but that has turned out not to be true.

‘We are still millions of pounds adrift from where we should be.’

Fareham Borough Council has been ‘let down’ by the government with the funding announcement, according to council leader Sean Woodward, as councillors look to take £1.14m from reserves to cover a shortfall of £3.66m.

Cllr Woodward said: ‘Sadly it doesn’t touch the sides.

‘It’s very bad – it’s the rock bottom amount we could have been awarded.

‘The government’s promise was that it would see lost income restored, and unfortunately we have been let down.

‘It’s very disappointing.’

SEE ALSO: Hampshire MPs who voted against free school meals extension reveal why they did

The council has written to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, sharing its financial forecasts to show ‘the immense strain’ the council is under, according to Cllr Woodward.

Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond has written to councils covering Havant and Winchester – which received £100,000 – in a call to direct money to areas including Waterlooville and Cowplain.

The MP said: ‘I am very pleased substantial further funds are going to these councils to help them over this difficult period and it shows the government is supporting our local authorities.

‘However, it’s my job to look after my constituents and I want to see how this money will be used to help local people with support and services in Meon Valley through what will be some tough few months.’

The government has also pledged to provide an extra £100m for council leisure centres most in need across the country.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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