The leader of Cheshire East Council has welcomed additional funding announced today (18th April) by the government but cautioned that it was only a start.

At today's daily coronavirus press conference, Robert Jenrick, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, announced councils across England would receive an additional £1.6bn to maintain essential services during the pandemic.

Cllr Sam Corcoran, the leader of the Labour and independent administration at Cheshire East told Nub News he was "delighted" with the announcement.

He said: "I'm delighted to see the extra money from central government. I wrote to the Prime Minister yesterday, as did many other council leaders, to highlight the plight that councils are in.

"The money that has been announced is welcome, but it needs to be the start of an ongoing dialogue to the proper funding of local authorities, rather than a sticking plaster that fixes the problem for now."

In his yesterday's letter to the Prime Minister, Cllr Corcoran said the borough council has worked to "maintain vital social care services, provided emergency support to vulnerable people and ensured that PPE is distributed locally to protect staff and residents".

The letter goes onto say that the council has "incurred extra direct costs" in its response to the pandemic, which is estimated to cost the council £56m this year.

Cllr Corcoran told Boris Johnson in his letter that as well as the additional costs incurred, the council was also losing income due to an expected fall in local tax collection rates and the loss of revenue due to the likes of leisure centre closures and the suspension of car parking charges.

The letter concluded: "If we are to be in a strong position to assist the local economy to bounce back after the current crisis then we need to have financial stability at the Council."

Cllr Corcoran told Nub News that that today's announcement by the government "would maybe cover half" of the estimated £56m.

The Local Government Association has warned that the situation could see some councils take "take extreme cost-cutting and rationing measures soon".

Mr Jenrick said at today's press conference: "We stand shoulder to shoulder with local government and my priority is to make sure they are supported so they can continue to support their communities through this challenging time."

Today's announcement boosts the money already announced to help councils cope with the pandemic to £3.2bn.