Councils across the East call for urgent financial help from central government

  • Anglia

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on families and businesses in our region. Now, councils across the East are concerned that they're facing big holes in their budgets and want central government to help.

  • Watch Elodie Harper's full report below:

Local councils have been providing vital services during the Covid-19 crisis, many of which are a lifeline for residents across this region.

Iris Mcnulty is one of many who relies on these services. She's in the vulnerable category and has been receiving a weekly food parcel from Stevenage council.

However, Stevenage Borough Council say their work to support the community during the pandemic is blowing a hole in their budget at a time when their commercial income is also plummeting. They're losing £900,000 on lost car park fees alone.

Luton airport is a key source of income for Luton Borough council Credit: ITV News Anglia

You may not think of Luton airport as a council service, but the Borough council owns the airport and leases it to the company that runs it. The airport provides a significant chunk of the council's income, but now the planes have stopped, so has the money.

Councils say blows to the budget like this could devastate services - the majority of which support vulnerable children and adults.

Central government has given 3.2 billion pounds to local councils to help their communities get through the pandemic. However, councils around the region say this does not cover the full costs of all the extra spending they have had to provide through the Covid 19 crisis, and that they need to know soon how much more support they may get.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know