The Conservative Party says new analysis shows that Wiltshire’s local authorities have so far received an extra £86m for vital services during the pandemic.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick hailed the extra funding
Further funding has been confirmed for next year.
The total includes £59m for Wiltshire Council and £27m for Swindon Borough Council.
The South West has secured an extra £761million overall.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “From the start of the pandemic, we committed to ensuring that councils had the resources they needed to step up and support their communities.
“That commitment remains undimmed, which is why we have provided councils with more than £7bn of additional funding for covid-19 expenditure and will continue to ensure they have the resources they need to provide vital local services and held their communities build back better from the pandemic.”
Over half of this funding has not been ring-fenced, meaning local leaders can decide how to use the additional funds and which local services should benefit.
This could include counselling services, delivering essential supplies to vulnerable families and ensuring cherished green spaces are well maintained and covid-secure.
Local authorities in England have also received over £2bn in further grant funding since March of last year to deliver specific schemes, such as providing emergency support for rough sleepers, preventing children going hungry, setting up local test and trace services and measures to make care homes, high streets and town centres covid-secure.
In total, the party says, the Government has provided local authorities with more than £7bn in additional support and introduced a range of measures to help councils manage pressures on their finances created by the pandemic, worth billions more.
A further £3bn will be allocated to councils from April onwards.
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