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“If this awful pandemic has proved one thing it is that there cannot be a sustainable NHS without a sustainable adult social care system. You cannot protect one and not the other."

“Council public health teams remain ready to use their unique expertise, including speaking other languages, and understanding of their communities to try to reach those who cannot be contacted by the system."

"Youth services support young people, helping them to make positive choices and keep them safe as they transition to adulthood. These services are even more essential as a result of the COVID-19 crisis."

'As a country we face significant skills challenges, with one of the most serious being in our social care system. We need to do what we can to ensure the social care workforce can be maintained.'

More than £730 million in vital EU cash which could help local communities bounce back from COVID-19 risks going unspent and being sent back to Brussels if the funding is not allocated by the Government before the end of the year, councils warn today.

“Councils continue to face significant extra cost pressures and huge income losses as a result of the pandemic. The Government’s commitment to fund a portion of lost income from fees and charges is a step in the right direction but does not cover full losses, nor does it extend to commercial income losses."

“It is great news that gyms and leisure centres can reopen, and many people will be hugely excited about being able to safely visit them again."

'Councils continue to work all day and night to support communities through the COVID-19 crisis but have faced extra cost pressures and significant income losses as a result, as this survey highlights.'

"Everybody has to play their part in helping to get this pandemic under control. It is good that the NHS Test and Trace system is reaching the majority of those who tested positive and who are passing on details of their close contacts, but it is still concerning that nearly 20 per cent of positive cases cannot be found."

Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, responds to the Summer Economic Update announced by the Chancellor.