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'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.'

“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 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."

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.

'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.'

"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."

“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."

“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."

“Local government can play a key role in driving a sustainable recovery that meets the needs of local communities and businesses."

“Locally-led responses have proven to be the best way to tackle significant outbreaks, which this framework rightly emphasises."