News

Providers of adult social care services may face more than £6.6 billion in extra costs due to the coronavirus crisis by the end of September this year, stark new analysis commissioned by councils and social care directors reveals.

Vital public health services such as drug and alcohol treatment, early years and school aged support, weight management and sexual health services need urgent investment in the Spending Review if the country is to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, councils say today.

Excluding councils from the Government’s newly created Cultural Renewal Taskforce removes the local voice on cultural renewal, the Local Government Association warns. 

The LGA said the Government and NHS must utilise the knowledge and experience of directors of public health when it comes to distributing a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

“This tragic milestone is a heartbreaking reminder of how many people have lost their lives to this dreadful disease and the terrible toll it has placed on family and friends.”

Councils across the country continue to lead the local fight against the pandemic. However, the Government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund is set to end in March 2022, which poses a threat to councils' ability to ramp-up efforts in response to the Omicron variant.

“COVID-19 has cruelly exposed and exacerbated the many social and health problems which existed before the pandemic, that need to be urgently addressed as part of our national recovery."

“Local knowledge and expertise has proved vital in combating COVID-19 and councils want to work with the Government to develop testing strategies which contain and reduce the virus in every area of the country, and for every section of our diverse communities."

"It is vital that even more of this vital protective equipment is available to those who need it, including our valuable social care staff and others providing essential local services."

Parks proved to be a lifeline for local communities during the COVID-19 crisis but the pandemic has had a devastating impact on councils’ park services, the Local Government Association sets out today.