Boris Johnson must prove to Sunderland he is 'honourable', says chief

Early in the coronavirus outbreak, Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick said ministers stood ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with local authorities and that it was his ‘priority’ to see them supported through the crisis.

But he and his boss in Number 10 have been warned they risk losing the trust of councils if they do not step in to plug the gaps in account books caused by COVID-19.

“In March the local government minister made it clear to council leaders that the government stood ready to do whatever necessary to support councils,” said Coun Paul Stewart, cabinet secretary at Sunderland City Council.

“This council has responded very well to coronavirus and we expect the government to honour what it said.

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“I believe that the minister and the Prime Minister are honourable individuals and if they gave us a commitment they will honour that – otherwise anything that comes from the government must be treated with doubt in future.”

Coun Stewart was speaking at a meeting of the city council’s Scrutiny Co-ordinating Committee, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.

The latest forecasts by the council’s finance chiefs suggest COVID-19 could cost Wearside at least £40million in lost income and increased costs.

Over two rounds of government grants to local authorities so far, Sunderland has been allocated about £18million, leaving a shortfall of at least £22 million with no indication yet of whether ministers will stump up for a third round of funding.

Jon Ritchie, the city council’s executive director of Corporate Services, told the meeting: “There’s a lot of uncertainty driven by how quickly lockdown will be lifted.

“Some local authorities are talking about S114 [bankruptcy] notices and that is something we’re monitoring on a daily basis because we have to set a balanced budget.

“While we have about £150million in reserves they’re predominantly earmarked for specific purposes and if we use them for COVID we can’t use them for the things we had intended to.”

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