Local authorities to share £56.5m Brexit fund

Local authorities across England are set to share a pot of £56.5m to help them prepare for Brexit, government ministers declared yesterday.

£40m of the pot will be split across this and next financial year to help councils adapt to the UK’s departure from the EU on 29 March, with a further £16.5m intended to help councils with specific needs.

The announcement comes after the Treasury announced £35m of funding for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government last December, with an extra £21.5m coming from MHCLG’s 2018-19 budget.

Communities secretary James Brokenshire said: ‘Local authorities have a critical role to play in making a success of Brexit in their areas.

‘I’m determined to ensure councils have the resources they need, which is why I’m releasing £56.5m of extra finance to help them to deliver essential services and keep residents well-informed.

‘I will continue to work closely with local leaders to ensure they are prepared to respond to any Brexit scenario.’

According to MHCLG, all English councils will have access to £20m in 2018-19 and £20m in 2019-20 to spend on planning ahead of the UK’s departure from the European Union.

All unitary councils will receive £210,000 and combined authorities will get £182,000, while county councils will receive £175,000 each and district councils will get £35,000.

A further £10m will be made available in 2019-20 to help local authorities facing specific costs relating to Brexit, while £5m will be split between the MHCLG, local authorities and Local Resilience Forums for specific purposes.

Finally, £1.5m will be allocated this financial year to local authorities facing impact from local ports, with the decision on who will be allocated that funding to be made shortly.

Councils can decide how to allocate the funding but are expected to use at least some of it on recruiting extra staff to deal with a surge of enquiries pre- and post-Brexit.

The ministry’s announcement comes after Kent County Council warned school staff last week that schools may be affected by traffic congestion after 29 March.

The council advised schools in Kent, one of the UK’s main transport gateways, to bear in mind the risks of staff shortages, additional security needs, and even temporary closure if heavy traffic causes a deterioration of air quality near schools.

The government has said that its departments will assess and fund any potential new requirements of councils that arise as a result of Brexit.