Carmarthenshire Council receive £18 million for Covid-19 costs

The Welsh Labour Government have provided in excess of £18 million to support Carmarthenshire Council with related costs to tackling Coronavirus and loss of income during the pandemic.

Carmarthenshire Labour have welcomed this funding, claiming that the support provided to local authorities during the pandemic has been unprecedented.

The aforementioned figure accounts for almost 93% of costs related to Council’s response to the pandemic, including £4.8m support for care services and £1.25m for the the reopening of schools. The figure does not account for the almost £40 million of direct business support to Carmarthenshire, nor the costs related to PPE provided to the local authority.

Cllr Rob James, Carmarthenshire Labour Leader stated “I welcome this additional funding from the Welsh Labour Government that builds upon the support already provided to Carmarthenshire businesses and direct support to our communities.

“The level of support that has been provided during the pandemic has been unprecedented.

“This has been an extremely difficult period for our communities and every effort is going in to ensuring that people remain safe and that families are supported. As the County Council debate next years budget in the coming weeks, we must look internally and ask whether the Council can be doing more to support local residents.

“Personally, I believe we should be doing more. Raising town centre car parking charges during a pandemic, where local businesses are struggling, is just one example of this Plaid Cymru Council’s lack of empathy for local communities. We must ensure no stone is left unturned when identifying measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.”