Published Friday 23 October 2020 at 14:58
The Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council has welcomed the government allocating more than £4m to the borough to deal with the ongoing challenges brought by COVID-19.
The government confirmed Blackburn with Darwen Council will be allocated £4,102,748 in the latest round of funding to deal with the impact of coronavirus on the local authority and its communities.
However Councillor Mohammed Khan CBE has urged the government for more funding for local services, residents and businesses.
Councillor Khan said:
I am incredibly proud of how the Council and the borough has responded to this awful pandemic.
We have led from the front, continued to deliver essential services while doing all we can to protect people’s health, protect the vulnerable and trying to protect the borough’s economy as much as we can.
We have done whatever it takes to steer our borough through this but of course it has had a major impact on our budget.
We are in for an extremely difficult winter and I think there will be dark days ahead. But I do believe, by working together, we can beat the virus. But we need resources as well.
So this funding is welcome and helps us respond to the budget pressures while still delivering for our residents.
But let’s be very clear. We still have a budget gap. Our residents and businesses are also suffering badly from the impact of this pandemic. So of course I will continue to lobby the government for the funding and resources our borough needs.
The government has also announced a new fund to support Council leisure centres most in need. Further details of the scheme will be set out shortly
Councillor Khan said:
I am delighted we have managed to reopen our council leisure centres. They have been open for a few weeks now and staff have done an amazing job to make the centres COVID-secure and safe. It’s great to see users coming back and using the facilities. Of course, being closed for so long has had a big impact so I am looking forward to seeing the details of this fund.