PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Local Government Finance: Nottingham (30 December 2020)

At the Spending Review, the Government announced that local authorities are expected to receive over £3 billion of additional support for COVID-19 in 2021-22, taking the total support committed to councils in England to tackle the impacts of COVID-19 to over £10 billion. Of the £7.2 billion that has already been provided, Nottingham City Council has received over £34.3 million so far, and under our proposals will receive at least a further £11.7 million in un-ringfenced funding next year.

Following issues raised in a Public Interest Report published in August, a rapid non-statutory review was conducted into Nottingham City Council. The review examined the serious governance and risk management issues associated with the Council’s private energy company, Robin Hood Energy. In response to the findings of the review, on 17 December 2020 the Secretary of State announced new measures to address the serious failures at the Council, including the appointment of an Improvement and Assurance Board and a requirement for the Council to put forward a 3-year recovery plan.

The department will continue to work with the council to understand the range of financial issues they are experiencing, including any request for additional financial support from Government.