Richmond Council is facing an £11 million shortfall because of Covid-19 and a lack of funding, the authority says.

In a letter to the government Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney relayed the council's concerns about the "stark funding pressures" ahead.

"The local authorities in both Richmond and Kingston have gone above and beyond to deliver for local residents during this unprecedented crisis and they should be congratulated for their efforts," she told Richmond Nub News.

"But there is huge concern in councils across London that the necessary major financial outlay is going to undermine stability in the future.

"I am writing to the Treasury and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask them for the support needed to revive our local authorities, deliver high quality services to every resident and help to deliver a greener future for everyone."

Last week public sector funding was agreed when the Chancellor held the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review.

Rushi Sunak said councils would receive £3 billion to help them meet covid-related losses, including from frozen business rates and council tax relief. This amounts to a 4.5% rise in "spending power".

It appears unlikely that this will make up for the council's losses. "Richmond Council is leading the local response to Covid-19 and the financial impact of this work to date totals over £28 million," the council said.

"Despite agreeing to pay councils in full for their Covid-19 work, government funding for Richmond is estimated to fall more than £6 million short of the council's costs and lost income.

"This unpaid bill comes on top of a £40 million cut in Richmond's government grant cut over a decade; the equivalent of a loss of over 60p in every pound we used to receive.

"Richmond upon Thames is now facing the in-year budget pressure linked to Covid-19 and is also forecasting a budget gap of up to £11 million for the next financial year; one of its biggest ever."

Cllr Gareth Roberts, leader of the council, said: "Whilst the government has given us some funding to help during the pandemic, is quite clear that we require significantly more, in order to allow us to do whatever is necessary to protect residents, communities and our local economy.

"We led the local response during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing food parcel deliveries for vulnerable people, giving millions of pounds in business rates and council tax relief for struggling residents and business, supplying thousands of free parking permits for local key workers and much more. This was the right thing to do, but it all comes at a price.

"As we plan ahead it is essential that central government ensures councils have the funding required to keep providing the local services that people, communities and businesses rely on."

London Councils which represents the authorities in all 32 London boroughs estimated that the coronavirus would leave them with a £1.1 billion funding gap.

Speaking before the spending review, finance lead Cllr Robin Brown (Hampton Wick) said: "Many councils are at a financial breaking point with no certainty ahead about the financial settlement they can expect from government, or the extra covid demands that could be placed on them in the future, and Richmond is no exception.

"The ongoing health and social impact of responding to the pandemic could be disastrous for Richmond financially. As an organisation delivering frontline services in the fight against the virus, we need more financial support from government if we are going to be able to meet the critical needs of our residents. Our priority remains to protect the most vulnerable, but I am very concerned about what lies ahead."

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