Emergency £16m funding confirmed for council
West Berkshire CouncilA local authority has been given the £16m emergency funding it asked for from government.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed the request from West Berkshire Council had been granted.
The Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) will be allocated to bolster the council's year end 2024/25 general reserve fund and to support the 2025/26 budget, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Lib Dem council leader Jeff Brooks said: "This is welcome news and we are pleased that our EFS request has been heard and acted upon.
"We wouldn't have asked for EFS if we felt we had any other choice but to do so.
"We're one of 30 councils to have done so.
"We will also, as we have done here, continue to stand up for residents in advocating for the district and ensuring the government understand the scale of the financial pressures facing local government."
Councillor Iain Cottingham, executive member for finance and resources, said: "EFS will strengthen our financial resilience, replenishing our general reserve fund after a period post Covid-19 [of] sustained decline.
He added that there was an expectation for West Berkshire Council to continue its transformation programme and that "we need to continue our programme of innovation, transforming our agility on how we serve all the residents of West Berkshire".
The authority is set to agree its budget for the year ahead when it meets on Thursday.
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