Reading has been awarded almost £4million to tackle pressures brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

Reading Borough Council (RBC)’s leader Jason Brock said the funding will mostly go towards adult and children’s social care.

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Some money will also going towards work to get rough sleepers off the streets.

Cllr Brock said: “The vast majority will be spent on social care and the particular pressures emerging around that.

“It is gratefully received but it is clear that the government will have to make more money available so we can support the NHS at a time like this.”

One of the pressures councils are facing is the need for the council to discharge people from hospital much more quickly than normal to help to make beds available.

The government has awarded RBC £3,838,960 out of a £1.6billion coronavirus pot for local authorities.

Preston City Council, a district council which does not have responsibility for adult and children’s social care, is getting £97,000, which Cllr Brock said shows much of the funding is needed for social care.

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Some of the money RBC has received will fund keeping homeless people off the streets and in safe accommodation.

The government told councils they had until the end of last week to accommodate rough sleepers amid the coronavirus outbreak.

RBC successfully placed 60 homeless people in accommodation on Friday, March 27, though some refused the B&B accommodation.

How much have other councils received?

Other councils in Berkshire have received similar but lower amounts compared to Reading.

Reading Chronicle:

West Berkshire was awarded £3.2million, while Wokingham received £2.5million and Bracknell got around £2.4million.

How will coronavirus affect the council in the long-term?

In the short-term, the government is providing funding to keep councils afloat during the crisis but in the long-term local authorities, like many businesses, will have to deal with months of lost earnings.

Cllr Brock said: “There is a reduction in income with things like theatre closures for example.

“There are a lot of long-term challenges for when we come out of this crisis and we will review the budget situation then.”