MILLIONS of pounds have been handed to councils across the county in coronavirus support.

Worcestershire County Council will receive £4.3 million and Worcester City Council will be receiving £418,000 from the government in the latest round of government Covid-19 funding.

Malvern Hills District Council will receive £152,000 and Wychavon District Council has been awarded £250,000.

City council leader Marc Bayliss said the extra money will likely allow the council to break even this year after income was hit massively by the pandemic and lockdown.

“We are delighted that we have received £418,000 from the government,” he said. “We weren’t expecting it, its excellent, and it shows that this government is supporting local authorities.

“It will mean that we end the year probably breaking just about even now, in my estimations, and it will make up for the lost income.

“The government has come in for some criticism on certain aspects of corona and its handling but on local government support I don’t think there can be anybody that has any qualms over the level of support we have received.”

Malvern Hills District Council leader Sarah Rouse said that whilst grateful for the money, she was still concerned.

“So far the pandemic has cost us about £1.4million in lost income and additional spending pressures," she said. "This latest funding from the Government means we have now received just over £1 million.

"While we are grateful for that, it still leaves a significant gap and the pandemic still has a long way to run. We are also concerned about long-term cost pressures in the future. We will continue to stress to the Government the need for further immediate support, as well as a fair long-term funding settlement.”

Cllr Bradley Thomas, leader of Wychavon District Council, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on our finances in terms of loss of income from things such as parking charges and planning fees. On top of that we are seeing cost pressures increase, for example with more people seeking help with their council tax and the need to provide additional support for our leisure centres.

"We are grateful for this latest round of money which takes our total grant support from government to £1.7million. Our priority remains supporting our communities and local economy and with the pandemic not yet over and our total losses not yet known, we may need further financial help from the Government."