Brexit: Local councils to receive £56.5m fund

Local councils in England will receive £56.5m to help them deal with Brexit, James Brokenshire has said.

The Local Government Secretary said the money would be used for "appropriate contingency planning".

Every council will receive a share of the pot, but additional funds will be given to areas that face the immediate impact from local ports.

And £10m will be kept aside to respond to costs that only surface after the UK has left the EU.

In a written statement to Parliament, Mr Brokenshire said: "Local government will play a critical role in making a success of Brexit at the local level.

"My department is committed to ensuring councils have the support and the funding they need to prepare for an orderly exit from the EU and do appropriate contingency planning."

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The money will be split, with £20m given out in this financial year, and another £20m in the next.

In total, all district councils will receive £35,000, all county councils will receive £175,000, all unitary authorities will receive £210,000 and all combined authorities will receive £182,000.

The additional fund for councils with ports will total £1.5m, and another £5m will be split between teams in the local government department and wider sector for "strengthening resilience preparations and supporting communities".

Mr Brokenshire said it would not be the only funding available to councils affected by Brexit and the government would continue to assess any "new burdens".

He also said he would make an announcement on the final overall settlement for local council funding "shortly" - blaming a delay to the announcement in December on the five days of Brexit debate in the Commons.