Opinion
View from the chamber: What is the true cost of Covid?
Cllr Andrew Woods wants to know the true cost of Covid in Tower Hamlets. Picture: Mike Brooke - Credit: Mike Brooke
Four times I have asked Tower Hamlets Council to provide a detailed breakdown of the cost of Covid, four times I have been refused or blocked.
A press release in August said the council would need to spend
£60 million more due to increased spending and loss of income and that as the government had only committed to provide £30m that meant a £30m black hole.
But at the end of July they released estimates of how much the budget would have to change this year, it added up to £39m from all causes (not just Covid), not including £9m for extra costs in education and Tower Hamlets Homes.
Analysis of cabinet documents suggest the actual cost of Covid maybe as low as £15.5m this year, not £60m.
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We need some honesty from the council about the financial impact of Covid on us.
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