GR Direct - Sony - Save up to £500
Sunday 27 July 2025
 15.8°C   WSW Gentle Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Council / SIC to ask for extra funding from government to cover ‘significant’ cost of coronavirus response

Shetland Islands Council leader Steven Coutts. Photo: Shetland News

THE LEADER of Shetland Islands Council (SIC) says the local authority will be seeking extra funding from the Scottish Government to cover the additional costs incurred during its response to coronavirus.

Councillor Steven Coutts said there is “no question” that there has been “significant” extra cost to the council.

Services across the council have been affected, with extra pressure also placed on staff.

Coutts said the SIC will be asking for extra funding via local government body COSLA.

“Our immediate priority was to support the NHS, flatten the curve on demand for health service and ultimately save lives,” he said.

“We also continue to provide essential front line services. But there is no question that the pandemic has resulted in some significant additional costs to the council. We will be actively collating and reporting on these costs in due course.”

Extra funding for councils in England has already been announced from the UK Government but Coutts said it is still unclear how the Scottish Government will approach the issue.

He expects finance secretary Kate Forbes to outline the government’s plans.

More generally, the SIC leader said in addition to the extra costs, the pandemic will have a “lasting societal and economic impact” in Shetland.

“The loss of income and employment in our community will be very significant for individuals and households,” Coutts said.

“This will have a knock on impact on council services. This will be increasingly in the forefront of our minds as we move forward.”

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.