UK Local Authorities Face ‘Significant Funding Gaps’ Due to Pandemic: Watchdog

Pedestrians walk along an empty shopping street in Leeds, northern England, on Jan. 6, 2021, on the second day of Britain's national lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19. Oli Scarff /AFP via Getty Images

The CCP virus pandemic has caused “significant funding gaps” in England’s local authorities, whose financial outlook has become “concerning,” the UK government’s spending watchdog said on Wednesday.

During the pandemic, local authorities have reported combined cost pressures and income losses of £9.7 billion ($13.5 billion), equal to 17.6 percent of their total spend in the year before, the National Audit Office (NAO) said in its latest report (pdf).