Waltham Forest Council has warned it could lose more than £38 million due to the pressures of responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

A report prepared for the cabinet meeting on Thursday (April 23) estimates the “financial exposure” could reach more than £25 million by the end of June.

The council has so far received a £7.54 million grant from the Government to support its residents, most of which will be spent on adult social care, and will lobby for further support.

The council expects to spend this money on things like high staffing costs due to employees falling sick with the virus and increasing the number of care home beds available.

The Government has already given the council another £54 million grant, which is ring-fenced for small businesses in the borough to help them survive the lockdown.

More than £11 million worth of these grants has already been paid to hundreds of businesses facing financial ruin.

The council has created an “emergency Covid-19 reserve” totalling £5 million from existing earmarked reserves.

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