More than £50 million worth of support for residents and business has been approved by Medway Council.

Leader Alan Jarrett announced various schemes will help provide reassurances to some of the most vulnerable in the Towns.

Council tax bills have been cut and business rates slashed as well as grants available to help small firms weather the tide during the coronavirus pandemic and support for adult and children's social care, rough sleepers and the homeless.

Cllr Jarrett (Con) has used special urgency powers ensure the immediate work is introduced immediately after government funding was given to the council.

"I am pleased the government has put measures in place to enable us to provide additional financial support to the Medway residents and businesses who need extra help during the pandemic," Cllr Jarrett said.

"We recognise the importance of quickly getting these national measures in place locally and I have used urgency powers to allow this work to be immediately carried out.

"We will continue to do all we can to support Medway’s economy during this difficult time."

Chief finance officer Phil Watts has been delegated authority to bring the projects forward quickly – which usually would have to be approved at a cabinet meeting.

The measures include:

• £2m to fund additional council tax reductions for lower income households and those most affected by the coronavirus. Those already on the scheme will receive a further discount of up to £150
• £5.7m in business rate relief. Retailers with a 50% reduction will see their bills cut further to zero and has been extended to include properties used for leisure, hotels and public halls. A previous cap of those with a rateable value of less £51,000 has also been scrapped. Pubs which are not eligible for the new 100% relief while see discounts of up to £5,000 on the rates.
• £39.7m support for small businesses to fund grants to help companies cope financially
• £6.6m emergency grant funding to help increased demand for adult and children's social care, homeless and rough sleepers, helping health teams support those in self-isolation most at risk of developing Covid-19

Labour leader Cllr Vince Maple said: "It's good to welcome a number of these various initiatives which will be there to help small businesses and the most vulnerable households in terms of their council tax bills.

"I'm looking to push for a more intensive hardship fund and hope to see positive progress in the very near future."

With help not coming for some until June, Cllr Maple said some of those people could go "under the radar" unless a hardship fund in Medway was introduced.

Local authorities will be put under increasing financial strain this year. Medway's income alone will be hit due to the closure of leisure centres, less car parking, business rates and from council-run entertainment facilities such as the The Brook and Chatham Central theatres.

Cllr Maple said the council's "relatively low of reserves" meant it could be put under more financial pressure and said a further round of funding from the government might be required.

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