Vale of White Horse Council is among a minority not facing a shortfall in council tax income amid the coronavirus pandemic, new figures reveal.

Many local authorities in England are facing huge funding gaps, with the national deficit estimated to exceed £500 million for the 2020-21 financial year.

Data from the Ministry of Housing(MHCLG), Communities and Local Government shows Vale of White Horse’s council expects to see a surplus of £2,708,687 in its collection fund for the period.

The district council makes one of 41 councils to have avoided the ‘financial hole’ caused by a drastic national fall in anticipated council tax income.

The collection fund represents income and expenditure relating to council tax and business rates, with estimates used to help set local authority budgets.

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In response to the pandemic, the Government asked councils to estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the collection of funds for 2020-21. More than 250 local authorities across England reported estimated deficits of between £14,000 and £17 million. There were 10 councils that indicated they were not in deficit, but did not report surplus figures.

The national anticipated deficit rises to £546 million when surpluses are not taken into account, the figures show.

The figures do not reflect the council’s overall financial position after other funding and spending is accounted for, nor the impact of the tax income guarantee scheme announced by the Government in November. Under this scheme, local authorities will be reimbursed for up to 75 per cent of irrecoverable council tax and business rate losses, with payments expected to begin in the near future.

Separate MHCLG figures show that, across England, council overspend due to the pandemic totalled around £6.9 billion in March, while losses were calculated at around £5.1 billion.