Eden faces a drop in Government support to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, because it was given cash earlier in the year.
Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron claimed the local authority area and South Lakeland would each be given £400,000 less than other areas in the county, due to a new formula, which he branded a ‘tinpot algorithm’.
Mr Farron has written to the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, urging him to immediately reconsider the plans.
In the latest round of COVID-19 grants for local councils, the Government has changed the formula so that areas that had needed more financial support to cope with the effects of the pandemic earlier in the year will get less support now.
During the peak of the pandemic, South Lakeland and Eden had the highest furlough uptakes rates in the country.
Mr Farron said: “It’s utter madness that South Lakeland and Eden should be penalised by the Government for having been two of the worst hit areas by the COVID-19 crisis.
“It’s an unbelievably stupid assumption that just because they needed more support back in the spring and the summer, they won’t need much going into winter.
“Just like the school exams fiasco, this appears to be the Government yet again putting their faith in a tinpot algorithm.
“Local businesses are ringing my office every day in desperation, faced with laying off staff or closing their doors for good.
“I’d like to see the brainiacs in Whitehall who came up with this formula tell these people that South Lakeland and Eden will be fine with less support.”
Meanwhile, the number of recorded coronavirus cases in Cumbria increased by 115 over the last 24 hours, official figures show.
Public Health England figures show that 6,256 people had been confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 by 9am today in Cumbria, up from 6,141 the same time yesterday.
The health body is now including Pillar 2 tests – those carried out by commercial partners – alongside Pillar 1 tests, which are analysed in NHS or PHE laboratories and which made up the first stage of the Government’s mass testing programme.
The rate of infection in Cumbria now stands at 1,251 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the England average of 1,382.
Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 22,885 over the period, to 917,575.
Cumbria’s cases were among the 195,127 recorded across the North West, a figure which rose by 5,322 over the period.
Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.
