Helping the county’s economy recover – as well as council finances – is just part of the Covid-19 recovery planning underway at County Hall.

Pembrokeshire County Council chief executive Ian Westley said he would not speculate on Welsh Government funding availability to compensate for loss of income due to the coronavirus shut down.

Members of the policy and pre-decision overview and scrutiny held its first virtual meeting on June 9 and discussed aspects of the recovery from Covid-19 and future plans for the authority’s budget and services.

Clr. Tony Baron said that as well as business recovery the council’s finances need to recover asking what consideration was being given to the issuing of a section 114 notice which limits spending to statutory services only.

He said discussions must be had on recovering the council’s financial position “without putting extra burden on the council tax payers and business.”

The importance of the third sector – and its financial support – was highlighted by Clr. Rhys Sinnett as he praised the work of local communities in supporting one another during the crisis, with the organisational backing from other groups.

Clr. Mike James asked about the status of tourism business support as well as the potential impact on rural poverty but it is still unclear what government guidance will be given on the reopening of hotels and restaurants or if additional funding will be available.

Additional costs incurred by the local authority as well as public behaviour when services being opening up will also have an impact on budgets which will have to be reviewed over coming weeks, the committee heard.

Mr. Westley said that every local authority in Wales had “lobbied” Welsh Government about funding to recover losses, as well as other aspects of Covid-19 work, and once information was received it would be discussed with members.

He added that any move to a section 114 would be a “member decision and an issue for members to give us some preference” but he would err on the side of caution.

Spending money “that we can’t identify a source of origin for” would not be his preferred option, said Mr Westley.

Other points highlighted included bringing more member involvement into future plans, especially in the face of a potential second wave, as well as getting the views of residents and the many people who stepped up to volunteer.

Committee chairman Clr. Joshua Beynon put forward an amendment that the committee supported investigating engagement with citizens using a variety of methods on the Covid-19 recovery, which was approved.

Upcoming scrutiny committees will focus on the recovery of their specific areas over the coming weeks.