Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is preparing to recover from the financial impact of Coronavirus on the authority, which is predicted to be up to £2.3 million.

That figure has been named in a document to be presented to the council's Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on Wednesday, as the council plans how it aims to recover from the effects of the virus.

In a document entitled COVID-19 Pandemic - Financial Recovery & Positive Legacy, the council's Executive Director for Place, Neil Rogers, explained that the virus's impact on the authority's finances would be "significant".

He wrote: "The crisis is having a significant financial impact on the Council's General Fund. The financial impact is arising from additional expenditure in dealing with the crisis both externally and organisationally, lost income and savings targets that will not be met within the same timeframe due to resources being diverted elsewhere.

"The financial impact on the Council's General Fund in 2020/21 is currently predicted to be up to £2.3m".

However, it is also noted that, thanks to emergency Government funding and the use of the authority's reserves, the council should be able to manage the financial hit.

He continued: "This impact will be partially offset by emergency Government funding of approximately £1,021,594. Government have also announced a further funding package on 2nd July.

"With this government support, it is anticipated that the financial effect on the current financial year will be able to be managed with the use of the authority's contingency reserves."

The document, which is currently available for public viewing on the council's website, also outlines how Coronavirus has impacted other area's of the council's operations, such as it's workforce, its equality and diversity commitments, and its climate change pledges.

It estimates that the effects of Coronavirus on the council have been 61% negative and 11% positive, with 28% of the effects having no impact.

It is noted that the virus has had a positive effect in a small number of cases, such as causing a reduction in carbon emissions.

The council is now hoping to recover from the virus's effects by using the following five work streams:

• Reinstating services
• Economic recovery
• Community recovery
• Financial recovery
• Taking advantage of the positive effects

The report will be discussed at a meeting of the council's Resources Overview and Scrutiny Panel on Wednesday.