Perth and Kinross Council could be one of the worst hit regions in the whole of the UK by the coronavirus, new figures have claimed.
Statistics released to the BBC’s data unit say the financial impact could be £329 per resident in the region - the third highest in the country.
Based on the worst-case potential shortfall of £50 million, BBC data crunchers placed Perth and Kinross behind just Highland (£411) and Aberdeen (£359).
Birmingham has the highest potential financial shortfall with £212m but has a considerably larger population than the Scottish councils, which topped the UK list based on headcount.
The news came in the same week PKC’s head of finance Stewart MacKenzie addressed councillors about the financial impact.
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He presented a report which estimates the cost to the council at £27.6m but said this was subject to change.
At a virtual meeting he told councillors: “The position remains highly fluid.
“The full financial impact could be significantly more than originally estimated.”
The report states the cost could be as high as £50m if “the phases of lockdown continue for longer than anticipated, if there is a further period of lockdown and/or if income assumptions prove to be too optimistic”.
The council has temporarily lost income from a variety of sources including planning fees and building warrants, school meals, car parking, commercial property rentals, commercial refuse collection, garden waste collection and licensing.
Funding sources have been made available to the council from the Scottish Government.
The PKC working group on recovery and renewal has started to meet and further financial briefings will be given to councillors over the summer.
Chief executive Karen Reid said a special budget meeting would be held later this year to review the revenue budget which was agreed in March and to set the capital budget, which was postponed due to the pandemic.
