Powys will need to shoulder the financial burden of further pandemic measures from April, the council has confirmed.

No extra funding to deal with the costs of lost income and the stress on services caused by Covid-19 will be coming in the next financial year, and will instead have to be sourced from Powys Council's coffers.

Part of that money will be supported by the higher £18.3 million budget settlement provided by the Welsh Government this year, which takes its funding in Powys from £192.8m to £210.2m.

But Powys finance chief Jane Thomas told a meeting of the finance panel on Thursday that part of the higher settlement was based on the additional costs of the pandemic being included in the settlement./

Ms Thomas explained: “In terms of Covid-19 costs, up until March 31 that has been met through a separate Welsh Government fund known as the Hardship Fund.

“But from April 1 the council is expected to meet any continuing costs of the pandemic itself through its own budget.

“With regard to the additional settlement that we’ve received, it’s clear from the Welsh Government advice there is additional funding included for us to manage that.”

She believed that this change in how funding to combat Covid-19 is shared out is a “key risk” for the budget due to the “unknown” nature of the pandemic.

The draft budget agreed by the Independent/Conservative cabinet includes a 3.9 per cent rise in council tax.

The funding from Cardiff relies on a complicated formula that considers a number of indices including population figures, how many children receive free school meals as well as how many adults are in work or claiming benefits.

Finance portfolio holder, Cllr Aled Davies told the committee that unemployment levels in Powys had been at “low”, and the figures also depended on when it “had been collected.”

He also believed that the change to a cashless payment system in Powys schools had revealed the number of children in need of free school meals.

Cllr Davies said: “It reflects the economy, and the little bit of uncertainty at that moment in time.

“I know unemployment figures are at their lowest on a UK level and job vacancies are extremely high including in Powys.

“It might change again next year, and we’ll see how things settle down.”