Coronavirus pandemic has cost taxpayers in Cornwall around £10 million

WATCH: Leader of Cornwall Council, Julian German, answers your questions during our exclusive #LeadersInLockdown interview from 7pm on March 18th.

We can exclusively reveal the coronavirus pandemic has cost Cornwall's taxpayers around £10 million.

That is money Cornwall Council says it has had to pay out that has not come back from government.

Council Leader Julian German has answered your questions during our #LeadersInLockdown special.

His interview covers everything from making sure school children do not fall behind and the influx of summer visitors, to whether the recently announced 4.99% rise in council tax is justified.

We asked Julian how much the pandemic has cost Cornwall in pounds and pence and this was his response.

"There's been a huge cost. We've received lots of different monies from government so quite a lot of money we've received has gone straight back out to business to support them through the pandemic. We've got a high number of people on furlough in Cornwall and so all of that support's been really welcome.

"But unfortunately, we haven't had as much support as we would like so there's a number of businesses, in particular the freelance economy in Cornwall, that haven't had financial support.

"And in terms of what the council has done to support residents and the loss of income we've had through essential leisure services being closed, we're short in the funding for that.

"So around £10 million that we've expended that we haven't had back from government, despite their claims for local councils to do all they need to during the pandemic".

Julian German, Leader of Cornwall Council

You can watch Julian German's #LeadersInLockdown interview at the link above from 7pm on March 18th.