The additional government funding promised to local authorities after Brexit is “simply not enough” according to some council leaders.

Communities secretary James Brokenshire announced on Monday that councils across England will receive an extra £56.5 million once the UK leaves the European Union.

This, he explained, will “help them to deliver essential services and keep residents well-informed” once Britain leaves.

But council leaders in north-west London believe it is insufficient compensation for the potential losses the country will incur as a result of Brexit.

Cllr Graham Henson, leader of Harrow Council, said: “The money pledged by the Government is simply not enough.

“In Harrow we have a significant number of European citizens living in our borough who face an uncertain future, and the council is taking responsible steps to ensure that they are informed about what they need to do to secure their status post-Brexit.

“Instead of promising funding next year to assist with a problem of their own making, the Government should put its energy into taking the disastrous ‘no deal’ Brexit off the table and work towards securing a deal that protects business and jobs in our borough and across the country.”

He added that Downing Street should focus on “properly funding” local authorities to help them deliver services, instead of cutting their central grants.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, agreed and argued that, whatever the post-Brexit funding is, it will not balance out the cuts the borough has faced since 2010.

“I fear it won’t come close to restoring anything close to the huge 79 per cent cut the Government has made to Brent Council’s funding, which is putting huge pressure on our work to make our borough safer, cleaner and greener,” he said.

He added that the council will continue to push the Government on the idea of calling a people’s vote to give the public a say on the final Brexit deal.

On Tuesday, MPs agreed to send Theresa May back to Brussels in the hope of negotiating a new withdrawal agreement.

It was motivated by the so-called ‘backstop’ – in the prime minister’s previous deal, it was agreed that there would be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

However, the EU has said it is unwilling to renegotiate the agreement.