Budget reaction – sticking plaster solutions and half-baked promises

Reacting to the spring budget announcement delivered by the Chancellor today, Council Leader Keith Aspden has hit out at lack of action on cutting skyrocketing energy bills and only providing ‘sticking plaster solutions’.

Council Leader Councillor Keith Aspden commented:

“This is not a budget for growth but rather a budget of sticking plasters and half-baked promises. The revolving door of Conservative Chancellors in recent years have all failed to provide support to crucial local council services as well as people looking for a lifeline to cope with soaring energy bills, food prices and mortgage payments.

“Today’s announcements do not go far enough. From April, household energy bills will be nearly double what they were in 2021. The typical household income will fall by £1,100 next year (2023-24), with £650 of that due to tax rises. With energy companies making record profits, and the wholesale price of gas falling, there is no excuse for this shameful Tory decision, which will hammer household incomes and push even more families into poverty, hardship and debt.

“The Chancellor had the chance to cut energy bills by £500 per household. This would make a significant difference to households and the government can afford to do it, they are choosing not to. In three months time families will once again be facing a cliff edge of unaffordable heating bills. This is on top of no inflationary uplift to universal credit or continuation of winter fuel payments.

“Another headline grabbing only announcement - £200m for local road maintenance - is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. This investment represents around only half of the annual cut to funding that was put in place since for each of the last four years of the current parliament. Underfunding of national road repair budgets, coupled with soaring inflation, shortage in materials and rising backlogs is making it increasingly harder for councils to keep roads in good condition, affecting all users, including pedestrians and cyclists. We need to have real, long-term funding that allows councils to undertake more planned maintenance and not just emergency repairs.

“For months Ministers have kept saying there is no money for local services, no money for more household support, no money to prevent nurses and teacher pay cuts. The Chancellor did manage to find £6 billion to cut fuel duties and funds to abolish the maximum lifetime tax allowance. Those are the choices made today by a Chancellor completely out of touch.”

Commenting on the expansion of free childcare, Councillor Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, added:

“The plans to expand free childcare is very welcome news, as we know that the funding early year education providers currently receive from the Government is woefully inadequate and many providers simply cannot afford to operate at current levels. For years now the Government has failed to recognise the real cost of providing childcare as well as the issues with recruitment and retention in the sector. Since 2017 alone, the current funding entitlement has been cut by 13%. As universal support has expanded, targeted support for children most in need has fallen. There is an urgent need for a thorough review of the whole system.

“The goal of this policy is admirable and very welcome, but it does currently look like there is not enough money behind it to deliver it, especially for young people who need the greatest support. If there is not sufficient funding provided to deliver the plan and recruit more staff, it will leave the system facing even more pressure and leave childcare providers to offer more hours at a loss.

“My fear is that this announcement is for the benefit for news headlines rather than the parents and education providers struggling with one of the highest costs of childcare in the world.”