CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Beecham launches scathing attack on Budget

Former chair of the Local Government Association, Lord Beecham, has launched a scathing attack on chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget plan – arguing it does little to help councils tackle crises in housing, social care and children’s services.

Former chair of the Local Government Association, Lord Beecham, has launched a scathing attack on chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget plan – arguing it does little to help councils tackle crises in housing, social care and children's services.

During a post-Budget debate in the House of Lords, Lord Beecham, former Labour leader of Newcastle City Council, accused the Conservative government of overseeing a ‘shocking' situation in which ‘the fifth richest economy in the world is failing to meet the needs of its people' by providing appropriate local public services.

‘In the fifty years I have been privileged to serve as a local councillor, I have never known such unrelenting and damaging pressure on crucially important local services which this Budget, like its predecessors in the last seven years, has failed to adequately address,' he said.

With councils facing a shortfall of £1.3bn in adult social care alone, Lord Beecham chastised the chancellor for failing to announce any further financial support for social care in his recent Budget.

‘Astonishingly, no mention was made in the Budget for increased funding in this crucial area, in which the Spring Budget's £2bn over three years is a one-off sum.'

He also warned that evidence suggests that much of the Spring Budget cash for social care is ‘going to an over-stretched NHS for capital funding' for Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships.

On housing, Lord Beecham warned the Budget measures would contribute only to 10,000 new homes – despite the Budget being pitched as focused on house-building.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES

ADCS Conference: £53m for new DoL placements

By Ann McGauran | 10 July 2025

The Government has allocated £53m to create 200 new council-run placements for children deprived of their liberty, a minister announced today.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES

WLGA defends councils over Covid funds

By Martin Ford | 10 July 2025

The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has defended the role of councils in distributing social care funding during the Covid pandemic.

CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Call for Government to fix 'broken' children's social care

By Ann McGauran | 10 July 2025

Urgent action is needed to fix a ‘broken’ children’s social care system and give all young people the future they deserve, the chair of the Commons Education...

CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Under pressure: The strain of snap elections

By Peter Stanyon | 09 July 2025

Peter Stanyon says election teams must have the legislation, systems and funding in place if they are to keep on delivering the safe, secure and accurate Gen...

Popular articles by Mark Conrad