Budget
EXCLUSIVE: Anger over delays to high street bid funding
Funding to help boost the high street has not been paid to councils more than a year after the if was announced, The MJ has learned.
Just another brick in the wall?
The 55 Northern Conservative MPs who wrote to No 10 this week know that if they cannot deliver what the ‘red wall’ voters expected them to deliver then they are toast at the next general election, writes Mike Burton.
Coronavirus leads to scrapping of three-year Spending Review
Plans to create a three-year settlement for public spending have been abandoned as latest figures show the havoc coronavirus is wreaking on the public finances.
Budget cancellation ‘unacceptable’
The cancellation of the autumn Budget has created 'huge uncertainty,' the Scottish Government has said.
IFS urges delay to cuts and tax rises
Spending cuts and tax rises to rebalance the public finances should be delayed until 2022 to allow the economy to recover, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.
Shadow chancellor pushes for emergency Budget
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called for an emergency Budget in the summer with greater support for sectors worst hit by the coronavirus lockdown.
Council chiefs call for action to resolve £6bn Covid-19 crisis
Local authority leaders have urged the Government to provide detailed plans on how to ensure the financial stability of cash-strapped councils.
Council planning powers under threat
Planning powers could be shifted from local authorities to development corporations as part of an economic stimulus package to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson later this month.
Budget deficit has soared amid pandemic says ONS
Britain’s budget deficit has soared due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic – but figures released by the Office of National Statistics have yet to take in the full effect.
Public sector borrowing set to hit record high
Public sector borrowing as a result of the coronavirus lockdown is set to hit a record 14% of GDP this year but then decline rapidly to the levels predicted in the March Budget, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Buoyant tax income ahead of coronavirus crisis
The last set of public finance figures before the Government’s £350bn injection to combat coronavirus’ economic impact shows a buoyant month for tax income.
£3bn bed blocking coronavirus cash injection
Almost £3bn of the Government’s £5bn Covid-19 funding will go towards freeing up at least 15,000 English hospital beds by the end of next week, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced.
Make councils account for extreme investments
Local government needs a new way to hold councils to account when they are making ‘extreme’ investments, finance expert Rob Whiteman has claimed.
Finding our levels
While austerity could be over 'as a process and a direction', the spending spree may not be quite as generous as it first appears – and there will be more devolution deals to come. Heather Jameson digests the Budget with sector experts.
Local government needs to ‘hold the ring’ on pooled public services’ budgets
Shadow minister for local government Jim McMahon tells Heather Jameson it was irresponsible that the Budget did not mention adult social care – and he says we need an ‘honest assessment’ of councils’ and public services’ funding needs.
Levelling up and the Budget
Lord Bob Kerslake argues that a coherent plan is needed to ensure the Budget’s new capital spending and R&D cash geared at areas outside London and the South East has maximum impact.
God is in the detail
Tony Kirkham says if councils can approach the challenges of COVID-19 with the spirit and professionalism they are renowned for, the sector can move into the detailed analysis to deliver a Spending Review that benefits citizens in the medium-term.
Local government shines at the heart of a crisis
Local government is at the heart of the coronavirus crisis, says Heather Jameson. Despite a decade of cuts, councils still step up, and while the nation focuses on pressures on the NHS, the efforts of care workers will be every bit as vital.
There is still plenty for this Government to ‘get done’
The Budget package does not give councils any certainty over funding for the short to medium term, let alone the long term, and failed to address much-needed reforms to social care, says Solace spokesman for finance Martin Reeves.
Budget 2020: If this is a national crisis it's one many of us felt was already underway
Local agendas should prevail, according to chair of SIGOMA Sir Stephen Houghton – but he says the headline capital aspirations in the Budget seem to harbour real ambition beyond already thriving areas.
