Buried within the documents produced by the Treasury this afternoon are some figures for local government spending. Despite giving councils more responsibilities, such as paying for free Bus passes for the elderly, Government grant will only go up by 1% (and that is in total). For councils like Tandridge where Government settlements have normally been worse than the average, we are looking at real reductions in Government funding - which will have to be met with higher taxes locally, cuts to services (or even more efficiency savings).
I think the - non-partisan- local government association put it best:
”This is the worst settlement for local government in a decade. Councils will continue to work hard for the people they serve but they face tough choices. The Chancellor’s announcement will mean above inflation rises in bills for council taxpayers and businesses, and there remains a black hole in funding for the care of the elderly.”
We are now all paying the price for the Prime Minister's profligate spending when the economy was doing well.
