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Spring Budget 2024: key policy measures

Local Government Lawyer rounds up some of the key policy measures in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Spring Budget 2024 affecting the sector.

Reforms to public spending

  • Public Sector Productivity Programme – The government is committing £4.2 billion of funding to improve the productivity of the public sector. This includes £3.4 billion of additional CDEL [capital departmental expenditure limit]  over three years from 2025‑26 as part of the NHS’s productivity plan in England, investing in technological and digital transformation to help unlock £35 billion cumulative savings by 2029‑30, and £0.8 billion to wider public services to deliver up to £1.8 billion of benefits over the same period.
  • Police Productivity and Technology – The government is giving police forces £230 million to pilot or roll out technology such as live facial recognition, automation and the use of drones as first responders. The government will establish a Centre for Police Productivity.
  • Expanding counter fraud capability through deploying AI – The government is announcing £34 million to expand the Public Sector Fraud Authority by deploying AI to help combat fraud across the public sector.
  • Reforming Communications from HM Courts & Tribunal Service – The government will modernise communications from HMCTS by bringing forward digital reforms and reducing spend on first class post.
  • AI Document Processing – The government will utilise AI to reduce the need for manual scanning of paper documents through the introduction of Intelligent Document Processing technology in the administration of court cases.

Devolution

  • North East “Trailblazer” Devolution Deal – Following commitments in the previous North East Level 3 devolution deal announced in December 2022, the government has agreed a deeper “trailblazer” devolution deal with the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.
  • Level 2 Devolution Agreements – At Autumn Statement 2023, the government offered Level 2 devolution powers to some councils which cover a whole county or functional economic area. The government has finalised the first of these agreements with Surrey County Council, Buckinghamshire Council and Warwickshire County Council.
  • Investment Zones next steps – The government has announced further details on Investment Zones in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North East of England, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. The government has also confirmed that the Tees Valley Investment Zone will focus on the digital and creative sectors. Further details on the Tees Valley and East Midlands Investment Zones will be announced shortly.
  • Extension of Investment Zones programme – Investment Zones will be extended from five to ten years in Scotland and Wales, matching the extension announced for England at Autumn Statement 2023. Full details of the four Investment Zones in Scotland and Wales will be announced later this year.
  • Expanding the Long-Term Plan for Towns – The government is announcing £400 million of investment to extend the Long-Term Plan for Towns to a further 20 places across the UK. This provides places with ten years of endowment-style funding and support worth up to £20 million to invest in communities and regeneration. The full list of towns is: Royal Sutton Coldfield, Darlington, Runcorn, Canvey Island, Thetford, King’s Lynn, Ramsgate, Eastbourne, Harlow, Newton-le-Willows, Rawtenstall, Wisbech, Carlton (Gedling), Bedworth, Arbroath, Peterhead, Kirkwall, Rhyl, Derry/Londonderry, and Coleraine.
  • Community regeneration projects – The government is providing £6 million of funding for work with the King’s Foundation to pilot how community led regeneration projects anchored around heritage assets and sustainability considerations can complement government’s wider place-based initiatives for levelling up, subject to business case approval.

Children’s Services, Education

  • Children’s Social Care reform – The government will provide £45 million match funding to local authorities to build an additional 200 open children’s home placements and £120 million to fund the maintenance of the existing secure children’s home estate, and rebuild Atkinson Secure Children’s Home and Swanwick Secure Children’s Home.
  • Cost of residential placements – The government will also develop proposals on "what more can be done to combat profiteering, bring down costs and create a more sustainable market" for residential placements which it will publish later this year. Furthermore, it will work with the Local Government Pension Scheme to consider the role they could play in unlocking investment in new children’s homes.
  • New special free schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – The government is announcing £105 million as initial investment to fund an additional wave of 15 special free schools.
  • Alternative Provision free school locations – The government is confirming the location of 20 alternative provision free schools in England as part of the Spending Review 2021 commitment to invest £2.6 billion capital in high needs provision.

Planning, Property, Housing

  • Digital Planning – A new pilot will use AI to help speed up development of local plans. In addition, new software will be explored to streamline key processes for planning officers.
  • Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund – The government is publishing an Expression of Interest for round two of DLUHC’s Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund.
  • Planning capacity – The government will match industry-led funding of £3 million for planning capacity and resourcing in the next Spending Review period.
  • Accelerated Planning Service – The government is publishing the consultation on the proposed design of the new accelerated planning service as well as new measures to constrain the use of extension of time agreements and identifying local planning authorities who are using these excessively.
  • Reforms to speed up the consenting process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) – The government is publishing a response to the consultation on operational reforms to the NSIP consenting process and the updated National Networks National Policy Statement.
  • Community Housing – The government is announcing investment of £20 million in a social finance fund to support the development of community-led housing schemes over ten years, subject to a business case.
  • Abolition of Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime – The government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime, eliminating the tax advantage for landlords who let short-term furnished holiday properties over those who let residential properties to longer-term tenants. This will take effect from 6 April 2025 and draft legislation will be published in due course.
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax: Acquisitions by Registered Social Landlords and public bodies – Legislation will be updated to ensure that from 6 March 2024, registered providers of social housing in England and Northern Ireland are not liable for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when purchasing property with a public subsidy and public bodies will be exempted from the 15% anti-avoidance rate of SDLT.
  • Allowing local authorities (LAs) additional flexibility in their use of Right to Buy receipts – The government will increase the cap from 40% to 50% on the percentage of the cost of a replacement home that can be funded from Right to Buy receipts.
  • Household Support Fund Extension – The government is providing an additional £500 million (including Barnett impact) to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England from April to September 2024.

Employment

  • Local Government Pension Scheme new reporting requirements – Revised annual reporting guidance will require LGPS funds to provide a summary of asset allocation, including UK equity investment, as well as provide greater clarity on progress of pooling, through a standardised data return, taking effect from April 2024.

Source: Spring Budget 2024, HM Treasury.