Spring Budget 2024: reaction from the sector

Local Government Lawyer rounds up the reaction from the sector to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Spring Budget 2024.

Click here for a summary of some of the key measures affecting the local government sector.

Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association

“We are pleased the Chancellor has extended the Household Support Fund (HSF), which has helped millions of households facing hardship. It is disappointing that we had to wait until the very last minute for an extension, and that it is only for a short period. Three-quarters of councils expect hardship to increase further in their area over the next 12 months.

“The Government needs to use the next six months to agree a more sustainable successor to the HSF. Councils need certainty and consistent funding to efficiently maintain the staff, services and networks that help our most vulnerable residents. Without this we risk more people falling into financial crisis as we head into winter.

“It is disappointing that the Government has not announced measures to adequately fund the local services people rely on every day. Councils continue to transform services but, given that core spending power in 2024/25 has been cut by 23.3 per cent in real terms compared to 2010/11, it is unsustainable to expect them to keep doing more for less in the face of unprecedented cost and demand pressures.

"Councils of all political colours are starting this financial year in a precarious position, and having to scale back or close a wide range of local services, so the continued squeeze in public spending in the years ahead is a frightening prospect for communities.

“This year also saw the sixth one-year settlement in a row for councils. Keeping them on a financial drip feed in this way has led to the steady weakening of local services. Councils need greater funding certainty through multi-year settlements to prevent this ongoing decline but also to ensure key national government policies – such as boosting economic growth, creating jobs and building homes - can be achieved.”

Cllr Phillippa Williamson, Devolution Spokesperson for the County Councils Network (CCN)

“Today’s announcement of three county devolution agreements for Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey is important – and represents another crucial milestone in the devolution agenda. These agreements, when ratified, will bring powers closer to our communities, and provides us with extra levers to pull in order influence adult education provision, infrastructure and transport needs in our counties and, in doing so, support our residents and businesses.

“These agreements take the number agreed since publication of Levelling-up White Paper to 15 CCN members in total. This is a significant number considering it has only been two years since that white paper, and credit must be given to county leaders across England who have shown ambition and flexibility in order to secure extra powers and funding for their areas. As impressive as this number is, we believe the momentum on county devolution should still be maintained and we will be working to support the agreement of further agreements for as many CCN members as possible by the end of this Parliament – and beyond.”

Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Chairman of the District Councils’ Network

“Today’s Budget was a missed opportunity to put local government onto a sound financial footing for the long term. Many district councils continue to face acute financial pressure, especially from the rapidly mounting cost of temporary accommodation and homelessness prevention. 

“We welcome the extension of the Household Support Fund, which will lead to this safety net continuing for some of the most vulnerable people we support. But we need to understand what this will look like after this extension comes to an end.

“Sadly, the Chancellor did little to help councils reeling from the cost of providing temporary accommodation to those who would otherwise be on the streets. The housing benefit subsidy which used to cover councils’ temporary accommodation costs is – astonishingly – still tied to 2011 rents and now meets just a small proportion of our actual costs. Councils have been working flat-out to support our most vulnerable people, but the truth is that this work cannot continue unless we are able to fund it.

“We welcome the move to increase the proportion of Right to Buy receipts that can be used to fund new social housing. However, to solve the housing shortage, far greater effort is required, and we look forward to working with Government on a long-term solution so everyone can have a home.

“We also fully support the ending of the tax regime for short-term holiday lettings, which has contributed to the housing shortage in many areas of the country. However, further action is required if we are to prevent the pricing-out of people from the town or village they call home.

“The extension of the Long-Term Plan for Towns constitutes a recognition that DCN member councils are best placed to deliver regeneration and investment schemes at a local level, delivering for our communities.”

John Pearce, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services

“We welcome recognition in the Budget that government needs to address the substantial challenges we face in children’s residential care, we are particularly pleased that the government has committed to developing proposals aimed at tackling profiteering in the children’s placements system and to prevent scarce funds being diverted away from vulnerable children, and the public purse, to shareholders. The additional investment to upgrade the existing secure children’s home estate and to rebuild two secure children’s homes as well as some additional capital funding for new residential provision and investment for special free schools is welcome. There is an urgent need for government action to ensure there are enough high-quality placements for children in care when and where they are needed, and further substantial funding will be required in the future to enable that.  In addition the continuation of the Household Support Fund is a welcome relief for now, but we still need long term national investment to allow us to provide vital early support when and where it’s needed. The £2.6 billion investment identified in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care must be prioritised in the next comprehensive spending review alongside a long term sustainable funding settlement for local government.

“The context for this Spring Budget is 14 years of austerity meaning year on year cuts while levels of need and complexity being seen in communities has increased. Public services that have been creaking for years are now crumbling, as the Institute for Government has warned. Comments about ‘wasteful’ councils are particularly unhelpful when a growing number of councils are effectively bankrupt, or dangerously close to this, and many vital and valued services, including early help and preventative services that help children and families early before they reach crisis point, are at risk. The overriding issue is the severe and systematic underfunding of local government in the face of rising levels of need and costs.”

Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA)

“It is welcome that the Household Support Fund will continue beyond the end of March following heavy lobbying from councils and charities. However, it is disappointing that the scheme will only be extended for six months, rather than a full year, meaning that, once again, there will be uncertainty about the future of the fund, as there has been in recent months. Today’s confirmation, just weeks before the next financial year, continues the trend of last-minute announcements from the Government. This vital funding, and local government funding in general, should be set out over multiple years to ensure certainty and stability.

“The Chancellor sticking to a 1% increase in public spending implies significant cuts for ‘unprotected’ departments such as local government over the coming years. At a time when local government finances are at breaking point, following a decade of cuts and rapidly rising demand-led pressures, further cuts would be devastating and push many councils to the brink of financial viability.”

Dr Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU)

“Local government was not entirely absent from today’s Budget. Headline announcements included a trailblazer devolution deal for the North East, devolution deals for Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Surrey, new Investment Zones and a series of funding deals to support housing. These will no doubt be welcome in those areas that receive them, but the Chancellor did not address the systemic funding issues in local government. 

“Our latest research found half of councils believe they could face bankruptcy within the next parliament. Council taxpayers are paying ever higher rates for fewer services, and leisure centres, SEND provision and adult social care funding are all facing deep cuts.

“Now is the time for productive debate on the possible solutions to the local government funding crisis. Instead, the spending reductions required by this budget will increase all these pressures.

“The Chancellor recognised market failures in children’s residential care and SEND support but councils will not feel that this is enough to counteract the cost increases they have faced in those areas. Similarly, many in local government will note that the Chancellor’s emphasis on public sector productivity is not reciprocated by removing some of the onerous funding hoops that councils have to jump through.

“We need a proper debate about how we fund local services and we need to reform council finances. This scattergun pattern of largesse granted or withheld will no longer suffice.”

Anja Beriro, Partner in Browne Jacobson’s Government and Infrastructure team

“It is widely recognised that local government budgets are already incredibly stretched, with a wide variety of pressures resulting in several councils filing Section 114 notices in recent months and others at significant risk.

“We’re reaching a crunch point where, unless the overarching position changes and funding is made available from somewhere, a lot of critical services will begin to topple.

“For local authorities, while the long-term plan will involve a thorough assessment of how to make productivity gains in line with the Government’s vision, in the short term they must explore where further savings can be made with the least possible impact to their statutory duties.

“In this respect, they should maximise the use of existing internal resources such as monitoring officers, which are responsible for legal governance, to ensure any changes made can’t be legally challenged.

“Some very difficult decisions must be made in the coming months, whether it’s the future of revenue-driving assets that could be sold to bring in income, staff requirements, or social and childcare services.

“Throughout this process, it’s crucial that local authorities don’t rush into any decisions that will have a profound impact on their communities for years to come without considering all the potential consequences that may not be immediately apparent.”

Gavin Smart, Chartered Institute of Housing chief executive

“From a housing perspective, this was a disappointing budget. Given the significant housing crisis that we’re currently navigating there was no mention of the urgent action needed to address this.

"There were some welcome announcements to help support people in debt, such as the temporary extension of the Household Support Fund, which we had called for, and the abolition of the Debt Relief Order charge, but they won’t bring down rising housing costs.

"In our pre-Budget submission we called for urgent action to boost social housing supply, invest in homelessness prevention and decarbonise the residential sector. These calls remain and we’ll continue to push the government to go further. We need a sustainable housing system to support a vibrant economy.”

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI

"The RTPI is consistently striving to ensure a continuing pipeline of qualified planners is entering the profession. The government's decision to provide £3m match funding for an industry-backed scheme to train planning officers shows that the government recognises the recruitment challenges faced by the profession.

“Our planning systems can become more efficient, effective, and accessible by harnessing technological innovation. Today’s announcements included a pilot of AI solutions to cut the time it takes for planning officers to process applications by 30% could well be beneficial. However, as with the implementation of any new technology, this should not come at the expense of the real-world expertise that our members provide but should support them to continue focusing on meeting local needs.

"The government has also announced a consultation on the proposed design of a new accelerated planning service in England, along with new measures to limit the use of extension of time agreements. While we believe that decision-making speed and efficiency are important, they should not be prioritised over the quality of outcomes for communities. Measuring outcomes and impact on the ground is equally important.”

Sam Townend KC, Chair of the Bar Council

“The money announced for family courts and criminal justice today is welcome, but it is a drop in the ocean in terms of what the justice sector really needs to get back to working order after years of underinvestment. Court buildings are crumbling, solicitors and barristers are burned out, and victims and defendants are left in the backlogs. Justice delays lead to injustice.

“On the day that the Senior Presiding Judge rightly announced a push to hear the 181 rape cases that have been delayed for over two years, it is vital that the system is properly funded so that public confidence in justice can be restored.”