Council leaders criticise lack of support for care services in Autumn Statement

The Local Government Association (LGA) has criticised chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement as ‘deeply disappointing’ after it failed to provide significant new funding for financially stretched councils.

Many councils are at risk of effective insolvency as they grapple with rising need for adult care and children’s social care – but the government did little to address their concerns.

‘The evidence of the financial strain on councils has been growing and it is hugely disappointing that the Autumn Statement has failed to provide funding needed to protect the services the people in our communities rely on every day,” said LGA chair Shaun Davies.

‘Supporting businesses, and easing the cost of living for households is important, but not if our public services continue to be chronically underfunded and unable to be there to support people when they need them. Adult social care remains in a precarious position, record numbers of households are in temporary accommodation and there are now more than 80,000 looked after children in England. The lack of additional funding in today’s announcement risks councils’ ability to meet this spiralling demand, provide critical care and support a healthy population with access to housing, training and jobs.

‘Councils have worked hard to find efficiencies and reduce costs, but the easy savings have long since gone. It is wrong that our residents now face further cuts to services as well as the prospect of council tax rises next year, with councils having the difficult choice about raising bills to bring in desperately needed funding.’

Hunt’s decision to reverse three years of cuts to housing benefit, restoring the link between the Local Housing Allowance and the 30th percentile of local private sector rents, was welcomed however. The freeze in the cash value of housing benefit at a time of rising rents had been blamed for the rise in homelessness levels of the last year.

‘We are pleased government has acted on our call to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance rates, which is a positive step in helping to support the most vulnerable in our society afford rising rents,” said Davies. “It is also good that the government has committed to ensuring councils will be able to set planning fees to cover the full cost of processing some major applications which will mean local taxpayers no longer have to foot the bill.’

Image: QuinceCreative

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