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TODAY, Wednesday, 6 March 2024, Jeremy Hunt delivered the Spring Budget to Parliament. The focus of the Spring Budget appears to have been on reducing personal taxation, despite consistent polling from Ipsos showing that healthcare is the primary issue that will decide the public's vote at the next election; ahead of inflation and the wider economic situation. These are some of the responses we have had to this budget....

Responding to the Budget, Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association, said:- "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 on 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% 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 6th 1 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.”

Commenting on the announcement of new duties on vaping products in the Budget, Cllr Kaya Comer Schwartz, Vice-Chair of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board said:- "It is good that the Government is taking decisive action to make vaping products less affordable to minors. Councils work hard to tackle the sale of illicit vapes in their communities as well stopping the sale of the products to children. We urge the Government to ensure the proceeds from the tax are specifically targeted for environmental, public health, and enforcement purposes. This will help to tackle the pocket money prices vapes are currently available for, deterring children from using them and helping the clampdown on illicit products. There is an important balance to be struck in making sure that cigarettes remain taxed at a higher level than vapes, which are a useful tool to cut smoking."

Phil McCabe, Merseyside and Cheshire Development Manager at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), also responded:- "We welcome today's increase in the VAT threshold as well as the cut to self employed National Insurance Contributions (NICs). Elsewhere, we were pleased to see a package of small business support in the Budget documents, including commitments to make progress on the HMRC administrative burden and the national rollout of the Business Energy Advice Service, as well as extending the Recovery Loan Scheme under a new name; the Growth Guarantee Scheme. Small firms are crucial for economic growth, and we were glad the Chancellor said that clearly from the despatch box. That said, many of those running businesses face serious challenges; not least through rapid hikes in labour and input costs; and many will have understandably hoped that there would be more measures announced today that would help ease the tough decisions small employers are having to make day in day out to keep their businesses going. There's still a real gap when it comes to the crunch small firms are facing; and the growth, jobs and economic security small businesses provide is not something the country can afford to risk. While keeping the £5,000 Employment Allowance for the 10th year in a row is invaluable, it should have been updated to keep pace with the National Living Wage; especially if employer tax thresholds remain frozen. The Government must not be over-confident about jobs and hours in this economic environment. While more help with rising costs would have been welcome, we were pleased to see help for theatres and productions and fuel duty frozen again. As always, the devil is in the details, and we will be examining the full range of measures. It’s not enough to just make ends meet; we need to make great leaps forward for the sake of the economy, and all the small business owners that operate within it."

This year the Chancellor confirmed a:- "landmark public sector productivity plan" that will create a more productive NHS, but Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive Officer of Care England, says:- "This year’s Spring Budget made it clear that the Government has no intention to make good on its 5 year old promise to:- ‘fix social care’. While financial support was given to the child social care system which was recognised as broken, no such lifeline was given to adult social care. Our sector continues to move ever closer to a cliff edge. We all want good quality care for our loved ones - now we need those in Government to care."

Whilst Care England welcomes Chancellor's plan, they say that the:- "relationship between health and social care has been overlooked." Adding:- "Investing in social care will allow people to have their needs met in the place they call home and reduce pressure on the NHS. Care England’s Spring Budget representation set out a number of pragmatic solutions for the Government to introduce, which came at no additional expense to the Government or the taxpayer. Care England’s asks can be read here."

Care England also raided other potential issues:- "Furthermore, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) 2023 Report was published this week, providing the rationale behind the recommendations that apply from 1 April 2024, including an increase in the National Living Wage to £11.44 for those aged 21 and above. Within the report, there is recognition that wages paid by care providers are wedded to the annual fee uplifts they receive from Local Authorities. Care England has told the LPC if it continues to increase the minimum wage without Local Authorities matching this with funded fee increases, care providers will continue to have to absorb these costs. Following the Spring Budget, the adult social care sector will face another challenging year, on top of a situation where 43% of adult social care providers have closed services or handed back contracts to the Local Authority as a result of financial pressure, according to research from Care England and the national learning disability charity, Hft."

Professor Martin Green continued:- "Adult social care is an essential service to the public. The cries of our sector have fallen on deaf ears. A stable adult social care system is vital to the health of the NHS, but this relationship is clearly not appreciated. Care services are vital to local economies and employment opportunities, but this has also been overlooked. This was the Government’s last chance saloon to deliver on its promise but with no long-term commitment to funding the system, the situation grows increasingly perilous."

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