Funding and measures to widen employment support, improve local roads, protect swimming pools from rising costs and support regeneration and levelling up were among the key announcements for councils in in the March Spring Budget.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt published details of two ‘trailblazer’ devolution deals for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, which will see each combined authority get a single multi-year financial settlement and their 100 per cent business rates retention schemes extended for 10 years.
In what he billed a ‘back-to-work’ Budget, the Chancellor also promised to extend free childcare currently available for three to four-year-olds to all children aged nine months and over, and announced a consultation on transferring local enterprise partnerships’ responsibilities for local economic development to councils.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe OBE, LGA Vice-Chairman, said: “A third round of levelling up funding will give councils the opportunity to forge ahead with ambitious plans to transform their communities and unlock potential for more local growth.
“However, we remain clear that levelling up should be locally led by evidence of where crucial investment needs to go to, not based on costly competitive bids between areas.
“Given this is a ‘back-to-work’ Budget, it is disappointing there is no further investment in adult social care, public health and children’s services, which all play a vital role in supporting economic growth and helping people back into work, alongside boosting people’s health and wellbeing.
“We are pleased the Government has acted on our calls for investment in early years education and childcare.
“Councils have a duty to ensure sufficiency of local provision and so will need to be given a key role in making sure they succeed. Delivering on these announcements will also require significant investment into the workforce and early years’ facilities.”
She added: “Alongside sustainable long-term investment in local services, bringing power and resources closer to people is also key to improving lives and building inclusive growth across the country, and many more places are ambitious to follow in the footsteps of the devolution trailblazers that are a positive step towards more local decision-making.”