Budget is 'deeply disappointing' - council leader

The chancellor's autumn budget has been slammed by Hampshire County Council's chief.

Conservative councillor Nick Adams-King said Labour's first budget since 2010 is "deeply disappointing" for local growth.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the budget, which is set to raise taxes by £40bn, on Wednesday and said it would "fix the foundations" of Britain.

Reacting, Mr Adams-King said the authority would have to "grapple" with added costs following the announcement.

He said the £1.3bn confirmed for local government felt like "a few grains of sand when distrubuted across England".

In a statement, the council leader said: "The huge increase in employer National Insurance contributions will cost the council millions, and while government say it is funded, that is part of the extra local government funding so is in effect an extra burden.

"The effect of the national living wage rising way above inflation will also likely increase our costs substantially. We simply cannot afford this."

During the budget announcement, leader of the opposition, Rishi Sunak responded by saying the budget contained "broken promise after broken promise".

Mr Adams-King said, before the budget, the Local Government Association said local authorities were facing a £2.3bn gap in 2025/26.

He continued: "What the chancellor has done is offer a totally inadequate sum, even if we have received our fair share of it.

"Then, almost immediately, she has hit us with the increased operating costs. Our budget deficit will remain unless we are given the tools to decide how to spend and raise our money."

He said they "should not be forced to operate via government diktat" and nothing in the budget would help them improve, despite writing to the chancellor about how councils could do this, if given powers to innovate and reform.

The government also pledged £500m for local road maintenance and £232m to help councils prevent homelessness.

But Mr Adams-King said the "only" good news was the extra money for schools and children's social care, but it was a "relatively" small figure they "simply cannot rely on".

He added: "The extra money for special education needs and disabilities (SEND), which is a huge issue for Hampshire, is a drop in the ocean compared to the pressure we face."

He concluded: "I just don't see how this government is investing for growth in Hampshire."

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