A proposed real-terms cut to capital budgets risks exacerbating school maintenance backlogs and shows the government does “not care about the state of school buildings”, a union leader has said.
Not giving councils additional funding in the Autumn Statement could lead to numerous authorities issuing Section 114 notices, and could damage the government close to a general election, a...
Levelling up secretary Michael Gove said councils deserve “sufficiently generous” funding and hinted more devolution deals could be announced in the Autumn Statement.
The local audit backlog could have “serious financial consequences” and avoiding any delays in clearing it should be a priority for the government, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England...
The lack of additional support for early years and post-16 education will stretch resources further as historically high inflation eats into budgets, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.
The government’s approach of funding social care simply in order to relieve the NHS shows it has the wrong perspective on the importance of care services, peers have said.
Measures in the Autumn Statement favour councils in well-off areas that already raise lots of money from council tax, while those in deprived areas that already bore the brunt of austerity miss out,...
Autumn Statement plans to keep public bodies’ spending tight from 2025 onwards are unlikely to actually be followed when the time comes, economists have said.
Economic volatility from shocks such as wars and Covid-19 have been the “most difficult thing” for Office for Budget Responsibility forecasters to contend with when trying to help the government plan...
Jeremy Hunt sent a welcome strong signal to the markets but has not fixed any of the major problems facing the public sector, according to CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman.
The autumn statement may have created as many problems as it did solutions for the government, says Dan Corry, chief executive of the think-tank New Philanthropy Capital and former Number 10 adviser.
The absence of any mention of public sector pay deals in Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement leave disputes in the same position as before, with many public services facing crises and strike action,...
Higher borrowing costs and spiralling inflation amid weaker economic growth mean public finances have “materially worsened” since March, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said.
