Just weeks after taking power, Prime Minister Liz Truss and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made a remarkable impact – their disastrous kamikaze mini-Budget crashed the economy, causing market panic, and forcing the Bank of England to intervene.
Before the mini-Budget, the LGA had calculated a £2.4 billion shortfall in our council budgets from next May.
Councils are at the heart of sustainable approaches to reducing cost pressures on residents.
As first was going to press, we were expecting an emergency fiscal package from the Government, announcing tax cuts.
Rising energy prices, spiralling inflation, and National Living Wage pressures are set to add £3.6 billion in unforeseen extra cost pressures onto council budgets in 2024/25, the LGA has warned.
Measures to tackle soaring energy prices, including an energy bill discount of £400 for all UK households this October, have been announced by the Chancellor.
Local taxpayers are heavily subsidising some commercial events because of outdated licensing fees, the LGA has said.
The LGA has warned that criminals are cold calling residents asking for their bank details so they can receive the Government’s £150 energy rebate.
New jobs and skills training vital to levelling up the country are at risk of delay or being lost altogether because of a looming funding gap when existing European cash runs out.
It can’t be easy being the Chancellor when the Office for Budget Responsibility states that British households are about to suffer “the biggest fall in living standards since records began”.