Last week, I welcomed the Government’s confirmation that local authorities across the country will see their budgets increased significantly this year, as part of the Conservatives’ commitment to level up local services across the country.
Local authorities across the country will receive a share of £49.2 billion local government funding this year – a 4.4 per cent real terms increase and the largest year-on-year real terms increase in a decade. Funding for key public services in will be protected, with significant extra resources dedicated to areas where they are needed most.
The latest Local Government Finance Settlement, which was confirmed by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick in February, includes an additional £1.5 billion for social care. When added to the existing social care package, local authorities will now have access to over £5.5 billion of dedicated funding across adult and children’s social care in 2020-21.
Local authorities will also be rewarded for building new homes, with another £907 million committed to the New Homes Bonus scheme for 2020-21 to encourage development that benefit local communities.
Thanks to measures taken by the Conservatives, local authorities will be able to prevent excessive Council Tax rises – striking the right balance between the interests of council taxpayers and addressing pressures on services.
The new spending commitments for the local authorities within the constituency of Daventry are as follows:
Daventry: +9.4% (£1 million)
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner: +3.7% (£0.8 million)
Northamptonshire: +7.7% (£32.9 million)
Wellingborough: +2.3% (£0.2 million)