Hertfordshire County Council leader concerned Autumn Budget could 'damage' local businesses

In response to the Autumn Budget released by the new Labour Government on Wednesday (30 October), the Hertfordshire authority leader, Councillor Richard Roberts, has expressed concerns with aspects of the budget.

Councillor Roberts, the leader of the Conservative controlled council, said: “While we welcome the proposed general increase in local government funding, the National Insurance increases announced today which we understand will be covered for local government, will still have a significant impact on our care providers and we will need to plan for these costs with them. Also, the damage that these announcements could do to our local businesses will make our ambitions for economic growth in the county a significant challenge going forwards.”

In a statement released via the council yesterday (31 October), the council leader did not state which aspects of the budget he was concerned with. But other commentators have raised the alarm over the potential strain increases to national insurance contributions and the rise of the national minimum raise will have on local organisations.

Councillor Roberts added: "It will also be interesting to see what the wider announcements made today will mean for Hertfordshire residents and as always, the devil will be in the detail. If taken as read, investment in schools, road maintenance, the household support fund, carers allowance and additional support for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities should be welcomed, however this level of investment remains significantly short of the funding required to balance our budget next year.

“Hertfordshire has been one of the lowest recipients of high needs funding across the country to provide services to children with SEND, and from what we’ve heard today, it doesn’t feel like the measures announced will go far enough towards rectifying this historical funding injustice.”

Previously, the councillor has said SEND services in the county were suffering due to “a perfect storm of underfunding and increasing need”.

In a meeting, covered by the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said issues around funding had led to delays and a general dissatisfaction with the service in Hertfordshire.