The chancellor's budget will not help those struggling most in our communities, it has been warned - but supporters say it will enable Norfolk to "level up".
On Wednesday, the chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled the budget, setting out a swathe of changes including to universal credit, the living wage and alcohol duty.
Norfolk County Council leader Andrew Proctor welcomed the budget, which he said would start to move the economy forward with its recovery from Covid.
He said: “I’m pleased by the funding announced for housing, schools, special educational needs, transport, broadband and museums and libraries and I look forward to finding out how Norfolk can benefit.”
However, Mr Proctor was not entirely positive. He said: “I was hoping for clearer detail on how the additional £4.8bn of funding for local government over the next three years will apply to Norfolk but the devil will be in that detail.
“I need to understand whether this puts us on a sounder footing, without being pushed into the continued cycle of large council tax rises.”
Mr Proctor said the council will explore the fine print of the announcements and report back to cabinet on November 8.
Steve Morphew, the Labour leader at the county council, echoed Mr Proctor’s comments over the need for detail.
“More than anything, it’s what missing,” he said.
“I didn’t see anything from the chancellor that he was looking at the world through the lens of people in Norfolk.
“There was no mention of council tax or cost of living increases that will affect real people.”
Mr Morphew said much of the spending would go towards issues which had been created by the government, with universal credit changes not making up for last month’s cut or funding for children's centres replacing the slashed Sure Start centres.
He added that the lack of climate change measures was “staggering”, particularly while the UK is hosting a climate change summit, and no mention of a Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) rebuild as “incredible”.
Mr Morphew also echoed Mr Proctor’s concerns over the lack of a three-year financial settlement, which he said mattered whichever political party people supported.
Norwich South MP Clive Lewis argued there was not enough in the budget that would help real people, while there were cuts for champagne and flying.
“In Norwich, I know from my caseload that people are struggling financially, facing evictions after a pandemic, people re-mortgaging their homes – there was a really limited amount for them here.
“For example, universal credit, they made a big deal of it but it will replace just over half the cut from last month.
“The headlines will be the chancellor is splashing the cash but the reality for people in Norwich is they could fall into debt.”
Mr Lewis said the chancellor had provided no fix for the ailing social care system and nothing for the climate emergency.
“What message does he send the world by cutting air passenger duty while hosting COP 26 - we need a frequent flier levy at the minimum.
“We need massive investment in people, in green jobs and in care to have a more sustainable decarbonised economy.
“I won’t say I’m disappointed because that would suggest I expected more.”
While a QEH rebuild is not mentioned in the budget, West Norfolk MP James Wild welcomed funding for new hospitals and said he is campaigning for King’s Lynn’s crumbling hospital to be a part of the plans.
“This budget will help working families in North West Norfolk with the cost of living, backs businesses to create jobs and growth, and it increases spending on the NHS, schools, police and other public services,” Mr Wild said.
He also welcomed increases in the national living wage, universal credit and cuts to business rates, and added: “By investing in better broadband, improved roads and rail links, innovation and skills, this is a plan to level up and improve opportunity here and across the country.”
Norfolk Green Party County Councill Jamie Osborn said he was shocked the chancellor did not mention the climate, branding the budget a "failure" for Norfolk residents.
Mr Osborn said the government failed to address issues in social care, stop insecure employment and offered no funding for public transport in Norfolk, while incentivising flying with tax breaks.
“Places like Norfolk where emissions from transport are rising simply cannot get to net zero unless the Government provides much greater investment for public transport, as well as for insulating homes, and renewable energy.
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