Party leaders in clash over Covid budget
CHESHIRE East’s political leaders have clashed over the Chancellor’s budget – and what was not included.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his spending plans and post-Covid recovery blueprint for the UK on Wednesday, March 3.
Despite announcing the extension of a raft of pandemic support measures – including furlough, help for self-employed workers, and a £20 universal credit uplift – the council’s Labour leader said the Government ‘ducked’ the issue of social care.
However, his Conservative opposite number has said that today’s announcement was focused on Covid recovery.
Labour leader Councillor Sam Corcoran said: “There’s no real roadmap out of this. There’s no job creation scheme when furlough ends. There’s no green [agenda] – one scheme I would have liked to have seen is retrofitting houses with insulation but that’s not there.
“There was a mention of green bonds but that is a rebadging.
“There are many things not here. There’s nothing to address the overwhelming issues of climate change [or social care]. The government has been promising a white paper on social care and there’s nothing there.
“The government’s solution has been to allow councils to put up tax by three per cent [via the social care precept] so we have been forced to do that – the government has ducked the issue.”
Last month, Cheshire East councillors voted to approve a new local budget which featured a 4.99 per cent council tax rise – three per cent of which was made up of an adult social care precept.
At the meeting, Labour members said the government should start picking up more of the bill for social care, with CEC spending 68p in every pound on those services.
Those claims were challenged by Conservative opposition leader Janet Clowes, who said the tax rise was ‘not kind nor fair’.
Now, Coun Clowes has responded to the claims of Cllr Corcoran, saying: “This is a spring budget and social care was addressed at the December settlement budget and as a result of that there was an option for councils to raise the social care precept in addition to social care grants that councils receive.
“I do think there’s a misunderstanding – this budget was specifically to address the Covid recovery and it is perhaps missing the point to focus on social care.
“What we do know is to improve social care is to have a strong economy and get people back into work and back into jobs. All of these have been addressed very, very clearly so from the perspective, if we can boost the prosperity of the country as a result of today’s budget then that is the best way forward.”
The Chancellor also announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility – an independent body which assesses the state of the UK economy – predicts that it will return to pre-pandemic levels by the middle of 2022.