Jeremy Hunt’s latest budget does nothing to address a funding crisis facing local authorities, sector leaders have said.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a series of measures aimed at supporting struggling families including extending the household support fund, which provides basics to the most disadvantaged families for six months and increasing the threshold for the two-child benefits cap from £50,000 to £60,000.
He also announced £45 million for local authorities to build new children’s homes and £120 million to maintain existing secure settings alongside an initial £105 million towards building15 new special free schools to create more than 2,000 additional places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across England.
However, local authority bodies and charities have called for greater long-term investment in council services just hours after councillors in Birmingham approved more than £100 million in cuts for such services.
