Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the first Budget of the new Labour government today (Wednesday, October 30). She is expected to introduce many tax rises and cut spending, to fill what Labour described as a £22 billion “black hole” left by the Conservatives. READ MORE: Luxury Oxfordshire Italian had fish parasites threat and spiders Here’s what you can expect from the budget, and how these changes may affect residents, employers and local authorities in Oxfordshire.
While the demand for council services has increased, particularly for adult and children’s social care, local government grant funding has been reduced over the past decade. As councils struggle to provide statutory services, discretionary council services such as leisure, arts and wellbeing have been neglected. Oxfordshire’s five Liberal Democrat MPs wrote to the Chancellor calling for greater local government funding, especially for SEND provision, adult social care and highways maintenance.
Oxfordshire County Council has approved plans to tackle an estimated £13.9 million budget deficit as part of its latest budget. The final Budget will be set in February 2025, after the autumn Budget is announced.
The government faced backlash after they announced plans to means-test winter fuel payments earlier this year. It is likely that the decision will go ahead, with an estimated 90 per cent of pensioners losing the benefit. Leader of the opposition Eddie Reeves, of the Conservatives, has put forward a .
