Andrew reacts to the Chancellor's statement
Some significant good news
Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, M.P., delivered his Autumn Statement and I have finally had an opportunity to read the detail. There is certainly some good news for local government in the Chancellor's statement, including on several issues upon which I and my colleagues have been lobbying Government extensively.
From my point of view, as Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal, I was particularly pleased by the Chancellor's announcement that there would be an increase in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates and an increase in homelessness prevention funding, as well as a further extension of the Homes for Ukraine 'thank you' payments to sponsors.
A few weeks ago I attended and spoke at an emergency homelessness summit organised by the District Councils Network (DCN). The cost of meeting our homelessness obligations is driving a coach and horses through Local Housing Authority budgets and one of the key problems has been the disconnect between LHA rates and the true cost of local market rents. Following the summit, the Leader of Basildon Council, my colleague Cllr. Andrew Baggott (Con, Burstead), co-signed a joint letter from the DCN sent to Government, calling for LHA to be uprated. Councillor Baggott was joined by 118 council leaders, including two thirds of district-level authorities.
It is, therefore, good to see the Chancellor take action by confirming that LHA will be increased to the 30th percentile of local market rents from April 2024. Furthermore, I know there are a number of households in Billericay and around the Borough, who took in Ukrainian refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, so I was pleased to hear the Chancellor announce a further extension to the 'thank you' payments, which remain at £500 per month. He also announced £120 million in new funding for councils to invest in homelessness prevention.
With my longstanding interest in planning matters, as a veteran of the Planning Committee, I also very much welcome the ability for Local Planning Authorities to charge a locally-set premium fee for major planning applications. This will enable LPAs like Basildon Council to recover the full costs of major business planning applications, albeit in return for accelerated decision dates. There is also £5 million in additional funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities' Planning Skills Delivery Fund to help LPAs clear planning application backlogs - currently a major problem.
It was interesting to hear the Chancellor talking about new devolution deals and an intention to expand Level 2 devolution to eligible councils across England. This will undoubtedly include Greater Essex, where Essex County Council and the two unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Borough Council have already submitted a Level 2 bid. We will see what benefits this will derive for the people of Essex. It does have the potential to bring more investment and associated financial incentives and boost economic growth locally, including here in Basildon Borough.
On Business Rates, the Chancellor announced that for 2024-25, the small business muliplier in England will be frozen for the fourth consecutive year and the standard multiplier will be uprated by September's rate of CPI. The current 75% relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties is also to be extended and English local authorities will be fully compensated for the lost of income resulting from the Business Rates measures, as well as new burdens funding to cover administrative and IT costs.
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