1 November 2024SLCC is seeking clarification from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on the impact of announcements made as part of this week’s budget announcement.
The budget report includes:
Confirming funding for MHCLG’s core Levelling Up Fund projects – providing £1.0 billion in 2025‑26 to revitalise high streets, town centres and communities. (Para 4.61)
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue at a reduced level for a further year with £900 million of funding; this transitional arrangement will provide as much stability as possible in advance of wider local growth funding reforms. The Long‑Term Plan for Towns will be retained and reformed into a new regeneration programme. (Para 3.3)
We are also asking whether the impact on local councils of Employer’s NI contributions is under consideration by the MHCLG and when can we expect to receive some clarification on how it should be treated by councils in their budget preparation. In the report, a global allowance of £4.7 billion for the impact on public sector organisations is included in the tables – but this is not hypothecated into the funding for MHCLG.
The report also sets out that:
The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s devolution plans, including on working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people. (Para 2.98)
The government is expected to publish its English Devolution White Paper in mid-late November. The Municipal Journal reports that this could include nationwide unitarization and the scrapping of the small unitary authorities created in the 90s. Once published, SLCC will, of course, respond to the White Paper emphasising the increasingly important role that parish and town councils play in unitary areas where they provide grassroots local democratic representation which can bridge the gap to the more distant unitary authority.
