Council leader reacts to spring statement
Earlier today, Chancellor Rishi Sunak gave his spring budget statement in the House of Commons.
Referring to the Chancellor's announcements, the Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Shaun Davies (Labour) said: “The cost of living crisis is being felt by almost every household in Telford and Wrekin with inflation now over 6% and forecast to increase much further.
“As a council, we recognised the growing pressure on people’s personal budgets and took action to freeze the level of general council tax this year and next. We’re the only council in England to do this and already have the lowest council tax in the Midlands for the services we provide.
“Many people, especially pensioners and those on fixed incomes, continue to be fearful about how they will make ends meet and whilst the national benefits system will need to be the first line of support, we are on the side of our residents and will use our limited council resources to give additional help to local people who need it most.
“We are yet to find out what extra funding will be allocated to Telford and Wrekin to extend the Household Support Fund, but currently the fund is worth just over £3 a week per eligible household across a year, with around 1 in 8 homes qualifying for support.
“The reality is that a short-term crisis fund is a sticking plaster on a deep wound and it cannot address the underlying cost-of-living pressures facing our residents. It needs a long term solution based on growing the economy and improving people’s overall life chances.
“With austerity seeing our council having to make budget savings of over £130 million a year, this will be a challenge but we will continue to push for our fair share of the Levelling Up Fund and wider government investment.
“We will continue to protect, care and invest to create abetter borough. Each pound of our investment will support our ambitions for Telford& Wrekin and we will work tirelessly to give our residents the opportunities they deserve.”