- “Smoke and mirrors” spending review could leave a blackhole for social care
- Police funding short-fall as families face council tax bombshell to pick up the tab
- Spending review: Reeves has put farmers “at the back of the Treasury queue”
- Welsh rail funding announcement – Wales getting the scraps again
- Lib Dems comment on defence, Acorn, supercomputer in spending review
“Smoke and mirrors” spending review could leave a blackhole for social care
Responding to the spending review, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:
This spending review was a missed opportunity to repair the damage done by the Conservatives and finally deliver on the promise of change.
Behind the smoke and mirrors is a potential blackhole for social care as local government budgets remain at breaking point. Putting more money into the NHS without fixing social care is like pouring water into a leaky bucket.
The Chancellor must also raise her ambition for the country and boost growth through a much closer trade deal with the EU. That’s the best way to improve people’s living standards and unlock billions of pounds more for our public services.
Police funding short-fall as families face council tax bombshell to pick up the tab
The Government has said that the ‘police core spending power’ increases assumes rises in the PCC council tax precept in order to fund it. It means people will be left to pick up the tab in order to fund increases in police spending with the Government refusing to cover the costs.
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said:
The Government is relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund their half-hearted rise in police funding as they pass the buck to local families.
After frontline policing was neglected for years under the Conservatives, local communities deserve better than this sleight of hand.
The Government must put more bobbies on the beat, with the proper funding to make it happen. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the proper neighbourhood policing our communities deserve.