Nottinghamshire County Council Leader Cllr Ben Bradley reacts to today’s Autumn Budget in an interview with The Wire:
Cllr Bradley said that the announcement leaves uncertainty over planned infrastructure and has no answers to the problems the Government has criticised the Conservatives for.
Cllr Bradley said:
‘It’s a £40 billion tax rise there’s no getting away from it – you can say ‘we’re not going to tax working people’ as much as it’s not going to appear in your pay slip, but fundamentally who else but working people do they think is paying for that?
‘The increase in the National Living Wage could stifle growth because businesses can’t afford to do it – it could cost them 10% as a cost of employment.
‘The increase to £12.21 will cost Nottinghamshire County Council £20 million – to put that into context raising council tax by the maximum allowable raises £8.5 million. This leaves a gap created today by the budget announcements.
‘The average cost of the National Insurance increase on employers could be £1,500 per person.
‘It’s basically massive tax and spend and no new ideas, we’ve been here before.
‘The plan to boost economic growth isn’t going to work – the forecast for the next six years is flat.
‘On Nottinghamshire – the £28 million A614 road [This transport package, which has long been lobbied for and is long overdue, will enable the highway network between Ollerton and Lowdham to operate more efficiently by reducing congestion at key intersections] project – we were meant to get a decision in July and we still haven’t got it – I wrote to ministers to say we need it in the budget before winter road problems increase – every six months of delay is with £1 million on the budgeted cost. We still don’t yet know if it’s part of the £650 million promised today for infrastructure improvements.
‘I’d be surprised if the A46 Newark bypass project happens – it’s expensive and we haven’t got commitment on it.
‘We have five secondary school rebuilds, we need to know if they are still going to happen too.’
’On public services the pain of tax rises doesn’t cover the rising costs we face each year particularly in children’s and adults social care areas.’
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