Apart from the £2bn extra funding for social care the Budget was, as predicted, devoid of shocks or gimmicks. The Chancellor Philip Hammond, ‘Mr Spreadsheet,' knows he has little scope for either pushing up spending or cutting taxes.
As the Chancellor said, £50bn is spent annually on debt interest alone. Debt as a percentage of GDP is forecast to be 79.8% by 2021/22. The summer 2010 Budget forecast it would be 67.4% by last year.
There were no surprises about the package of help for small business in the form of rate relief. The Budget emphasised that the total cost of £435m will be reimbursed to local authorities. While welcome this adds a further centrist addition to business rates which will have to be unpicked should the government continue with its aim of complete retention for local authorities from 2020.
Devolution got a look in. The government announced a memorandum of understanding with the Greater London Authority and London Councils over devolution of criminal justice and careers services with another to follow on health and care integration. It will also shortly ‘announce' its Midlands Engine strategy. The Barnett formula of course continues to provide extra funding for the devolved administrations
Interestingly the Budget belatedly also announced Green Paper of strategy over funding social care as part of its £2bn extra funding for social care and its commitment to helping those 24 local authorities apparently responsible for half of all delayed discharges because of lack of care available.
Overall, local government 'will be able to increase social care-specific resources in real terms in each of the remaining 3 years of the Parliament.'
There is more funding for schools – though check the small print- which includes 500 more free schools by 2020 but no major investment for the NHS other than previously announced. Any big changes are expected in the ‘real' Budget later this year.
