The Spring Statement largely maintains the Government’s current course but brings a focus on the global uncertainties currently facing the UK. 

The Autumn Budget saw the Government inject large amounts of money into public services. Rachel Reeves promised in her statement yesterday to further increase capital spending by £2 billion per year in order to drive economic growth and to improve front-line public services, mainly defence which was the overarching theme of this statement. 

In terms of spending, the Government is taking steps to ‘significantly reduce the costs of running government’ with a plan to reduce civil service costs by 15%, representing a saving of £2.2 billion by the end of the decade.  

Key takeaways 

Homes 

• Cash top-up of £2 billion in new grant funding for social and affordable homes to deliver up to 18,000 new homes.  

• 1.3 million homes to be built over the next five years, bringing the Government within ‘touching distance’ of its promise to build 1.5 million homes in England.  

Planning 

• Changes to England’s planning system with the Planning and Infrastructure Bill having passed its second reading on Monday, 22 March. For further details, please refer to The Planning and Infrastructure Bill: An Overview of the Key Features. 

• Projections that reforms to the national planning policy framework will deliver an additional 170,000 homes by 2029/30.  Newly designated “grey belt” sites are identified as a key contributing factor to hitting housing targets. 

Education 

• The launch of a training programme will see up to 60,000 construction workers trained to tackle skills shortages. A cash investment of £600 million into the training programme will help the Government to deliver its goal of building 1.5 million homes.  

Transport 

• Rachel Reeves will champion the newly approved lower Thames crossing – a road tunnel joining Essex and Kent- and back a third runway at Heathrow Airport. 

Healthcare  

• Cuts to welfare benefits, which the Government expects will raise about £500m by 2030. This will inevitably impact on local authorities and add further pressure to already stretched organisations. 

• 2 million extra appointments in the NHS to reduce waiting lists, along with commitments by the Government to directly apply savings made following upcoming NHS organisational changes to improving the service for patients. 

Defence  

• Defence spending to increase by a further £2.2 billion (being 2.5% of GDP) as the Government confirms a funding boost for the Ministry of Defence. 

Capital Investment Projects 

• £3.25 billion of investment in a new transformation fund to drive public service reform - this will initially go towards civil service voluntary exit schemes and digital reform.  

Reactions 

The investment in social and affordable housing has been welcomed, while concerns have been raised around the impact of a reduction in anticipated funding for government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  The County Councils Networks has responded to the statement to warn that funding reductions could have a significant impact on the provision of local services. The chairman of the CCN has called for more funding for local services in the upcoming spending review.   

The chair of London councils has echoed this plea, commenting that: “It’s vital that the spending review and planned reform of council funding deliver the investment and financial sustainability boroughs need to drive growth in the capital and across the country”.  

It remains to be seen whether the Government’s spending review will deliver any such financial respite for local government organisations. 

How Capsticks can help 

Capsticks aims to be the firm of choice for organisations working within the local government sector, offering a full range of services, including advising on governance, applying for and delivering large regeneration projects, updating constitutional documents, refresher procurement training and support in preparing for an upcoming employment tribunal.  

Our specialist local government advice is cost-effective and strategic, complemented by practical knowledge of your daily challenges. If you have any queries about what is discussed in this insight and the impact on your organisation, please speak to Vicki Moore or Chantal Davison to find out more about how Capsticks can help.