Response to Autumn Statement
Departmental Budgets ADEPT welcomes the announcement that local government is excluded from the 1.1% departmental budget reduction for 2014-15 and 2015-16 Infrastructure We welcome the Government’s recognition that infrastructure is key to economic prosperity and international competitiveness. however, we were disappointed that there was no mention of fast-tracking broadband delivery, something that both ADEPT and LEPs were particularly keen to see, or other infrastructure projects through accelerated funding.
Housing
ADEPT welcomes the commitment of £1bn to help unlock key urban housing sites, the emphasis placed on the regeneration of urban estates and the commitment to a functional stable housing market. We also welcome the clarity regarding the single local growth fund and the exclusion of new homes bonus outside London. We were however disappointed that the Government did not remove the cap on Housing Revenue Account borrowing although the £300m increase was welcomed.
Energy
ADEPT supports a diverse energy supply framework and recognise the importance of new nuclear and other energy sources, including shale gas extraction where appropriate. Despite announcements regarding wind generation, no new funds were made available which was disappointing.
Business
ADEPT welcomes the extension of business rate relief for small businesses, the 2% increase cap from April and the planned business rate reform to come in 2017. We also welcome the discounts offered for small retail businesses in support of u rban regeneration. However, we would like to emphasise the need for longer-term certainty for bu siness, particularly small and medium sized businesses in support of a sustained national econo mic recovery.
Fuel Duty
ADEPT welcomes the freeze in fuel duty and the posi tive impact this will have on transport services and construction activities. Missed opportunities Measures that ADEPT would have liked to have seen included:
- Devolution of powers and funding to local areas as described in Lord Heseltine’s Review
- Bold measures to encourage the re-investment of fu nds in long-term capital programmes
- Commitment to a reduction in ad-hoc competitive bidding processes o More information about the single local growth fund and the potential difficulties that overlapping LEP geographies present
- Commitment to tackle the flaws in the funding system which mean that growth can make areas financially worse off