THE Chancellor has missed an opportunity to help councils and their communities, the leader of Staffordshire County Council has said.
Rachel Reeves outlined plans for the coming years during her Spending Review.
But with Staffordshire County Council seeing around two-thirds of its £795million budget for 2025-26 going to adult social care and safeguarding young people, Cllr Ian Cooper said more could have been done to support local residents.
The leader of the Reform UK administration at the council said:
“We deliver services that make a difference to people’s lives – underfunding the council means short-changing our communities.
“Some of the biggest issues, such as the proper funding of adult social care and the ever-rising cost of SEND require comprehensive national solutions, for which the detail was absent today or promised down the road.
“Additional spending on the NHS is always welcome, but it’s undermined if it’s not complemented by investment in adult social care to support residents to stay in their homes and communities as long as they wish.”
Additional funding to improve train services on the Cross City Line was welcomed by Lichfield’s Labour MP Dave Robertson.
Cllr Cooper said that while the money – and a £3 cap on bus fares – was welcome, the lack of extra funding for roads was a concern.
He said:
“Staffordshire is a predominantly rural community and the majority of people still rely on their car and the need for good, safe roads between their homes, schools and places of work.
“We will look at the detail, but the funding allocation for roads in Staffordshire appears out of tune with increased demand.”
