BUDGET 2014 - IMPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING

The United Kingdom Government’s Budget for 2014 was announced on 19^th March 2014. Its main provisions were:

• Local Government – Additional funds for infrastructure including flood defences and highway maintenance.
• Housing - A package of measures to support house building.
• Welfare - Welfare spending across 26 benefits, including elements of the Universal Credit, is to be capped at £119.5billion from 2015/16. The government considers that restrictions on benefits, excluding payments to jobseekers and pensioners, are needed to keep government spending in check and protect Britain from future economic storms.
• Departmental Spending -£1billion in cuts in departmental spending first announced in last year’s Autumn Statement for three years from 2013/14 will now form a permanent part of departmental spending plans.
• Public Sector Pay – Restraint will continue. The government considers that this is necessary to ensure that the government will run a total spending surplus in times of growth, which they believe they are on track to reach in 2018/19. This includes ensuring that employers meet the full costs of public sector pension schemes.
• Pensions and Savings – makes reforms to pensions and savings schemes that are designed to benefit savers.

We have prepared a comprehensive briefing paper, the purpose of which is to summarise the budget and its implications for local government and housing.