Cautious welcome for autumn statement from Mansfield Council

The authority has been reflecting on the measures announced by Chancellor Jemery Hunt in his autumn statement.

Measures announced include the ability to raise council tax next year by up to 2.99 per cent, with an additional 2 per cent increase for adult social care, delivered by Nottinghamshire Council, while social housing rent has been limited to an increase of 7 per cent.

The council is facing a shortfall in its budget, with its projected budget deficit for 2023/24 increasing to £1.9 million, due to the unprecedented rises in inflation and the costs of energy bills.

Andy Abrahams, Mansfield mayor, said: “The autumn statement, on the face of it, does look to alleviate some of the problems we as a council are facing.

“The news from the Office for Budget Responsibility that living standards will fall by 7 per cent, the biggest fall since records began is devastating. We will be seeing difficult and challenging times for our communities and residents over the coming months, and now years ahead.

“The announcement council tax can be raised by nearly 3 per cent will help some authorities. However, I worry this extra revenue could be dwarfed by the fuel, energy and pay inflation increases.

“I am also increasingly aware that, while this announcement does provide flexibility, it will have an enormous knock-on effect on our struggling communities who cannot afford to pay this extra tax.

“They are being hit with additional costs from every front, so we need some time to assess the detail from the statement. Unfortunately, we will not know how much funding the council will receive from the government for 2023/24 until the end of the year.

“I want to welcome that ministers have listened to our concerns about capping social rents and the impact this could have had if rents increased more than 10 per cent, in line with the current inflation numbers. The 7 per cent level set by the government will go some way to protecting investment in new homes and maintaining our existing housing stock for the benefit of our tenants.

“It was announced there was also a revaluation of business rates taking place, which could mean businesses in our district will pay more if their valuations increase. It was, however, encouraging to know relief schemes to offset the impact of the revaluation will continue.

“The business rates multiplier, which works out how much you will pay, usually goes up with CPI, the consumer price index, but thankfully that has also been frozen for the third year in a row, providing some comfort to businesses in our area already facing cost increases on every other front.

“Ultimately, we are facing some difficult decisions as we are tackling a cost-of-living crisis coupled with increasing demand for services and a reduction in budgets.

“We provide vital services to our residents and will do everything in our power to ensure those struggling are supported and can be signposted efficiently for help available to them.

“We will also be urging the government to work with us and provide us with clarity around budgets sooner rather than later so we can plan ahead and safeguard and future-proof our services.”