Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill reflects on what Labour budget means for county

As the dust settles on last week’s budget, we are carefully looking at the details to see what impact it may have on the council’s finances, writes leader of Lincolnshire County Council Martin Hill (Con).

It looks like a mixed picture. The rise in the national living wage and employers National Insurance contributions will certainly have an impact on the prices we pay to deliver important services.

Similarly, it will also have an impact on local small businesses, which are the backbone of Lincolnshire’s economy, alongside the planned changes to business rates. There is also concern about the impact of inheritance tax on agricultural and business assets within our farming community which is already facing huge challenges.

To offset the announcement of a dramatic increase in taxes to what are record levels, the chancellor has promised extra money for public services, with additional funding for areas including pothole repairs, schools and special educational needs.

We will have to wait until we get our detailed financial settlement from government just before Christmas to see what the overall net result is for Lincolnshire and whether it will be sustained over the long-term.

The government has confirmed it plans to reform the approach to allocating local government funding to ensure that it reflects an up-to-date assessment of need and local resources. However, it remains to be seen if this will reverse the long-term trend of rural counties like Lincolnshire being short-changed compared to more urban areas.

Although like-for-like comparisons can be difficult, we estimate that local government in Lincolnshire receives over £300 less per household, compared to the national average. If the county were to be given its fair share that would mean an extra £120m for our area each year.

That additional funding would make a significant difference to our residents. For example, it could be used to pay for major road improvements, additional flood protection and better broadband across the county, providing the necessary infrastructure to boost growth.

It would also reduce our reliance on the money raised through council tax and could potentially allow us to freeze rates, which would be particularly helpful for local families.

We should not have to draw on our reserves simply to balance the books each year. It is clear this council is run efficiently with a relatively low government funding allocation and low council tax level for residents, we do a lot with what we have.

So, we will continue to push government to level the playing field and give our residents their fair share of national funding.