The county council is already half way through a savings-through-change programme to deliver £170m in cuts – one third of its budget – by 2020.
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Osborne admitted that prospects for global growth have also darkened since the summer Budget – underlined by worries over the health of previously fast-growing economies like China and Brazil – prompting the OBR to cut its world growth forecast.
“Today is a good day for our communities and Thames Valley Police but we must also remember that we are still in times of austerity and we will continue to have some hard choices to make about how we allocate our resources according to local priorities”.
The aim is to end the “unfair system” where a child from a disadvantaged home in one school attracts half as much funding in another school, because of where they live.
The Chancellor made the u-turn in the House of Commons yesterday in the wake of heightened fear of a terrorist attack following the tragedy in France. I hear and understand them, ‘ he told MPs to loud cheers.
Rather than phasing the cuts in, as he had been expected to do, Mr Osborne said he said he had decided the “simplest thing” was “to avoid them altogether” – despite that meaning he would miss his own target for overall welfare spending in the early years of this parliament.
In the summer the Government pledged to take away £4.4 billion in 2016-17 from the tax credit bill, which would have hit 3 million working families, however the Government has only pledged to scrap the reform to the value of £3.4bn – leaving the £1bn shortfall. 5 billion this year and to pound sterling49.
George Osborne will be forced to raise taxes or announce more spending cuts if the brighter picture of the public finances presented at the autumn statement proves to be unfounded, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned.
“The forecasts will change again, and by a lot more than they have over the past few months”.
“New Resolution Foundation analysis shows that these cuts fall overwhelmingly on poor working families”, he said.
The opposition Labour Party quickly countered that the British people will feel “betrayed” by Osborne’s failure to eliminate the deficit.
‘Our job is to rebuild Britain…so that Britain becomes the most prosperous and secure of all the nations in the world, ‘ added Osborne, who is widely seen as a potential successor to Cameron.
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The Chancellor confirmed plans to double the housing budget with spending partly funded by new rates of Stamp Duty that will be 3pc higher on the purchase of additional properties like buy-to-lets and second homes.
