Not every building will be given to the new body, however, as some are owned by local councils instead.
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the Chancellor’s decision not to also reverse cuts to the new Universal Credit system mean that over the long-term welfare “will be cut just as much as was ever intended”.
The Chancellor has “wrongfooted Labour” after boosting spending by tens of billions of pounds – as he “ushered in the end of austerity”.
Mr Osborne’s plans are geared towards the Government having a surplus in 2019, the final full year of this Parliament.
The Chancellor also announced that people will no longer be able to get cash compensation for minor whiplash claims, in a crackdown created to cut the number of fraudulent claims and likely to lead to reduced motor insurance premiums. Councils in England are facing cuts of over 50% in central government support over the five-year spending review period, but will be able to raise more from business rates.
But Hertfordshire County Council’s deputy leader Chris Hayward said the failure to provide money for adult social care was “disappointing”.
He said: “We are now using all our resources to try and balance the books over the next couple of years, so it is something we will have to look at”. However, he said the easiest thing would be just to scrap the plans completely, even though that means the Government would miss its planned targets for cutting welfare spending.
The campaign group Housing Justice praised the Chancellor for recognising the housing crisis, for committing public funds to increase housebuilding, and for making shared ownership “more accessible”.
Not only that, but police chiefs nationwide were left open-mouthed when their budgets were reprieved.
Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman has welcomed the Chancellor’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement yesterday (Wednesday).
“I’m proud of my officers and staff and the work they put in each day to protect Londoners”.
He said: “A swathe of departments will see real-terms cuts”. I’ve listened to the concerns. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, secured a 30-per-cent increase in spending on counter-terrorism activities.
It is as yet unclear how today’s announcement will affect claimants of working tax credits in Croydon moving over to UC in the next two years.
In an interview with Good Morning Britain, the shadow chancellor said: “I was trying to draw attention to the fact, with a bit of irony, that actually what George Osborne is doing is selling off British assets to the Chinese People’s Republic”.
Osborne’s tax-raising and cost-cutting budget came after five years of strong downward pressure on government spending, which had expanded substantially in immediate response to the financial crisis of 2008.
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The OBR had also certified that the Government’s economic plan will deliver on the commitment to reach a surplus by 2019/20 and reduce the debt to GDP ratio every year of this Parliament.
