Council Leader Tim Oliver statement on the Spending Review

Commenting on yesterday’s Spending Review, Surrey County Council Leader Tim Oliver said: “Yesterday’s Spending Review contained some important announcements, including an increase in core funding for local government, additional money for children’s services, special education needs and disabilities (SEND) reform and a continued commitment to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

“However, concerns remain about the financial challenges faced by councils, with yesterday’s increase in ‘core spending power’ being predicated on an assumption that local authorities will levy the maximum 5% council tax rises each year, and which still leaves a projected £2.2bn funding gap faced by county and unitary councils next year.

“Whilst our finances have been transformed to a point where we have delivered stable, balanced budgets year after year, we are not exempt from the financial challenges faced by councils and it’s imperative that the outcome of the forthcoming Fair Funding Review is fair and proportionate.

“Talk of reform of the SEND system is welcome, but we await further detail in the Autumn White Paper. Provision and support for children with SEND is a systemic issue that councils up and down the country are grappling with, and the current system does not work for families, schools or councils. Here in Surrey, we invested an additional £15m into a three-year multi-agency recovery plan in September 2023, which is yielding clear results, but we’ve long made it clear to government that wider system changes, additional funding and urgent reform is needed. We hope yesterday’s announcement is the first step in that direction.

“It was, however, disappointing to see no resolution offered for the mounting SEND service deficits experienced by councils across the country, something government urgently need to clarify. Many local authorities, including Surrey, are facing a continuing increase in demand in comparison with levels of funding received, and in nine months’ time these deficits will be placed onto councils’ budget books. Councils will soon start planning their budgets for next year and cannot afford to have this can kicked down the road any longer.

“We were pleased to see a renewed commitment to advancing the process of LGR across the country. We recently submitted a proposal to government for a two unitary model, having worked at great pace to meet their ambitious deadline, to ensure we can deliver the benefits of devolution to Surrey residents as soon as possible. We have worked hard to form that proposal, to deliver the best possible outcome for Surrey residents, and we now wait for government to direct how they wish us to proceed.”