STATEMENT FROM CLLR HAZEL WATSON ON TODAY’S BUDGET

Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:

"This Budget was a missed opportunity for the Government to address the crisis in social care funding in places like Surrey and to alleviate the pressure on local councils delivering essential services to vulnerable residents but who cannot keep up with demand and cost pressures. The worsening growth figures outlined by the Office of Budget Responsibility paint a bleak picture for local councils who desperately needed a cash injection from the government in order to carry out their statutory duties.

"The Chancellor's announcement of extra money for house building is welcome but these must be homes that people can afford, with a range of tenures and in the right places. High cost areas like Surrey and the south east of England need an increased supply of genuinely affordable homes so that teachers, care workers and others working in the public sector and providing the essential services that we all rely on, can live and work locally.

"The Conservative Government has failed to address some of the critical issues affecting areas like Surrey. Liberal Democrats have called for a cash injection in the NHS, funded by an increase in income tax of 1p which, alongside reforms to bring together health and social care, would raise an extra £6bn. Instead of more money for schools, the Government is having to put £3bn extra aside in order to prepare for the fallout from the extreme version of Brexit that it has chosen to implement. It is disappointing that the Chancellor, himself a Surrey MP, has not recognised these issues when putting together this Budget."