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00:00So, this is about £1.3 billion worth of extra funding and the local government association
00:09says that councils need £2.3 billion worth of extra funding to maintain current levels
00:18of spending. So, although we've lobbied hard in the lead up to the budget, and we're pleased
00:24that we've got the extra £1 billion, there are still a lot of areas of concern for councils
00:29It's a long way to go to address social care, homelessness, SEND pressures, that's special
00:35educational needs and disabilities. There's also nothing on the pressure which is in what's called
00:43the dedicated skills grant, which is a problem for many councils. We've seen the proposed
00:52increases in minimum wage, that's welcome, but it does significantly increase our costs in areas
00:58like social care contracts, which will create additional pressures for Somerset Council.
01:04It's disappointing that the A358, the dualling scheme between Ilminster and Taunton has now
01:12been dropped, but we weren't surprised by that decision, it had been trailed.
01:19We do wait for further details of this budget, but it doesn't go far enough
01:28to fully address the financial emergency facing councils right across the country.
01:34What we need is proper reform, we need multi-year financial settlements,
01:38we need appropriate funding for councils to meet ever-increasing demands, especially
01:43in social care. We need that greater flexibility in our funding, fewer ring-fenced grants that
01:51will allow us to put the money where it's needed for Somerset residents. We need a long-term
01:56solution for social care and we need a long-term solution for local government finance. We can't
02:03continue to fund social care out of a tax on property values based in 1991.