Chancellor Philip Hammond has already dismissed announcing a ‘spending spree’ in his budget speech tomorrow, but what should local government watch out for?
Here is a round up of the latest predictions on what the 2017 Budget will bring.
Social care
After coming under fire for failing to mention social care in his Autumn Statement, Mr Hammond is expected to give councils £1.3bn emergency funding for social care over the next two years.
If announced, the funding is likely to be generated through departmental spending cuts of up to 6%.
Schools
The Budget is expected to contain a £320m cash boost to open new free schools and grammar schools across England.
Mr Hammond will confirm the funding to deliver 140 new free schools on top of the 500 already pledged by 2020. It has also been reported that £216m will be allocated to rebuild and refurbish existing schools.
Business rates
Tomorrow could see the announcement of a transition fund to help mitigate the impact of business rates reforms.
Mr Hammond could publish a package worth £300m to help those worst affected.
Skills training
The Government has already announced a £500m boost to help train 16 to 19-year-olds on technical routes. The reforms will include scrapping the current 13,000 separate qualifications and replacing them with '15 world-class routes'.
