Local party leaders on Hertfordshire Borough Council have had their say on the autumn budget 2024.

Last week's figures from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves have been described as "the biggest budget" in well over a decade.

A £40 billion tax hike will be raised through an increase in employers' National Insurance contributions in April to 15 per cent, raising £25 billion, plus rises in capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

The National Minimum Wage will be raised by 6.7 per cent, from £11.44 to £12.21. Money in turn is set to be poured into public services, with the NHS to receive an additional £22.6billion.

Cllr Nigel Bell, leader of the Labour group on Herts County Council, was full of praise for the budget. He said: "The 7 per cent rise in the minimum wage is vital for so many of our low paid workers across the county and worth up to £1,400 for a full-time worker.

"The extra spend over the next two years on the NHS will help cut waiting times and build capacity at our three hospitals and medical centres.

"And crucially, I welcome the £1billion uplift for SEND in the overall £2.3 billion increase in schools spending and while there is much to do on SEND policy, this is an important key start recognised by our new Chancellor."

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Steve Jarvis said there was "not much help for Herts in the budget", adding: "Whilst the increases in funding for local government in general and for children with special educational needs in particular are a step in the right direction, neither will address the issues in delivering social care for adults and meeting the needs of children.

"The increase in SEND funding is 6% when the numbers of children with special needs has risen by 16%. Apparently, the government expects most of the extra money to be spent on repaying past overspends, so the real increase may turn out to be even less. Whilst this is a national problem it is made worse in Hertfordshire because the Conservative administration let Hertfordshire's SEND services fall so far behind what is acceptable that a massive catch-up is now required.

"Similarly, the extra money for fixing potholes sounds good, but is actually not very much when spread across the country. Hertfordshire's share of this is not going to transform our potholed roads.

"Labour said that their big idea was to increase growth to pay for improved public services but there is no sign of either promoting growth or improving public services in this budget."

For the Conservatives, Cllr Richard Roberts, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said: "While we welcome the proposed general increase in local government funding, the National Insurance increases announced today which we understand will be covered for local government, will still have a significant impact on our care providers and we will need to plan for these costs with them. Also, the damage that these announcements could do to our local businesses will make our ambitions for economic growth in the county a significant challenge going forwards.

"It will also be interesting to see what the wider announcements made today will mean for Hertfordshire residents and as always, the devil will be in the detail. If taken as read, investment in schools, road maintenance, the household support fund, carers allowance and additional support for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) should be welcomed, however this level of investment remains significantly short of the funding required to balance our budget next year.

"Hertfordshire has been one of the lowest recipients of high needs funding across the country to provide services to children with SEND, and from what we've heard today, it doesn't feel like the measures announced will go far enough towards rectifying this historical funding injustice."