Council reacts to Budget announcements

Responding to today’s Budget announcement, Alan White, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: “On the day that the Council has approved an extra £30 million over two years to be spent maintaining and improving our highways, on top of our annual £50 million road maintenance budget, I am pleased to hear that the Government is providing more money to tackle potholes.

“Spending on our huge road network as part of good physical and digital infrastructure is an essential requirement to successfully support business growth in Staffordshire, but so too is having a good, educated workforce on hand, which is why I welcome the new support to encourage people back into work.

“For many years we have put a great deal of effort into encouraging take-up of the free childcare on offer and this additional provision has to be a step in the right direction to help parents financially and to allow them to take advantage of the jobs available in Staffordshire.

“We do work closely with childcare providers, particularly in terms of encouraging extra provision where it is needed to meet demand. We will continue to support them and study the detail of the additional funding for ‘free hours’ promised by the Chancellor.

“Similarly, we already have a good out-of-school club network in the county, so look forward to seeing the detail of the Chancellor’s announcement regarding wraparound care for school-age children and working with schools to see how it can be expanded.”

Referring to news that support for domestic energy bills is being extended to July Councillor White added: “We are very conscious that many residents have been affected by inflation and rising fuel and energy bills this winter and have done our best to help where we can, so this additional support will be appreciated.”