How could the Chancellor's Budget impact the West Country?

At this point, most of what will appear in Wednesday's Budget has - much to the dismay of the House of Commons Speaker - been announced by the Treasury or leaked to the print media.

You will most probably be aware that Rachel Reeves is about to announce some "difficult" spending decisions and a host of tax rises in an attempt to fill the so-called fiscal black hole Labour says was left by the Conservatives.

But beyond the highly likely increase to employers' National Insurance contributions, an increase in England's bus cap fares from £2 to £3, and billions of pounds for the NHS - what could the impact of Labour's first Budget in 15 years be on the West Country?

Farming

MPs from both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have been putting pressure on the Chancellor not to cut England's annual farming budget, stressing the importance of the sector to food security and economic growth.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - commonly referred to as DEFRA - is known as one of Whitehall's 'unprotected' departments, meaning its budget is always at risk of being cut, unlike funding for the NHS and schools. Historically DEFRA's budget has suffered when compared to other governmental departments.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has similarly warned the government not to cut their annual budget, warning ministers that the removal of cash would equate to them 'walking out' on farmers. Annually the government allocates around £2.4bn to farming in England and there are real concerns this figure will be cut, when organisations like the NFU are calling for it to be much higher.

Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly said he understands the challenges farmers are facing and has insisted that bringing down energy bills will help those businesses, but at no point has the government made a clear commitment to keep funding where it is.

One concern is that the nature friendly farming budget, introduced after Brexit, will be slashed. Before Britain left the European Union (EU), farmers were given subsidies based on how much land they farmed. Since leaving the EU, the UK government now allocates funding to farmers based on how they look after the environment.

Many say this has taken the focus away from food production and hasn't taken into account the many challenges now posed to farmers by unpredictable and extreme weather patterns. To get on top of this, the NFU recommends an increased annual budget of £4 million and the continuation of flood recovery support introduced by the Tories.

The union's president, in a letter to the PM, said the government needs to offer "an essential investment to deliver the government's environmental goals, increase growth and support the economic stability of farm businesses."

Business rates

Across the West Country, businesses are warning that the end of a relief on business rates, from the Covid era, could spell disaster for them.

Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, recently wrote to the Chancellor on behalf of the Party to call for an extension of the rate relief scheme and extra support for high streets.

Business rates relief was introduced for pubs, bars and restaurants during the pandemic but is due to run out in April next year. Currently, they can get 75% off their rates bill up to a maximum amount, and many are concerned that without the continuation of that scheme they'll go bust.

Rachel Reeves has said she is committed to reforming the rates system to make it a more level playing field between small businesses and larger international ones.

North Cornwall's MP asks the Chancellor about SEND provision ahead of Wednesday's Budget

Special educational needs provision -SEND

Every MP across the West Country tells me what a huge issue SEND provision is in their constituencies, and in the past week alone a number of them have asked questions in the Commons in relation to what could be in the Budget.

The good news is that even the deputy prime minister last week hinted that there could be an uplift for SEND on Wednesday, and most recently the chancellor told North Cornwall's MP Ben Maguire that, in relation to SEND, "we'll be setting out more details of departmental settlements tomorrow".

There has been no outright denial from this government that tomorrow's Budget will not contain any boost for local authorities who manage the provision of SEND, but the problem is one that cannot be solved from money alone.

Councils across the West Country are on the brink of bankruptcy, with overspends on adult social care and SEND.

In August, North Somerset Council was of many to sound the alarm, warning that without an increased pot of money from the government it would face "severe consequences".

The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has asked the public to be "patient" while her department draws up the plans for reform, admitting that the system is "broken" but stressing it can't be done quickly.

Extra cash could well be announced by Reeves tomorrow, which would be welcome, but how far it would go is another issue.

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