Resignation of the Prime Minister
The national political events of the last few months have happened at breakneck speed, with a third Prime Minister now to be appointed and a third Levelling Up Secretary in as many months, with still a very unclear picture for macro-economic policy. There are Authorities up and down the country still waiting on a range of delayed decisions, notably on devolution, UKSPF Investment Plans, Investment Zones and the outcome of Levelling Up bids.
The uncertainty makes a challenging environment to make key strategic or long-term decisions, with uncertainty about spending, inflation and policy and ever-growing talk of a general election in the media. The mini-budget has largely been reversed, but there are still a range of fiscal decisions in the pipeline and the Medium Term Fiscal Plan scheduled for 31 October is presumably also up in the air. This date, at present, seems an eternity away given the ongoing events in Westminster.
Delays in decision making, coupled with the issues cited above, are causing significant uncertainty, particularly in the context of UK Shared Prosperity Fund where Authorities have allocations they are supposed to spend in 2022/23. This is exacerbated when the new ‘capital only’ Rural England Prosperity Fund allocations are added to the mix.
Clearly, the Civil Servants we regularly liaise with cannot give clarity on these issues at the moment. It is clearly not business as usual, but without a formal pause on processes, Local Authorities are expending time and resources on a range of activities with a very uncertain outcome, either in terms of start dates, financial commitments or funding and interventions for the communities we serve.
Even despite the changes in Whitehall, Local Government and our partners are still a stable platform to support the local growth agenda. Clearly there has never been a more important time to be a member of CEDOS.