Salford Mayor Paul Dennett and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham have given a mixed reception to the Chancellor’s Autumn statement.
Paul Dennett welcomed the news that housing benefits would be unfrozen for the bottom third of local rents but slammed the delay in introducing it until 2024.
He tweeted: “Shocking it hasn’t been introduced immediately, given the housing & homelessness crisis we’re facing!”
Well done everyone who has worked tirelessly over years to finally get government to see sense & lift the Local Housing Allowance to cover the bottom third of local rents.✊🏻
Shocking it hasn’t been introduced immediately, given the housing & homelessness crisis we’re facing!😡 https://t.co/iygmyOmcLl
— SalfordMayor (@salford_mayor) November 22, 2023
The Salford Mayor was also supportive of the £160m the Government has promised to Greater Manchester for a so-called investment zone, which will help support the creation of jobs in the city to boost the economy.
However, Mayor Dennett has raised concerns about how much of the money from the investment zone will actually end up in the hands of local people rather than private shareholders.
Andy Burnham has been positive about plans to give greater devolution to the Greater Manchester combined authority but said the plans should have gone further.
Burnham spoke on X about how the statement didn’t go far enough to make necessary changes to improve people’s standard of living.
He said: “Residents in all ten of Greater Manchester’s boroughs will face a tough time over the next few months.
“Overall, it feels like a missed opportunity to do the right thing.”
The plans would move the authority to a funding arrangement with central government similar to that of the Welsh and Scottish governments something Burnham has been vocal about for a long time.
Mayor Burnham said: “It will give us much greater control of our budget at the next spending review and help us get better outcomes for residents and businesses.”
🗣️"Overall, it feels like a missed opportunity to do the right thing."
Andy has welcomed the good news for Greater Manchester in the Autumn Statement – but there are gaps which give cause for concern.
Read his statement 👇https://t.co/2KlyUAy6XO pic.twitter.com/4YzSS2DePa
— Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (@MayorofGM) November 22, 2023
However, Burnham was critical of part of the government’s tax plans, saying that the people on the lowest incomes would not benefit from the planned cut to national insurance.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester was also critical of the fact the planned benefit uplifts will not come into force until April 2024.
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