THE deputy leader of Worcester City Council says the Autumn Budget does not ‘end austerity’ and leaves it to local councils to ‘paper over the cracks.’

Cllr Adrian Gregson, deputy leader of Worcester City Council, described many of the measures in the Autumn Budget as 'dropping a few crumbs'.

His comments were in contrast to the welcome given on Monday by senior Tories in Worcestershire, including Worcester’s MP Robin Walker, Mid Worcestershire MP Nigel Huddleston and West Mercia’s police crime commissioner, John Campion.

Also among those to raise a glass to the chancellor was Tim Churchman, landlord of The Bridge at Tibberton, near Worcester, after Philip Hammond froze duty on beer and spirits (although he did slap 7p on a bottle of still wine and 9p on sparkling wine). Mr Churchman had said the pub trade was in danger of dying because of the beer tax but said yesterday: “It’s better news than we thought.”

The personal allowance threshold at which people start paying income tax will rise from £11,850 to £12,500 in April next year, a year ahead of schedule.

Fuel duty will be frozen for the ninth year in a row. A minimum extra £2 billion a year will go to mental health services while £650 million will go to county councils for 2019/20 for social care for the elderly. Business rates bill for firms with a rateable value of £51,000 or less to be cut by third over two years.

Labour’s Cllr Gregson said: “I think my main concerns about the budget are that May and Hammond seem to be heading in different directions not only on Brexit but also on austerity. The Tory leader announced the end of austerity. Hammond did no such thing.

“Social security cuts are still on the way and there is no attempt to resolve the issue of universal credit. It is staying and there is no improvement in the support for the rollout. Labour has a motion on the agenda (at a city council meeting held last night) on Universal Credit but it should not be our job as the lowest tier of government to try and paper over the government’s cracks.

“Do we really need to increase our military spending to this extent? And the bit of extra funding for schools is a pathetic and out of touch joke. What little extras? Pencils? Books? The odd teacher or classroom assistant?

“His handouts to local government for potholes and social services were given strictly in the terms of a one off - an insult and failure to grasp the real crisis that we in Worcestershire are facing in the public sector. And high earners are going to get a further £860 per year in tax cuts. Tories look after their friends and drop a few crumbs amongst the rest of us.”

Ahead of the budget Louis Stephen, a city Green councillor for Battenhall, called for more support for struggling businesses on Worcester High Street because of the rise of internet selling, arguing that business rates should be scrapped.

He said: “With the rise of internet selling the current business rates system is pushing our high streets to the brink of collapse. The Green Party believes that an alternative Land Value Tax (LVT) would lead to most businesses paying less than they currently do under business rates.”

Mr Huddleston said the chancellor had commended his own suggestion to resist lobbying to lower the threshold at which businesses have to pay VAT on all of their taxable income.

He said: “Currently, when a business generates more than £85,000 in taxable income, it must register to have all of this income subject to VAT. This means that the threshold acts as a cliff edge beyond which income drops dramatically because of large payments to the Treasury. The knock-on effect of this is that businesses like hotels often close for periods in the winter to avoid going over the threshold and making a loss.”