Trees of hope as Lincolnshire hospitals mark year since first COVID patient

Listening to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget live, who would have thought that over the last 18 months we have experienced one of the biggest economic shocks and seen unprecedented levels of financial intervention from a government to support our economy and public welfare.

It would be interesting to know if anyone has or was able to tot up the sums of money, billions and millions, pledged and earmarked in terms of public spending over the next few years.

It certainly seemed to be a Budget based on our economic and social prosperity being driven by investment in both the public and private sector. Whilst few predicted that this would be a Budget of tax hikes, it was not unreasonable to think it might have included some, or some inkling of future changes.

It looks like balancing the books is dependent on business innovation and investment, along with public sector and consumer spending giving rise to tax revenues from direct and indirect taxes. 

With government borrowing at a level not seen since the end of the Second World War, there is surely a risk of a bumpy ride ahead if growth targets are not achieved and levelling up doesn’t really lead to levelling up.

The current rise in inflation is being, in part, attributed to increased and renewed global demand, particularly for goods following lockdown. This has led to supply chain issues along with increased energy costs linked to increased manufacturing and supply to meet such demand.

It is given this background coupled with low interest rates that inflation will settle down and so too will supply chain issues. However, perhaps workforce shortages will still be a real concern. The OBR forecast that the UK economy will return to pre-pandemic levels by the turn of the year.

Looking at the plethora of public sector spending announcements, few would disagree with much needed spending being allocated to our health service, education and infra structure projects, especially those that lead to a real levelling up. Those in the public sector will welcome the lift on the freeze for public sector pay increases.

More specific announcements, for businesses in particular, included the reduction in Business Rates for those in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors including a 1-year discount of 50%, more frequent revaluations – every three years from 2023; and relief for adopting solar panels and a 12-month rate holiday on property improvements.

For those businesses looking to make capital investments, the £1m Annual Investment Allowance will be extended to March 2023, instead of ending in December.

The arts, museums, entertainment and culture sector will no doubt applaud the announcement that the covid support and recovery Creative Tax Reliefs will not only be doubled but that they will now remain in place until April 2023.  

Whilst considering relief those involved in innovation, including research and development, will be delighted to hear about the enhanced reliefs available for R &D, along with increased funding available to support such activity through Innovate UK. For those undertaking research involving cloud computing and data, they will be pleased to hear that such costs are now eligible for tax relief.

Whilst the increase to the National Minimum Wage, for those aged over 23, from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour was announced before the Budget, few were perhaps aware of the pending changes to alcohol duty which focused going forward on these being ‘simpler, fairer and heathier’ – a key winner certainly seems to be English sparking wines and draft pulled beers/lagers all benefit from lower duties.

Moving on to fuel duty, but not advocating a drive to the pub, the good news as we face unprecedent prices at the pump, was that fuel duty will again be frozen.

It would be easy to think perhaps there was little in this Budget, in some ways it would be difficult not to agree. Perhaps the test will be around the impact and effectiveness of what seems to be an unprecedented public sector spending spree. In the Chancellor’s own words, it certainly seems like ‘an age of optimism’.  

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Lincolnshire looks set to receive nearly £30million in levelling up funding from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn budget, with a focus on improvements to the A16 and a new cinema in Gainsborough.

The East Midlands will receive a total of £203 million for 10 projects across the region. including £19.6 million for improvements to the A16 corridor between Spalding and Boston in Lincolnshire and a £10.3 for a new four-screen cinema in Gainsborough town centre.

The Gainsborough plans involve redeveloping the old Lindsey Centre site, including a four-screen Savoy cinema, three commercial units and a car park.

Conservative County Council leaders have welcomed the budget which they said will “provide the foundations for a stronger economy” in the county going forward.

In particular they praised the infrastructure investments and levelling up funding, post-16 skills training and education and business rate discounts.

Council leader Martin Hill, also indicated the latest moves by government “underlines how important it is for the county to get its own devolution deal.”

However, they said more needs to be done and have warned that they still face an annual funding shortfall of around £25-30 million which can only be met by increasing council tax, drawing on reserves or finding further savings. Adult social care funding also remains low.

Here are some of the statements from county leaders in reaction to today’s budget.

Councillor Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council

“It certainly looks like the country is in a far stronger economic position than expected at this time last year, which is great news.

“We welcome the £4.8bn of extra funding has been announced for local government and we look forward to receiving further information on that.

“It is likely that we will continue to face significant financial challenges, although we won’t receive the details of next year’s settlement until towards the end of the year.

“Local government has been at the forefront of government spending cuts for the last 10 years and our initial estimates suggest we face an annual funding shortfall of around £25-30m over the next few years. The only way to close that gap will be to increase council tax, draw on our reserves or find further savings – or more likely a combination of all three.

“A major issue for us is the growing demand for adult care and the additional costs this brings. The government has announced reforms, but any extra funding won’t come through for two or three years. We need action now, and we need to see a long-term plan for making adult care sustainable in a fair way. Council tax increases are not the way to do this, as some parts of the country will find it much easier to generate income in this manner.

“We’re look forward to learning more about the planned investment in infrastructure and funding for roads maintenance in non-city areas. We were disappointed to see our highways funding cut by £12m last year, as we know filling potholes is a top priority for our residents. Although we made up the shortfall ourselves last year, this isn’t something we can afford to keep doing. So we will be pushing the government to reinstate this funding and give Lincolnshire a fair share of any new money.

“It was good to see that our bid for Levelling-Up funding for road improvements around Boston and Spalding appears to have been successful. This package of improvements will not only help the food sector transport goods more easily, but should also mean less congestion for motorists in the area. And I’d like to congratulate WLDC on their successful bid for £10,274,858 million of Levelling-Up funds for Gainsborough.

“Significant funding has been given to the regional mayors to invest in transport infrastructure, which underlines how important it is for the county to get its own devolution deal. So we’ll continue to explore the opportunities with partners across the public sector to find a devolution arrangement that is right for Lincolnshire.

“Local councils have played a huge role in supporting our communities during the pandemic, highlighting the vital role they play. The extra funding for local government suggests this has been recognised and we hope that moving forward we are given the money we need to provide the services our residents rely on.”

Councillor Colin Davie, executive member for economy at LCC

“There’s a lot of positive news for the local economy in today’s Autumn Budget.

“We particularly welcome the additional funding for post-16 skills training. Not only will this provide local young people with the opportunity to go for better jobs, it will also help ensure local employers can find the skilled staff they need.

“The investment in further education was also good news. Colleges provide vocational skills that are critical to our local economies and are often major employers in the towns where they are located.  Let’s hope that the budget is the start of a sustained investment in this sector.

“The grant programme to attract international businesses to the UK is also a positive step. We expect this to help further our ambitions for the Holbeach Food Enterprise Zone, which was recently highlighted by government as an opportunity for attracting investment to the UK.

“We are pleased to see the government emphasise its commitment to tackling climate change with investment in the new green industries of the future and incentives to encourage businesses to invest in green technology. This is an important issue for us, as highlighted at the recent Lincolnshire Climate Summit.

“The 50% business rate discount for retail and hospitality, and the draught relief tax support for pubs too, will be greatly welcome and necessary for that sector. However, it is important that local councils aren’t left to foot the bill for these measures.

“Finally, I’m sure local businesses will welcome the cancellation of the planned rise in fuel duty – as will many residents who rely on their cars for getting around our rural county.”

Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness

“Despite the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic, this Conservative  Government is getting on with the job and delivering on the priorities of the British people. 

“This Budget will make a real difference to people in Boston & Skegness, helping working  families with the cost of living, supporting businesses with their recovery, and investing in our  public services so that everyone gets the world-class hospitals, schools, and police services  they deserve.  

“I was elected on a promise to level up and improve opportunity for people in Boston &  Skegness – and today’s Budget shows how this Government is delivering on that promise as  we build back better.” 

A young man from Lincoln has been crowned the best kart racer on the planet for his age range after winning the 2021 World Championships in Italy.

Lewis Wherrell, 11, won the X30 Mini World Championships in Adria, Italy on October 23.

Lewis qualified for the event after coming second in the British Championships this year, and the best 65 drivers from around the world gathered for the global event in Italy.

The competition was held over a five day period between October 18-23, and Lewis came out on top to take home the World Championship crown.

Lewis, who races for Oliver Rowland Motorsport, trains at Paul Fletcher International near Grantham and has been racing for five years since he began at his local track ELK Motorsport near Newark.

He is a year seven student at Sir Robert Pattinson Academy after leaving Fosseway Academy Primary School, and dreams of a career in motorsport.

Lewis said of his victory: “I am really pleased with winning the World Championship in Italy and it was a nice way to end the season after coming second in the British and LGM championships.

“I’d like to thank my family, all of my ORM team for their hard work and my sponsor Aalco metals who have helped me achieve this and hopefully we can continue with winning into 2022!”

You can see Lewis in action on the IWF21 livestream of the championships on YouTube.