ACEVO statement on the Budget 2017
This was a tepid budget. There were some welcome announcements. The continuing review of the flexibility of the apprenticeship levy, an acknowledgement of the acute problem of homelessness, the additional exceptional £2.8 billion for the NHS, the helpful announcements on business rates and changes to the administration of Universal Credit all go some way to relieve pressure at the edges.
But they fall a long way short of addressing the strategic needs of civil society, particularly social care. This was not a budget which reflected the recent statement by the minister for civil society Tracey Crouch who asserted that the Government values civil society and the vital role it plays.
