The government has said it is unable to lay out spending plans until the end of the current parliament because “the right thing today is to focus entirely on the response to Covid-19 and supporting jobs”.
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The plan, due to be published in late November, will be kept under review given the “unprecedented uncertainty” of the pandemic, the Treasury added.
The decision to delay the CSR for a second time - it was originally due to be published last November but was delayed due to the 2019 general election - was criticised by the Local Government Association.
.@hmtreasury's announcement that it will conduct a one-year #SpendingReview (SR) is hugely disappointing and a missed opportunity for the Government to draw a line under inefficient short-term budgeting.
— Local Government Association (@LGAcomms) October 21, 2020
Councils now need urgent certainty.
A #ReThinkLocal thread 👇
(1/11) pic.twitter.com/U4hcNxpuJ4
Schools’ resource settlements will be fully funded alongside multi-year NHS programmes, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged, adding that the review will also reveal devolved administration’s block grants for the same period.
The review is set to focus entirely on three areas, the Treasury said:
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Providing departments with the certainty they need to tackle Covid-19 and deliver the government’s ‘Plan for Jobs’ to support employment
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Giving vital public services enhanced support to continue to fight against the virus alongside delivering frontline services.
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Investing in infrastructure to deliver plans level up the country.
Campaigners across the sector have previously urged the Chancellor to “put children at the heart of the review” amid a funding crisis among early years providers and a multi-million pound deficit facing children’s social care providers.
Sector leaders have expressed concern over changes to the review saying it is already “overdue already and desperately needed”.
Kathy Evans, chief executive of Children England, said: “So, the full three year Spending Review is postponed another year - the last full 3-year SR was in 2015.
“Councils, communities and public services desperately need clarity, certainty and investment plans, not the grubby 'dealmaking' for scraps we saw yesterday.”
Katherine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of care leavers charity Become added: “The Spending Review only being one year favours short term solutions and makes it harder to plan for the longer term fundamental changes needed - including to reform children’s care. Really hope this does not limit the ambitions or possibilities of the Care Review.”
So, the full 3 year Spending Review is postponed another year - the last full 3-year SR was in 2015
— Kathy Evans (@Kathy_CEO_CE) October 21, 2020
Councils, communities & public services desperately need clarity, certainty and investment plans, not the grubby 'dealmaking' for scraps we saw yesterday https://t.co/sZyGMyHUFu
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said the “government’s ‘Plan for Jobs’ urgently needs a ‘Plan for Childcare’ as part of our economic recovery”.
“We have submitted a clear case for protecting the early years sector in this Spending Review and I have met with the Treasury and ministers over the last few weeks. We’re campaigning hard for a fair settlement for childcare providers and will be working with our members to ensure their value is seen over the coming weeks. Childcare providers are an essential part of our social and educational infrastructure.
Spending Review only being one year favours short term solutions & makes it harder to plan for the longer term fundamental changes needed - including to reform children’s care. Really hope this does not limit the ambitions or possibilities of the Care Review https://t.co/VpnT8LxbFo
— Katharine Sacks-Jones (@KatharineSJ) October 21, 2020
“But we know how many nurseries are in serious financial difficulties and must be supported, both in the short term to survive the pandemic but also in the longer term. If the government is serious about levelling up opportunity across the country, they must invest in our children’s earliest years,” she added.
Meanwhile, a coalition of childcare providers, organisations, businesses and parent networks have joined forces, urging Sunak to provide “greater government support for the childcare sector during the coronavirus pandemic”.
News that Spending Review #SR2020 will only cover one year will inevitably favour a collection of sticking plasters - in children’s services can we use this breathing space to design a much more convincing & integrated system for the years beyond?
— Peter Wanless (@PeterWanless) October 21, 2020
The coalition of organisations includes the Early Years Alliance, the Fawcett Society, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Trades Union Congress and the NCB.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has also called for heavy investment in support for vulnerable children including a series of national policy reforms “to unlock significant savings which could be reinvested into children’s services”.
Proposals put forward by the ADCS include a review of legislation underpinning home-to-school transport, special educational needs reforms to ensure that children are educated in mainstream settings and as close to home as possible, “removing the ability for significant profits to be generated from the care of vulnerable children” and ensuring the best use of the funding available for the National Citizenship Service.
Jenny Coles, ADCS president, said: “Before the pandemic, there was not enough money in the system to meet the level of need in our communities, Covid-19 has further illuminated and significantly exacerbated that inadequate baseline of funding.
“We are seeing newly vulnerable families who we’ve never worked with coming to our attention because of issues such as domestic abuse, neglect and financial hardship, and escalating levels of need amongst those who were already facing challenges.
“Local authorities are bracing themselves for an unprecedented level of demand for children’s social care, in the autumn and beyond. We need and want to be in a position to support children now and in the future and we will need increased, and crucially the right, financial support from the government to do this.
“ADCS estimates children’s services will need between £4.1bn to £4.5bn, in each year of the spending review. This will cost money now, however children and society as a whole will reap the rewards in the future.”
