Responses to Budget 2014

Osborne said: "Difficult decisions have been made on public service pay and pensions. None of these decisions have been easy but they are right to ensure Britain lives within its means."

The welfare cap will be set at £119 billion on 2015-16, increasing to £127 billion in 2018-19.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles responded to the Chancellor's 2014 budget, saying: "This year’s Budget shows how housebuilding is central to our long-term economic plan, with measures to get Britain building and support to help hard-working people realise their dream of home ownership.

"Today’s multi-billion package will boost housebuilding, particularly on brownfield land, create new jobs and allow up to an additional 120,000 aspiring homeowners to buy a home.

"The moves will get workers back on site across the country, including at large sites like Ebbsfleet, help smaller builders to restart work on stalled developments, and make sure people who want to build their own home can."

Others involved in local government were less welcoming. Local Government Association chairman Sir Merrick Cockell said: “Much more can be done to build new homes, create jobs and stimulate the economy if local government’s hands were untied by the chancellor to drive this through at a local level.

“While this Budget has not brought further cuts for local government, it has not changed the fact that the next two years will be the toughest yet for people who use and rely upon the services which councils provide.

“By next year, council budgets will have been cut by 40 per cent from where they were at the start of this parliament. If we are to avoid an upturn in the economy coinciding with a decline in public services, we need nothing less than a fundamental reform of the way the public sector works and an honest reappraisal of how public services are provided and paid for in post-austerity Britain.”

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