OXFORDSHIRE traders worried about business rates emerged as Budget winners.

Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged no trader losing small business rate relief would see their bill rise by more than £50 a month next year.

There was also a £300m fund for local councils to dish-out, as part of an extra £435m cut in business rates overall.

But it was pubs which were offered the biggest helping hand.

To recognise the 'valuable role they play in our communities', Mr Hammond handed them a £1,000 discount on business rates this year.

There was also a £300m fund for local councils, as part of an extra £435m cut in business rates overall.

But while some, such as Oxford-based Mamma Mia pizzeria, were 'delighted' with the concession, others including Osney Mead pub The Punter were not impressed.

Losers from yesterday’s Budget included the county’s self-employed, who were left in disbelief as the party for enterprise hiked National Insurance tax and slashed tax-free dividends.

Although ‘spreadsheet Phil’, as he is nicknamed by fellow MPs, said unemployment at an 11-year low and borrowing less than predicted, he warned there was 'no room for complacency'.

There was cash for another 110 free schools plus £216m for state schools, new-style T-levels designed by employers and an extra £500m a year for 16-19 year olds.

There was also £2bn for social care during the next three years, with £1bn for local authorities in 2017-18 plus £100m for A&E triage.

THE NHS

Oxford Mail:

EXTRA cash could be available for a ‘sustainability and transformation plan’ reshaping NHS services in Oxfordshire.

Mr Hammond said he would allocate an extra £325m of capital for the strongest STPs ahead of the Autumn budget.

Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group is leading efforts to create a local three-county STP and has already asked for £150m from NHS England to deliver the plans.

At a meeting yesterday OCCG chief executive David Smith said: “Workforce is a real challenge we face and a number of our buildings are not state-of-the-art or built for delivering modern , 21st century healthcare.”

Mr Hammond also said £100m would be made available immediately for GPs to triage patients in A&E to help alleviate 2017/18 winter pressures.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed yesterday it currently has no GPs in A&E departments.

THE PUB 

Oxford Mail:

NOWHERE near enough to make up for sky-high business rate rises, was Oxford pub landlord Tom Rainey’s scathing verdict on Philip Hammond’s Budget.

Mr Rainey, who runs The Punter on Osney Island, revealed his business rates bill has rocketed from £11,000 to £33,000 a year, up by a whopping 278 per cent.

He said: “The discount is nowhere near enough to counter-balance the business rate rise I am facing.

“You might think that £1,000 sounds generous but when you look at it in relation to the rates bill, it is barely a drop in the ocean.

“I will have no option but to pass on these business rate rises on April 1, which means ultimately, it is the customers who will suffer.”

Mr Rainey was also not happy to hear there would be a few pence put on a pint of beer, thanks to the Chancellor. 

He added: “All of this is just killing off local pubs, with rate rises and beer increases.”

BUSINESS RATES 

Oxford Mail:

According to the Centre for Cities, Oxford faces an average fall in business rates of five per cent but some firms will still face huge increases next month.

North Oxford-based pizzeria business Mamma Mia is due to pay £28,750 more a year.

This includes a 118 per cent rise on its restaurant in South Parade and a 48 per cent rise on its Walton Street restaurant.

Owner John Ellse said: “It’s a huge rise and that’s a big concern for us. The amount we pay in taxes seems to be forever going up, so we’re delighted the government will be offering more support. Hopefully we will be able to get some relief.”

Manager Christian Franco added: “Our restaurants are very popular, we are a family business.”

Peter Smith, president of the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Firms hardest-hit by this year’s business rates revaluation will breathe a little easier thanks to the Chancellor’s decision to offer a package of transitional reliefs. 

“We now challenge councils to use every penny, without excuses and without delay.”

EDUCATION

Oxford Mail:

MILLIONS of pounds set aside for free schools could be better spent on improving existing schools in many cases, it has been claimed.

The Chancellor said £320m would be spent in this Parliament to build an extra 110 free schools – which can be set up by groups such as businesses and charities.

But Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth, who is also spokesman for children, young people and learning on the County Councils Network, said the money would not necessarily be best spent on free schools.

He said: “Free schools are a good idea. It is nice to provide that sort of choice [to parents].

“But I think it would be good if investment could be put towards existing schools to give them the capacity to move up the ladder to become outstanding schools.

“You have got to welcome more funding going into education and it is important that we have alternative forms of education and give people real choice.

“But we have to be careful to make sure we do not disenfranchise existing schools.”

The Chancellor also said he would provide £216m over the next three years to be spent on improving existing schools.

Last week Windmill Primary School, Headington, headteacher Lynn Knapp told the Oxford Mail she was concerned schools buildings could fall into disrepair because of a lack of Government spending.

Following the budget yesterday she said: “It comes down to about £9,000 per school, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

“Any major improvements cost tens of thousands of pounds. That sort of money would do minor repairs.

“For example to do all the re-pointing work at Windmill it would cost between £40,000 and £50,000

“Any money is better than nothing at all but they should be investing in school buildings whether they are free schools or academies or maintained schools.”

The next free school to open in Oxfordshire is scheduled to be the Swan School in 2019.

TRANSPORT 

Oxford Mail:

TRANSPORT bosses have welcomed extra cash pledged by the Government for major schemes, saying Oxfordshire will bid for ‘as much as we can get’.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced yesterday that £690m of a total £1.1bn fund launched last year would be made available to local authorities to ‘get transport networks moving’.

David Nimmo Smith, cabinet member for transport at Oxfordshire County Council said it was ‘very much welcome’.

He added: “We will be bidding for as much as we can get of this funding – it all helps. There are a number of schemes we think we could put forward to help boost the county’s economy, which will help us to continue punching above our weight.”

SOCIAL CARE 

Oxford Mail:

A CASH injection of £2m for social care has been announced just a day after Oxfordshire County Council admitted it was struggling to meet demand.

Mr Hammond said the money would be dished out to local authorities over the next three years, starting with £1.2m in 2017-18.

He said: “We are ensuring that local authorities and the NHS work more closely together.

“To enable elderly patients to be discharged when they are ready, freeing up precious NHS beds and ensuring elderly people are receiving the care they need.”

At a meeting in County Hall on Tuesday, the council’s director for adult services, Kate Terroni, said the council had signed up to a number of large homecare contracts last May but had now reached a ‘plateau’.

She added: “We need a larger workforce. This is a really tough ask. Despite all of our investment and work to be sustainable, we are still coming across incidents where providers are exiting the market at short notice.”

A motion to bring social care back in-house is being tabled at the next full council meeting on Tuesday, March 21.

SELF-EMPLOYED

Oxford Mail:

SELF-EMPLOYED people reacted with disbelief to higher National Insurance tax and slashing tax-free dividends from £5,000 to £2,000.

Joy Foster, who runs Oxford ventures Made With Joy and Tech Pixies, based at Iffley church hall, which helps people back into work, said: “It’s harsh. They should be encouraging people to set up companies. This will affect women we help, as many consider freelance careers.”

Justin Jackson, who runs Digital Remit marketing and is Oxfordshire champion for small trader body Enterprise Nation, said: “It’s going to have a massive impact on those of us who have done what we’ve been encouraged to do – take the risk of setting up their own business. 
“When you are starting out, every pound counts.”