WORCESTER Green Party has criticised George Osborne's Spending Review - calling it a "missed opportunity" to tackle fuel poverty.

Louis Stephen, the chairman of the city's Green branch, says he was left disappointed after the Chancellor decided to focus on a raft of other themes in his spending plans.

As your Worcester News revealed this week Mr Osborne has decided to shelve £4.4 billion of tax credit cuts, protect police funding to 2020 and outline plans for a new fair school funding formula from 2017.

Some of his other big measures included £600 million extra into mental health over the next five years, and £22 billion of what he calls NHS "efficiency savings".

Mr Osborne did announce that household energy bills would cost £30 less than expected by 2017 after funding for home insulation schemes was slashed.

Families currently pay a levy of about £36 a year on their bills to fund a scheme called the Energy Company Obligation, but it will be replaced with a cheaper supplier, reducing the levy.

But he has also pulled £132 million from Government support for energy efficiency schemes.

Mr Stephen said: "George Osborne is selling this as a £30 cut to energy bills, but over the longer term customers in cold homes will be far worse off."

Meanwhile, an executive from Worcestershire's Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has welcome Mr Osborne's support for business.

The Chancellor is continuing tax discounts for small employers and offering another £12 billion for areas to bid for infrastructure improvements under his Local Growth Fund, which Worcestershire has already secured £54.2 million from.

Science funding will also get another £4.7 billion by 2020, protecting it in real terms.

Gary Woodman, the LEP's executive director, said: "We welcome the Chancellor’s emphasis on supporting long term economic growth including the continued commitment to the Local Growth Deal, the national increase in the investment in transport projects and further schemes to support businesses.

"These include the extension for small business rate relief as well as the support for science and technology."

A Worcestershire MP also revealed some relief at the tax credits u-turn yesterday, after saying a lot of residents had contacted him about it in recent weeks.

Nigel Huddleston, who represents Mid-Worcestershire, said he'd had to spend a lot of time dealing with concerned people on how it would impact them.

He said: "I know, from the number of emails I received on the issue, that many of my constituents will welcome the fact the Government will be able to avoid changes to tax credits because of an improvement in the public finances."