By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham City Councillors have written to the Government to formally appeal against its plan to intervene further in the running of the authority after it declared effective bankruptcy last year.
At the end of November Nottingham City Council’s chief finance officer issued a Section 114 notice over an in-year budget gap of £23m.
The authority is unable to set a balanced budget, as required by law, in part due to soaring costs in social care and demand for homelessness services.
Past financial errors such as the collapse of council-run Robin Hood Energy, and unlawful spending of money intended for council tenants and their homes, were cited as reasons for the Labour-run authority’s poor financial resilience.
Further cuts, including 554 jobs, have since been proposed amid a budget gap of £53m in the next financial year starting April.
The council is already being overseen by a Government-appointed improvement board, put in place upon the collapse of Robin Hood Energy.
But the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove (Con), says he is “minded to” further intervene as a result of the ongoing financial problems.
“The Secretary of State is minded to appoint commissioners to exercise certain and limited functions as required, for two years,” the Government said in December.
Commissioners, who effectively take power away from elected councillors, can make significant decisions to cut services and save money.
If appointed, the lead commissioner will be paid £1,200 a day by the council – and therefore the taxpayer – while a commissioner for finance and a commissioner for transformation will be paid £900 a day.
The Government says the appointment of commissioners will “ensure that the necessary improvements are made for the benefit of the local community”.
However, before they are officially appointed, councillors and other interested parties had the chance to make representations for and against them.
The deadline closed on January 2.
In a letter to Mr Gove, executive councillor Steve Battlemuch (Lab), the portfolio holder for skills, growth, economic development and property at the council, said: “Like many councils we have faced some tough challenges during the past few years, the most difficult being the serious reduction in government grant which has led to drastic cuts to services in recent times and the prospect of more to follow.
“We have worked hard as elected councillors with the Improvement and Assurances Board since 2021, and are naturally now disappointed to receive your minded-to letter on the appointment of commissioners.
“It is hard to work out how the appointment of three new people could do something the three IAB consultants can’t do.”
Cllr Battlemuch listed a series of achievements, including playing a leading role in the creation of an East Midlands Combined County Authority, reopening Nottingham Castle and creating a new vision for the former Broadmarsh Centre.
“We strongly believe that democratic control of the council is a really important principle,” the letter adds.
“I urge you to pull back from this step and allow the democratically-elected councillors and senior officers of the council to run the council with appropriate levels of support from your officials and the LGA.”
Similarly Cllr Matt Shannon (Lab), who represents the Castle ward, said in his letter “90 per cent of the overspend has been driven by the pressures on adult and children’s social care and homelessness.”
He said the intervention would be an “unjustified suspension of democracy in the city”.
A final decision from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is expected in the coming weeks.