Nottinghamshire set for council tax rise as county council budget approved

Mar 3, 2015

NOTTSTV County Hall2 — County Hall, West Bridgford.

Residents across Nottinghamshire will be paying an extra 1.99 per cent in Council Tax as of April after an increase was put through by councillors.

The Council Tax rise, which has been approved by Nottinghamshire County Council, comes as the authority has had its central government funding slashed for the next financial year.

Councillors also approved more than £30m worth of austerity savings over the next year at its full council meeting, with services that care for children and the elderly among the hardest hit.

Lasting a total of 11 hours, with councillors from opposing parties locking horns over the budget proposals, the meeting eventually came to a close after the chairman’s casting vote broke a 33 vote tie.

Protecting services

Chiefs from the Labour group in charge of the council, who put forward the cost-cutting proposals, insist that the tax rise will help protect services for the most vulnerable.

“The County Council’s budget position tells a sadly familiar story of further reductions in Government funding, accompanied by a rising demand for services,” said the authority’s leader, Councillor Alan Rhodes.

Cllr Rhodes said that this is a position that the council expects to continue for the foreseeable future.

He added: “Bluntly, the Council can no longer deliver services in the same way or at the same level as present.”

Councillors debating next year’s budget proposals at County Hall.

Speaking at the budget meeting, Councillor Reg Adair, the council’s Conservative group spokesman for finance, criticised the Labour-led administrations proposals to increase Council Tax.

He said that the group was doing ‘as little as possible’ to reduce the budget deficit.

Under Cllr Adair’s Conservative budget proposals Council Tax for Nottinghamshire residents would have been frozen – this would have been done by reducing the number of council properties and school buildings.

“Labour’s budget consultation has been a sham, Counncillor Kirkham never offered residents the option of a freeze” he added.

However Councillor David Kirkham, of the Labour group, blamed the council’s financial position on central government – which is currently run by a Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition.

“Labour’s budget consultation has been a sham…”

Councillor Reg Adair, Conservative group spokesman for finance.

“Local Government has bore the brunt of government cuts since 2010,” he said.

“We believe we have little choice but to ask Nottinghamshire residents to pay a little bit more for the services they receive.”

“Bluntly, the Council can no longer deliver services in the same way…”

Councillor Alan Rhodes, Leader, Nottinghamshire County Council.

Nottinghamshire County Council’s reduction in Government funding has left leaders with the challenge of having to cut a total of £77m from its budget by 2017/18.

In order to make the required savings, Cllr Rhodes said that the council is having to look at ways it can do things differently and more efficiently.

“Things have started to change,” he said.

“Our ‘Redefining Your Council’ programme sets out an innovative approach to transform the Council, starting from a position of ‘how can we do things differently’, rather than ‘how can we cut services’. It’s a plan that’s Council-wide, well managed and working.

“There is still much to do – there always will be – but our approach is sensitive to the needs of local people and the need to change at a pace which does not destabilise local services.

“We must continue to work in a way which moves the authority to a different place – to redefine to Council.”

Some of the proposals that have been put forward to save money, which have been described by the authority as ‘innovative’, include a new jointly owned Local Authority company to deliver the authority’s highways services and joining up meals on wheels delivery with production.

“There is still much to do – there always will be. We must continue to work in a way which moves the authority to a different place…”

Councillor Alan Rhodes.

The budget made simple

Under the new budget for 2015/16 the amount spent by the council on all services will be £510 million, this is a reduction of £17 million from the 2014/15 budget.
The council’s finances come from a number of sources, mainly Council Tax from residents and a grant from central Government.
The council spends the biggest chunk of its budget – nearly two thirds – on looking after children, caring for adults and other social care.
The rest of the budget goes to other departments such as transport and highways, environment and sustainability, community safety, culture, policy, finance and property and personnel.
In its 2015/16 budget, Nottinghamshire County Council has had a reduction in its central Government grant. The authority has therefore implemented a 1.99% Council Tax rise to help ‘plug the gap’.