Nottingham City Council’s officers have recommended the authority goes ahead with the majority of its proposed sweeping cuts to services to fill a £53m hole in its future budgets.
However, this has angered many locals, and ahead of today’s (Tuesday) executive meeting, a group called Save Our Services will stage a protest outside the council’s Loxley House offices starting at 12:30 p.m.
“The proposed cuts threaten the very fabric of our society and the well-being of all of our residents, especially the most vulnerable,” a group representative stated.
“Our grassroots effort has responded by starting a campaign to stop these cuts and demand accountability from our political officials.
The public must be kept fully informed about the proposed cuts and how they will affect our city’s future.
“We want to mobilise community groups, increase awareness, and put pressure on the council to reevaluate their decision.
We had an amazing 50 people show up for our most recent planning meeting—a number that keeps growing as more and more people realise the terrible effects of the council’s proposed cuts.
With more local organisations, student organisations, Unison, and the Trades Union Council (TUC) in Nottingham supporting us, our campaign is gathering steam.
Due to additional funds it needs to preserve by March of this year, the council effectively declared bankruptcy in November when it sent out a Section 114 notice.
In order to close this budgetary shortfall, it will need to find an additional £53 million in savings over the next 12 months. To that end, it has suggested making drastic cuts to public transportation, community centres, youth services, and libraries.
Furthermore, it is anticipated that the Labour-led authority would eventually face a financial problem of magnitude and scope that will peak at a deficit of £68.7 million in the fiscal year beginning in April 2025 and then rise to a cumulative total of £171.7 million by 2027 to 2028.
The present anticipated cuts might result in the loss of 554 full-time equivalent jobs in total, and a five percent increase in council taxes has also been suggested.
Over 5,400 individuals responded to the plans’ weeks-long consultation, which took place in December and January.
According to officers, the council must now proceed with the budget cuts that were already planned “to ensure its continued financial sustainability.”
As a result, various adjustments have been proposed, such as utilising different financing sources to maintain the Linkbus services as they currently exist.
Funding for the Medilink service will be removed from April 2025 but the council says it will work with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to develop an alternative operating model for the service.
Public transport infrastructure, including the Queens Drive and Racecourse Park & Ride sites, will be retained by using alternative funding sources, subject to review in the wider region and the emerging East Midlands Combined County Authority from 2025.
Concessionary fares will be reviewed in conjunction with the wider region and the emerging Combined Authority to ‘ensure a consistency of approach’, while efficiencies will be created within smart ticketing and the removal Robin Hood ticket machines.
Strong resistance to a review of green spaces was also expressed throughout the consultation process; as a result, changes will be made to the implementation, including a decrease in funding for the upkeep of the expanding Broadmarsh Green Heart.
Regarding the library service, the consultation determined that individuals were unable to make an educated choice based on the information at hand, as they were only informed that a £1.5 million savings is now being suggested without any further details.
According to the meeting documents, “The range of options for further public consultation will be informed and developed by the responses from this initial budget consultation.”
“On the item about charges for the Greyhound Street public toilets, concerns were raised it would be ‘unfair to the growing number of homeless people and those that struggle with incontinence’ while some respondents also referred to public toilets as a ‘human right’.
“It has also been proposed the Jackdawe homecare service for those living with dementia should close and be outsourced alongside the Barkla Close service.
“Officers will work to ensure that service users receive high-quality, safe services.”
“With certain proposals, there is ‘no further ability to mitigate the impact,’ such as the permanent closure of the Old Market Square fountains.”
The council claims it is unable to close the £53 million budget gap from a total general fund budget of £357 million, even with the suggested reductions of £36.4 million.
As a result, the council is dependent on the government’s Exceptional Financial Support (EFS).
Up to £25 million of the required emergency money would be allocated for this year, and up to £40 million for the following.
Rather than a gift, it will probably come in the form of loans and special authority to generate funds from council assets to be used for ongoing operating expenses.
“It is important to acknowledge that relying on significant amounts of EFS not only enables the council to set a balanced budget for the year, but it also sets a significantly higher hurdle to achieve in 2025–2026,” the papers went on.
Most of the difficulties have been attributed to decreased government funding, high demand and growing expenses for homelessness and social care help, as well as a nationally approved wage increase.
Furthermore, with only £14.6 million in general fund reserves, the council was unable to rely on reserves.
One explanation for the shortfall of reserves has been attributed to the demise of Robin Hood Energy and the improper use of funds from the Housing Revenue Account.
A full council meeting in March will be the occasion for the approval of the final budget.
Leave a Reply