Nottingham to make £20m cuts
Nottingham City Council is set to make £20m of reductions in next year’s budget following Government cuts in funding and other pressures.
Councillors considered proposals for the savings for 2012/13 at the Executive Board meeting, including setting a Council Tax increase of 3.49% and a workforce reduction of 195.
The council’s budget priorities include supporting jobs and the local economy and protecting services for vulnerable people where it can – although growing numbers of people needing adult care and children in care put further pressure on the council’s finances. But the above-average cut in Government funding of 7.36% for the City Council, on top of a real-term reduction of £60m last year, means difficult decisions will once again have to be made about some services the council provides.
The cuts also come on top of significant efficiencies and savings the council has made since 2009/10 to ensure value for money, such as consolidating office space across the city into Loxley House, reducing back office costs, reducing the costs of management, and sharing some services with other councils. This makes it even more difficult to protect frontline services from the latest reductions.
City Council Deputy Leader Councillor Graham Chapman said: “The Government’s cuts are unfair on cities like Nottingham and will result in a higher impact on our citizens than elsewhere.”
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