As I see it: Nottinghamshire County Council facing “significant pressures” following national Budget

Firstly, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part in our Annual Budget Survey, writes Richard Jackson, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.

By doing so, you are helping us to make the right decisions on how we spend allocated budget, shape how we maintain frontline services and deliver what residents have asked for.

However, as you’ll no doubt be aware, like many local authorities, we are facing significant pressures following the recent national Budget.

We are waiting to hear the finer details of what impact it will have on us as a council, which makes it difficult for us to make firm plans as things stand.

What we do know, though, is that we expect to face the demands of meeting rising costs brought about by increases in the National Living Wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions.

It remains to be seen if these will be funded by extra resources, but the Local Government Finance Settlement, which we will know about next month, should give us a clearer idea about the position for next year and beyond.

There are far too many uncertainties surrounding the national budget position at this stage, but what I can assure readers is that we, as a council, have a proven track record of balancing the books without impacting on frontline services.

I’m proud to say that we’re one of a few local authorities that have not closed a single library, we have a thriving youth service and have maintained rural bus services across the county.

We are committed to investing to improve the lives of everyone.

We continue to mitigate increased costs to deliver services, whilst working hard to invest in the things that matter to you now.

We await next year’s promised three-year Government spending review to provide some certainty of funding into the future.

It is a constant challenge to find a balance, but we recognise the cost-of-living issues that everyone is dealing with and what I will say is that we will keep council tax increases and service charges to the minimum possible.

In addition to this, we will continue to lobby the Government to secure additional funding to help ease the burden and we’ll continue to look for answers and clarity in the coming weeks.

We’re determined not to change frontline services that people see and rely on.

It’s about making changes in terms of how we operate – like moving away from County Hall for example, which is a huge annual cost, to a more efficiently-run building in the heart of Nottinghamshire.

The financial situation is challenging, but it is also more important than ever that we continue to invest where the need is greatest.