Nottingham City Council to get £30m Government funding boost — but districts and boroughs, including Newark and Sherwood and Rushcliffe, feel ‘let down’

District and borough councils across Nottinghamshire say they feel ‘let down’ and ‘underwhelmed’ after the Government announced how much funding struggling local authorities will get over the next year.

Each year the Government tells councils how much it plans to give them in central funding to help run vital services such as social care, homelessness support, housing, bin collections, leisure centres and more.

The Labour Government said on December 18 it would be increasing spending power by 6% in cash terms in 2025-26, or 3.5% in real-terms over the previous year.

It is attempting to correct what it says is the “inefficiency of the current system” by putting councils in the most deprived areas on a more stable footing.

This policy has proven beneficial for urban and city councils, including Nottingham City Council, but county, district and borough councils have been left reeling.

The Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), which Nottingham City Council is a part of, described the settlement for its members as fair, while providing “welcome relief to the most deprived areas after a decade of disproportionate cuts and increases in demand”.

However county, district and borough councils have expressed dismay at the settlement.

The County Councils Network (CCN) says the Government is “cherry picking” funding towards urban and city councils, while the District Councils Network (DCN) said its member authorities may be forced to cut services due to what is has described as a “tough” settlement.

According to the DCN, district councils are promised a 0.3 per cent cash increase, but it says this is dependent upon council tax increases and does not reflect many of the rising costs councils face.

The DCN adds: “District councils have already faced a real-terms funding cut of 21 per cent between 2010/11 and 2024/25.”

Further concerns have also been raised over added pressures from the rise in employer National Insurance Contributions.

Paul Peacock, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said he is disappointed that the authority will be receiving “marginally less” than the year before.

“The Government have made an assumption around the growth in residential property numbers for which council tax is chargeable, which is higher than our actual numbers,” he said.

“Despite their assumptions being incorrect the overall allocation was a 0% increase in funding compared with the current year.

“Thankfully, there is a consultation period where we will be lobbying for more funds to ensure we can continue to operate efficiently and effectively for the benefit of our residents.

“This will also include lobbying for sustainable central government funding of Internal Drainage Boards (IDB) which at present must be funded by local authorities through local taxation. For us, the cost of funding our two IDBs is just under £1m.

“Clearly the Government have difficult challenges and have inherited public finances in crisis, even we feel underwhelmed with what is currently on offer.

“We will use this consultation period to work collaboratively with the Government to raise our concerns.”

Rushcliffe Borough Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for finance, transformation and governance, Davinder Virdi, said the authority is “disappointed” with the settlement.

“Rushcliffe has not even had a 0.3% increase, in fact no increase in its resources compared to last year and has to continue to fund rising costs of budgets and maintain its services,” he said.

“As a well-run council, that continues to look at efficiencies and keep its own house in order, we will ensure we balance the books and continue to not cut services but maintain them to their current excellent high standards in spite of wider funding challenges.”

Nottinghamshire County Council were contacted by the LDRS for comment about the settlement, but did not respond.

Broxtowe and Gedling councils also expressed disappointment over the announcement, while Nottingham City Council welcomed the additional funding it is to recieve.

The Government says the Autumn Budget announced over £4bn in additional funding for local government services, £1.3bn of which will go through the 2025-26 settlement.

It adds £515m of new funding will also be provided to support councils with the costs associated with the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs).