Nottingham councillors refuse to back budget cuts amid £53m gap

Officers have been proposing to make cuts to jobs, youth services, community centres, the libraries service and public transport.

The budget hole comes on top of an in-year gap of £23m, which led to the council’s chief finance officer issuing a Section 114 notice in November, effectively declaring bankruptcy.

In total 554 full time equivalent jobs could be lost under the proposals, while a further council tax rise of five per cent is also planned.

During an executive board meeting at the Council House on February 13, councillors said they could not recommend the budget report and abstained from voting on the cuts.

However the legal requirement for the authority to set a balanced budget means officers will still have to bring forward the proposals for final approval at a full council meeting on March 4.

Coun David Mellen (Lab), council leader, said: “We weren’t in a position, in all conscience, to recommend a budget in which we’ve had little part in, particularly in agreeing which proposals come forward, because the Government insisted that everything comes forward.

“At the (full council) meeting in March we hope there might be further changes.

"But we will have to make a decision to set a balanced budget.

Asked if the council could vote against the budget, Coun Mellen added: “I think there will be legal consequences, political consequences and if the council did that, then the Government would certainly make their decision to impose commissioners.

“I am part of the Labour group and we will have further discussions about that, taking advice in various quarters from senior people in the Labour Party but also from lawyers as to what our position is.”

A consultation on the plans ran for a number of weeks between December and January, during which more than 5,400 people responded.

In response officers managed to change the proposals in ‘small ways’.

However on the instruction of the Improvement and Assurance Board (IAB), appointed upon the collapse of Robin Hood Energy, council officers had to suggest every possible saving to set a balanced budget.

Robin Hood Energy was recently cited as one reason for the lack of reserves the council was able to fall back on.

Yet, even with the savings, the budget gap cannot be filled, meaning the budget can only be set if the Government grants the council more funding in the form of a exceptional financial support.

During the meeting executive councillors described the proposals as ‘devastating’ and said high inflation, soaring costs and demand in social care and homelessness and reduced Government funding was to blame.

The meeting was proceeded by a protest from campaign group Save Our Services, with union representatives, residents and staff members taking part.

Coun Linda Woodings (Lab), portfolio holder for social care, said: “To me this feels like a holding budget, we are holding on for a Labour Government to come back and rescue local government finance.

“We are drowning here, we have been drowning for a long time and this year the cuts have really cut us to the bone and beyond.

"I’m not convinced these savings will save us money, I think they will cost us more money.”