Labour accuse Tories of being 'out of ideas' after council tax rise for Nottinghamshire

Labour offered an alternative budget which proposed no increase to general council tax, using existing approved funds to commit to accelerating increased minimum pay for care workers to £9.75, up from the current rate of £8.91, and a £1 million investment in community co-ordinators.

It also proposed raising only the adult social care precept to ensure a pay rise for frontline carers, as part of a wider plan to work with partners such as the NHS, towards ensuring all carers across the county are paid a minimum of £10.50 per hour.

Coun Kate Foale, Labour group leader, said: “I’m disappointed, but I’m not surprised (that the Conservatives did not back the Labour proposals).

"Nottinghamshire residents are facing real problems today, and the only thing this Conservative leadership have to offer is the same old promise that the support and investment we need in this county is just around the corner.

"Our residents deserve better.”

Fellow Labour councillior Michael Payne added: “The budget makes two fleeting references to the cost of living crisis, but this administration is virtually silent on what it is actually doing to tackle the crisis.

“The Conservatives are already out of ideas.”