Council Forced to Slash Budget

By Ben Aulakh

Nottingham City Council has had to plug a gap of £25 million left by the coalition governments latest round of spending cuts.

The city council has been forced to cut spending by more than £16 million in its budget for the coming year, with cash for children and adult social services, libraries, and roads all set for drastic reductions.

The council said it hopes to save money on social services by taking fewer children and adults into care, through early intervention and preventative measures.

However the local authority will be forced to completely decommission its mobile library service.

The city council said it has also frozen staff pay rises for another year, in a move that’s expected to save around £2.9 million.

The latest round of savings come on top of almost £120 million the local authority has already had to make in the last four years.

Earlier this year the Deputy Leader of the city council Graham Chapman said the governments drastic spending cuts were unfair on city’s like Nottingham.

He told the BBC “We have done what we can to protect the most vulnerable, and those front-line services which people rely on the most.

“But it’s incredibly difficult when these cuts come on top of years of our own prudent efficiencies, and last year’s £60 million of government cuts.”

The council has been tasked with find an extra £3 million for some of the city’s most vulnerable children after the government cut its Early Intervention Grant by £2.8 million.

However despite the financial pressures the council said it remains committed to cutting unemployment, reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and helping school leavers find employment.

The council also said it hopes to avoid the closure of the city’s children’s centres, citizens advice services and subsidised public transport for pensioners. 

Photo courtesy of Crashlanded via Wikimedia Commons