Council cuts will hit hardest in first year
Almost half of Nottingham City Council’s budget cuts will be implemented over the next year, it has been revealed. The council said about £26m will be axed from the budget in the first 12 months.
Funding will be cut by more than 12 per cent in the first year alone - almost half the total cut of 28 per cent required by the government over the next four years.
Based on government grant support of £250m in 2010/11 excluding schools - though this will not be known until December - this would mean a cut of over £26m in the first year alone.
The council said this will mean “no additional help” for the increasing number of elderly people it supports, and the increasing number of children being placed into care.
Deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, Councillor Graham Chapman, said: "The reduction in the amount of funding that government gives councils is severe and will hit many Nottingham families hard - and it's going to be hardest next year and the year after because the government has 'front-loaded' its reductions.
"This means we have some incredibly difficult decisions to make as we set next year's budget, as we need to make cuts of more than 12 per cent. We have already made £37m of savings over the past three years which means there is little room for manoeuvre, so we will have little option but to directly affect services."
