Council to axe 55 jobs because of “savage” cuts

Nottingham City Council has set its budget for 2016/17 – and unveiled a raft of redundancies and a Council Tax increase of 3.95 per cent.

The City Council budget – set for approval at today’s full council meeting – will also see a reduction of 55 posts as well as more changes to the way services are provided and pursuing commercial opportunities. The changes include increasing day care fees, dimming lights on residential streets, reviewing sport and leisure fees and charges and introducing a fee for bus pass holders from outside the city using Park & Ride services.

The Council had to find £20.5m of savings from the budget for the forthcoming year, having lost £70m in Government grant since 2013/14. By the end of the current Parliament, the Government will phase out the grant it provides to councils altogether.

Nottingham City Council’s deputy leader, councillor Graham Chapman, said: “We don’t want to place this extra burden on local households, but unfortunately this is the way things are headed under this Government. They have imposed more savage cuts on councils like ours than those in wealthy areas in the south. Not only that, they have added insult to injury by handing out special grants to those more affluent places to help them cope with cuts whilst overlooking places like Nottingham that have been more drastically affected.”