You can have your say on the budget by completing an online survey or by going along to one of a series of meetings that have been organised at venues across the city. Full details are provided below.

Please note: The local event in the Meadows this evening (6 February) will now take place at Portland Leisure Centre.

Please click on this link Budget Proposals 2012/2013 - Have Your Say to complete our online survey.

 Word/Printable Version of the Have Your Say form for the Budget Proposals 2012/2013 [68kb]

Online surveys need to be completed by 9 February.

Should you prefer to print the form and complete it by hand, please return the form to:

Communications and Marketing (Budget Consultation)
Nottingham City Council
Loxley House
Station Street
Nottingham
NG2 3NG

The scale of Government cuts to the council's funding, increasing demand and the economic climate means difficult decisions will once again have to be made about some services the council provides.

You'll find an overview of the Council's budget below while all the supporting information available on the budget proposals can also downloaded via the links on the right hand side of this page.

The City Council is keen that the budget reflects the widest possible consultation with citizens and service users.  There was some pre-budget consultation before Christmas that focused on priorities and further consultation is now taking place before the budget is considered by Full Council on 5 March 2012.

There will be a range of public meetings and drop-in sessions across the City which anyone is welcome to attend.  Click here for full details of venues, dates and times of public meetings and drop-in sessions. [218kb]

At these meetings Jon Collins, the Council Leader, or another senior councillor will be available to explain the budget and to answer any questions.  We will be capturing as many comments and questions as possible at those events and will also have comments forms which can be completed.

In addition to these public meetings, One Nottingham will be hosting two events on 6 February for community and voluntary groups. The first at NCVS on Mansfield Road at 2:30pm, the other at Loxley House on Station Street at 6:30pm. Click for more information on the budget and the community and voluntary sector.

Local Events

Join City Council Leader Jon Collins or an Executive councillor to find out more and have your say at a venue near you in January and February.

Saturday 21st January 2012
10am-12noon
Sherwood District Centre
684 Mansfield Rd
NG5 2GE
8838469

Tuesday 24th January 2012
6.30pm
Clifton Cornerstone
Southchurch Drive
Clifton
NG11 8EW
9153079

Wednesday 25th Jan 2012
6pm
Indian Community Centre
Hucknall Road
Carrington
NG5 1QZ
8838469

Wednesday 25th Jan 2012
4pm
Bentinck School
Bentinck Road
Radford
NG7 4AA
8838469

Wednesday 25th January 2012
6.30pm
Greenway Centre
Trent lane
Sneinton
NG2 4DF
9153079

Monday 30th January 2012
6pm
Top Valley Community Centre
Top Valley Way
NG6 9DD
9159127

Tuesday 31st January 2012
5pm
Loxley House LB41
Station Street
NG2 3NG
8764955

Wednesday 1st Feb 2012
2pm-3.30pm
Thomas Hewly`s Baptist Church
Church Street
Lenton
NG7 1SJ
8838469

Wednesday 1st Feb 2012
6pm
Southwark Primary School
Park Lane
Basford
NG6 0DT
9159127

Friday 3rd February 2012
9.30am
Bulwell
NG6 8HD
9159127

Monday 6th February 2012
6-8pm
Meadows Library
Wilford Grove
NG2 2DR
9153079

Wednesday 8th February 2012
4.30pm
Chase Neighbourhood Robin Hood Chase
St Ann`s
NG3 4EZ
9153079

Wednesday 8th February 2012
7pm
Sheila Roper Community Centre
Baslow Drive
Lenton Abbey
NG9 2SU
8838469

Thursday 9th February 2012
9.30-11.30am
Bilborough Market
Bracebridge Drive
NG8 4PN
9159127

Thursday 9th February 2012
7pm
Kingswood Church
Lambourne Drive
Wollaton
NG8 1GR
883 8469

Thursday 16th February 2012
6pm
Nottingham Salvation
397 Aspley Lane
NG8 5RR
9159127

This information will feed into a report by council officers summarising the consultation for a meeting of the Executive Board on 21^st February.  All the comments will be made available to the Executive Board.  The Executive Board will consider the proposed budget before submitting a final budget for approval to Full Council on 5 March.  

Budget proposals 2012/13

Next year's budget proposals should be viewed in the context of:

• Reductions in Government funding, growing demand and escalating costs
• The prevailing economic climate
• Our continuing programme of efficiencies and savings
• Feedback from citizens through the Your City Your Services pre-budget consultation

In addition, we have used the budget to drive a number of key priorities for the council as follows:

1. Supporting jobs and the local economy

This is a major priority for the council and the budget will provide support for a number of areas designed to help create or protect jobs and stimulate growth in the local economy as follows:

• Nottingham Jobs Fund - £1.5 million over 3 years
• Creation of the Nottingham City Employer Hub
• Appointment of a specialist Employment & Skills Team
• Investing in Nottingham Tram lines 2 and 3 creating jobs for local people
• Measures to minimise council redundancies to around 195 in these budget proposals

Keeping Nottingham people in work is vital to help maintain the local economy, keep people out of the benefit trap and create opportunities for growth in the future.

2. Trying to support children and vulnerable people

The council is committed to maintaining services for the most vulnerable in the city as far as it can and has prioritised spending in the budget to include:

• Adult and Children's Services funding to rise by around £1 million in total
• No closures to our network of Children's Centres
• Continued subsidy for Adult Care Day Centres
• Multimillion pound investment in new care homes and day centres such as Albany House, Cherry Trees and new proposals in development to relocate Bestwood day centre service for Adults with Learning Disabilities.
• Reduction in funding we pass on to the voluntary sector to be no more than the rate of Government reduction in Council spending power of 4.2%

3. Keeping Nottingham safe and clean

Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and keeping our neighbourhoods clean have been shown to be high priorities for Nottingham citizens. A number of areas of spending have been allocated in this budget to support these priorities including:

• Safeguarded Community protection posts to ensure people feel safe in their neighbourhoods
• Street lighting

However, to continue investing in the services above while meeting Government spending cuts, the City Council is proposing service changes and revised charges for some services, including:

• The transfer of Portland Leisure Centre to an external organisation with continued community access
• Changes to adult social care - Putting a financially sustainable adult social care system in place which is able to respond to the significant increase in demand for care services while ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens remain protected
• Ending the pilot of specialised food waste collection - The closure of the waste disposal plant in Lincolnshire meant the service was no longer viable
• Closing Marlstones elderly persons care home in Bulwell - The City Council does not have the capital to carry out necessary refurbishment, but there is capacity at nearby homes to accommodate affected residents
• Reducing the Museum of Nottingham Life at Brewhouse Yard to a group or school visitor attraction, like Newstead Abbey
• Reducing the funding available to Connexions services across the City and realignment to support young people aged 16-24.

The full list of the Council's savings proposals can be found via the links on the right hand side of the page.

Council funding

It's the second year of major Government reductions in the council's funding.

Next year's funding has been cut by a further 7.36% - a bigger reduction in funding than the national average.

In total, the council will need to find around £20million to meet the gap in funding for next year's budget.

Last year saw a reduction in the council's funding of around £60million in real terms.

As well as reductions in Government funding, the council is also under financial pressure to support things like growing numbers of people needing adult care and children in care.

It is estimated that inflation will add more than £6.4million to the council's costs next year and energy and fuel costs are also expected to rise significantly.

The way the Government has made funding cuts has been independently judged to have had a disproportionate impact on cities with disadvantaged areas like Nottingham. The council believes this to be unfair and has made its view known to Government.

Making savings and efficiencies

The council's drive to achieve value for money dates back to before the Government announced its programme of funding reductions.

In her annual letter in December 2011, council watchdog, the District Auditor said about Nottingham City Council's position: "All local authorities face increased financial pressure due to the economic downturn and reduction in central government funding over the coming years. Financial resilience will be essential for local authorities so that they can continue to deliver cost-effective services. The Council recognises the importance of this by making 'securing financial standing and sustainability' a key financial objective."

Since 2009/10, the council has achieved significant savings and efficiencies through things like:

• Consolidating office space across the city into one building at Loxley House
• Reducing "back office" costs while trying to protect front line delivery of services
• Reducing the costs of consultants, agency staff and management
• Sharing some services with other councils
• Disposing of surplus assets including some buildings
• Cutting our expenditure on marketing and communications

In next year's budget, the council has continued to look for ways to be more efficient. However, as each year passes, this becomes more difficult as a lot of the savings with the least impact on front line services have already been made.

Demand for some council services is increasing

Services for adults and children make up over half of the council's total budget and we are seeing significant increases demand in areas like adult care and child protection. Social trends are estimated to add £1.6million per annum to Nottingham's adult social care bill in 2012/13, while services for children will cost an estimated £3.6 million more each year.

We are committed to supporting vulnerable people as far as we can and in next year's budget we are increasing the overall amount of money available for Adult and Childrens' Services by around £1million.

However, with these two areas making up such a large part of the overall budget, it is increasingly difficult to protect these services in the face of such large cuts in our funding.

We are proposing to make changes to our charging policy for some existing adult care services while ensuring that the principle that people will not be asked to pay more than they can afford through means-testing remains in place.

Benefit changes

The Government is intending to transfer additional responsibilities with new costs to councils. Examples include the proposals to localise some benefits, such as support for Council Tax (with 10% less funding) and community care grants/crisis loans, and significant additional public health responsibilities without guaranteed levels of funding.

These changes may place significant additional pressures on the Council's budget in coming years.

Your City Your Services - what you told us

In our pre-budget consultation in October and November, we asked you to tell us which services were important to you and to give your views on where savings could be made.

Around 1,500 citizens responded to the survey in the Arrow and at events across the city.

You told us that tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, child protection, services to elderly and vulnerable people, refuse collection and public transport were high priorities for you.

You told us where further savings could be made on things like publicity, funding local democracy and events.

You expressed concerns including about crime levels rising, the cuts and the speed of such cuts to public services and the impact on vulnerable and elderly people and your family.

Over 80% of you told us that you would be in favour of the council lobbying Government for a fairer financial settlement for Nottingham.

This information has helped to inform Councillors as they worked on the overall budget proposals.

Council tax

The City Council faces a £2.7m gap in its finances for 2013/14, after the Government announced that the Council Tax Freeze Grant for 2012/13 would be a one-off. Last year, the grant was 'locked in' to future financial settlements for councils, effectively providing the City Council with an ongoing grant of £2.5m.

Making it a one-off for 2012/13 means that it would cost the Council and the citizens of Nottingham significantly more in the long term.

To avoid this, it is proposed to raise council tax by 3.49%

If you have any queries about the consultation process then please email haveyoursay@nottinghamcity.gov.uk  or call 0115 876 3040.