Over 550 jobs could go as Council outlines cost-cutting plans

Stricken Nottingham City Council has published plans for cuts to services that it hopes will help it balance its books – but they could be at the cost of over 550 job cuts.

The authority, which recent issued a Section 114 Report, has identified some £35.5m of savings for its 2024/25 financial year, which it hopes will plug a £50m gap in its finances.

The council says, where possible, the jobs cuts will come through voluntary redundancy. All the cuts identified will go to a public consultation before being carried out.

The one-off cost of the savings to the authority will be in the region of £7.5m, it has said.

The cuts announced in the council document include swingeing savings in public transport and adult and youth services.

Nottingham City Council issued a Section 114 Report on November 29 – a blunt admission that it won’t be able to deliver a balanced budget for its 2023-24 financial year.

The move came after the council confirmed earlier this year that it is facing a spending black hole of some £23m for its current financial year.

The savings will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s executive team next Tuesday (December 19).

Nottingham Labour, which controls Nottingham City Council, has issued a statement saying: “Setting a balanced budget gets harder and harder every year. We have had years of underfunding from the Tory Government. Over the past ten years we have received £100m less each year in real terms than we did before 2013, representing a loss of a billion pounds.

“The sums are simple: we get less money from the Government but demand for our services is increasing. We legally must set a balanced budget, so our only choice is to make cuts to the discretionary services we provide for our clients.”