County council warns of £76m budget shortfall

A £76m budget gap has been described as a "worst-case scenario"

Nottinghamshire County Council has warned it faces a budget shortfall of tens of millions of pounds over the next three financial years.

The Conservative-run authority forecasts that by 2027-28, it could have a cumulative funding gap of £76.2m.

It is more than double what the council predicted for the same period when it presented figures earlier this year.

It has blamed inflation and rising demand for services such as social care for adults and children.

Richard Jackson said the council was "determined" not to cut services

The council's cabinet member for finance, Richard Jackson, described the budget gap as "a worst-case scenario" and said the authority was "determined" not to cut services.

"We've got a good track record. We're one of very few councils that hasn't closed libraries, for example, and we're not planning to close any libraries in the future," he said.

The predicted gap is broken down into £13.5m next year, followed by £36.3m in 2026-27 and £26.4m in 2027-28.

However, the calculations are partly based on an assumption the National Living Wage would increase to £12.39 per hour in the chancellor's budget statement.

It has now been confirmed it will actually rise to £12.21 from April next year.

The council has said it will announce more next week on the impact on its finances.

A new report also states the authority is forecasting an overspend of £4.4m in the current financial year.

Mr Jackson, however, said he was "confident" the council would not have to issue a section 114 notice - effectively declaring bankruptcy - which neighbouring Nottingham City Council did last year.

Asked if council tax is likely to increase, he said it was "too soon to say".

"At the moment, the additional costs imposed on us by today's budget are greater than the amount we could raise in council tax if we put it up by the maximum amount," he said.

The report on the council's financial position will be discussed at a meeting of its cabinet next week.

A public consultation, meanwhile, is open until 10 November.