Nottingham children's centres could be cut in budget plans

Nottingham City Council's recent financial management has been heavily criticised

Two-thirds of children's centres run by Nottingham City Council will be cut if a proposed budget plan is approved.

The authority's executive board is meeting on 16 November to discuss proposals, which aims to make £28m in savings over the 2022-23 budget, which would include losing 91 jobs.

Last year it cut 272 jobs despite raising council tax rates by nearly 5%.

The council said it had made £303m of savings since 2010, and lost a further £19.4m due to the coronavirus pandemic.

'Extremely difficult decisions'

By moving from nine to three children's centres, the council estimates it will save £331,000, with an extra £615,000 saved through changes to youth services.

Some bus services are also set to be reduced, while charges could be brought in for bulky waste collection and second and third parking permits, with one residential car parking zone permit remaining free.

If the proposals are approved, council tax would also go up by just under 3%, which includes a 1% social care levy.

Sam Webster, the city council's portfolio holder for finance, said the plans "are not set in stone and are for genuine consultation over the coming weeks".

"Like other councils across the country, we are facing extremely difficult decisions about the services we provide, unless [central] government provides adequate funding in the forthcoming financial settlement," he said.

"What is clear is that, as demand for vital statutory services continues to rise, we simply cannot maintain the level of all the services we feel are required for Nottingham."

Analysis

By Hugh Casswell, BBC Radio Nottingham political reporter

Council finances set few pulses racing, but these proposals are tangible changes that won't go unnoticed.

It is true councils get less money from government than they used to, but it's also true mistakes have been made at Nottingham City Council that make the job harder.

The collapse of council-owned Robin Hood Energy means every penny spent now comes under the watchful eye of a government-appointed panel.

Now the council has been told to come up with a financial plan covering four years instead of just one, and threatened with the appointment of commissioners if it doesn't play ball.

It's a plan the advisors wanted to see this month, but which the council now says won't come until February.

Headlines today may be about the services that are in line to be cut under these plans, but don't lose sight of the bigger picture.

Andrew Rule, Conservative group leader at the council, said the Labour-run administration's decisions were behind its financial troubles, adding it should "look at selling off those council companies that are not delivering the promised returns" instead of closing children's centres.

"Residents should be under no illusion that the spectre of Robin Hood Energy remains a key reason for the pressures the council faces today," he said.

The council also said it was working on finalising its Medium Term Financial Plan for the next four years so it can present it to the executive board in February 2022.

That report was supposed to have been ready this month, and on 2 November Kemi Badenoch MP wrote to the Nottingham City Council Improvement and Assurance Board raising concerns about the report.

"It is imperative that the council continues to engage constructively with the board and that it makes rapid progress given the scale of the challenge," she said.