Nottingham City Council tax rise approved in 'difficult budget'

Nottingham City Council's finances are being examined by a government inspector

Nottingham City Council has approved a council tax rise as part of a "difficult budget" for the next financial year.

The 4.99% rise in the tax was approved at a full council meeting on Monday.

For people living in Band A properties, the majority of residents in the city, it will mean a rise of £65.04 to a total of £1,368.59 annually.

The city council said last year it needed to bridge a £32m gap for 2023-24.

Leader of the Labour-run authority, councillor David Mellen, said it would "not be an easy budget to see through".

Adele Williams, the council's deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance, said: "This has been a difficult budget but we have worked very hard with officers to protect what Nottingham needs and values."

The council has proposed axing 110 full-time equivalent job posts and ending the collection of household bins that have been put out on the wrong days to balance its books, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Deputy council leader Adele Williams was thanked for her work on the budget

The Conservative group put forward a budget amendment, supported by the Independents, which suggested a number of reviews were carried out by the council including relocating from Loxley House.

However the ruling Labour Party voted against the amendment.

Ms Williams said: "Thanks to the Tory administration [the government], Nottingham gets £100m less in annual revenue support grants than we did at the start of Tory austerity.

"That's the equivalent of £945 in real terms per household in our city since 2011.

"If this chamber is representative of Nottingham, only a handful would pay higher council tax rates. The vast majority of us would be charged at band A or B."

Mr Mellen added: "Thank you to Adele who has led this extremely challenging budget process for the first time, to present a budget today that is balanced for four years.

"We've heard today about the scrutiny our council faces.

"We know the disastrous consequences our council would face if we were unable to balance our books today."

The budget was approved by a majority, with the four votes against coming from Conservative and Independent councillors.

The council is being monitored by the government after a raft of problems including the loss of about £38m through the collapse of Robin Hood Energy.