Nottinghamshire County Council plans 5% tax rise to safeguard services says leader, Ben Bradley MP

Residents will pay nearly 5% more in council tax to Nottinghamshire County Council next year, it is proposed.

The Conservative-led authority is putting forward a 4.8% increase, blaming the rise in cost of living.

But council leader Ben Bradley believes residents would be prepared to pay the increase to ensure vital services are protected.

The 4.8% rise is made up of a 2.8% rise in council tax and 2% Adult Social Care Levy.

It means from April those living in Band A properties will pay an extra £53 a year to the county council and those in Band B an extra £62.

Mr Bradley said: “Residents will be under no illusions that council tax is likely to rise to some extent given inflation runs at 11% this year, which is an additional £25m cost to the county council.

“But it’s not as much as it could have been. The county council’s network suggest that three-quarters to 80% of county councils will do the full council tax rise and we are not doing that.

“The point to me is about value. We are not in a position where we are asking people to pay more and get less ­— we want to invest more in community-based services.

“We are not closing any libraries or children’s centres or family hubs, in fact, we want to invest in them.

“Over the next few years we want to make sure that our services and our finances are sustainable by doing more and helping people earlier.

“It’s worth saying, in order to balance the books this year we are using £30m of reserves, meaning we are spending £30m more than we are bringing in, but we are comfortable with that so that we don’t have to make those cuts and avoid that maximum council tax rise.”

The council leader said that balancing the budget would allow the council to protect its capital investments, including £3m towards Newark’s Southern Relief Road and continued widespread road resurfacing and repairs.

He said core care services would also be protected, such as children’s youth centres and care in the community.

Following public consultation, Mr Bradley said: “We are pleased that it broadly reflects what we are trying to do. Just over two-thirds of residents say that, despite the challenge, they are prepared to pay a little bit more council tax if it means that we don’t have to reduce or cut back on services.”

He also believes this tax rise would place the county in a good place for the future.

“Nationally, as well as locally, we have to get to a place where we are realistic with residents in terms of what services we can feasibly deliver, making them financially sustainable for the future,” he said.

“It’s not right or fair to go around this cycle every year of saying we want you to pay more and you’re going to get less for it.

“We’re not going to do that. We are going to deliver more as a county council and are confident over the next two or three years that we won’t have to take big chunks out of our budget.

“It’s a long-term plan, it can’t be done over night, but I think we’re moving in a really good direction.”

The proposal will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on January 26 and seek approval from full council on February 9.

The county council element will be added to demands from district, borough, town and parish councils plus the police and fire authorities to make up the final council tax bill.