Nottinghamshire County Council to hike tax by £2.89 a year less than maximum allowed

Nigel Stevenson, the county council's finance director, and Councillor Richard Jackson, the cabinet member for finance, pictured in front of an office window looking over the River Trent
-Credit:Reach PLC/Oliver Pridmore


Nottinghamshire's biggest council is set to increase tax by just 0.15% less than the maximum amount allowed in a move which some say is "no cause for celebration". The Conservative-run authority says that it has saved Nottinghamshire taxpayers £20 million over the last four years by not taking the maximum amount of council tax allowed.

Yet an opposition councillor claims the annual saving for the average Nottinghamshire household equates to just £2.89. Councillor Richard Jackson, the cabinet member for finance at the council, said: "We should take no more than we need to take and that's what we've done."

The county council is proposing a 4.84% rise in what it charges residents, which comprises both council tax and a charge covering adult social care services. That is marginally less than the 4.99% that councils are allowed to raise tax by before holding a local referendum.

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The plans all form part of the council's budget plans for the coming financial year, beginning in April, and all plans will have to be approved at a full council meeting in March. If backed, it would mark the fourth year in a row that council tax has gone up by less than the maximum amount. Councillor Jackson said: "Twenty million pounds is not an insignificant amount, that's twenty million pounds in the pockets of Nottinghamshire taxpayers."

Yet Councillor David Martin, speaking on behalf of the Nottinghamshire County Independent Group, said: "What this budget shows is that the Tories, who run Nottinghamshire County Council, are more interested in spin and perception than people.

"Residents are about to see their council tax going up yet again, this time by close to £90 a year. Putting council tax up 4.84% and not by the maximum 4.99% a year is a difference of £2.89. This is no cause for celebration.

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"This is not even enough to buy a single bus ticket from Selston to Nottingham. It won't even save taxpayers a penny a day. Celebrating this as an achievement is an insult to hard-pressed council tax payers.

"The Conservatives need to drop the rhetoric and cut the spin. Since they took over this council in 2017, council tax has risen £351.88 a year for the average council tax payer.

"These are the facts and the reality is that the Conservatives and Labour before them at County Hall are addicted to pickpocketing Nottinghamshire residents to cover for their own financial mismanagement. The Nottinghamshire County Independent Group, the formal opposition, will be opposing this draconian rise."

The £2.89 figure mentioned by Councillor Martin is based on the council tax charge for band D properties last year, which was £1,807.08 in total. As well as the council tax rise, the budget plans contain proposals for an extra £64 million of spending for the coming financial year compared to the current one.

The council's report also says there will be a continued effort to try to reduce dependency on council services. The report says: "More people living independent lives, supported by their community and local networks, including our own place-based services, rather than being reliant on our most expensive services such as residential care, is better for everyone - for resident, community, and council. Work will particularly focus on improving services in those most disadvantaged communities, where the demand is highest and the need for support is greatest."

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For the three financial years running up until 2029, the county council predicted that the Chancellor's October budget meant the county council's budget gap would be £64 million. Yet primarily because of increasing council tax, the council's latest forecast is a budget gap of £21.8 million.

Councillor Kate Foale, the leader of the Labour group at Nottinghamshire County Council, pictured outside County Hall
Councillor Kate Foale, the leader of the Labour group at Nottinghamshire County Council -Credit:Oliver Pridmore/Reach PLC

Councillor Kate Foale, the leader of the Labour group on Nottinghamshire County Council, said: "Even as they raise council tax on local residents, the Tories still come up millions of pounds short after over a decade of chronic underfunding of councils by the last Conservative government. I've lost track of how many financial projections we've had from this Tory administration in the last year.

"It is, however, no coincidence that with a Labour government increasing council spending power, the medium-term shortfall is less than a third of what it was under Rishi Sunak. We finally have a government that understands councils and wants Nottinghamshire to thrive.

"While they take more money off working people, they have wasted over £20 million on a swanky new building for themselves in Hucknall. These are not the priorities that Labour has for Nottinghamshire after the elections in May.

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"As we work towards a fresh start with Labour in May, our plan is to transform the council, improve public services, and deliver for local residents."

Nigel Stevenson, the council's finance director, defended the authority's record by saying: "You have to remember that we've not closed a single library, nor youth services or now family hubs, where a lot of councils have cut those back." Councillor Jackson also said the building of the new Oak House HQ for the council in Hucknall will save millions, given the costs of staying in their current County Hall home.

In terms of the pressure created by the council tax increase, Councillor Jackson said: "We've kept it as low as we can. We're conscious we do have to provide services, vital services that people rely on. For more than half of the council taxpayers in Nottinghamshire, it's less than £1.20 a week additional council tax."

The 4.84% rise is less than neighbouring Nottingham City Council, which is again hiking tax by the maximum 4.99%. Other troubled authorities across the UK are seeking permission to go above the current cap, some by as much as 25%.

Nottinghamshire's planned tax rise will see those living in the homes of least value paying £58 extra a year, whilst those in the most expensive will pay an extra £174.92. Council tax bandings are based on house values from 1991, meaning just 1.8% of Nottinghamshire households are classed as being in council tax bands designed for properties worth £160,000 and above.

Councillor Jackson added: "We never want to close gaps through council tax. Our record over the last eight years now has been in doing that through efficiency rather than either the council tax or service reductions, we have made ourselves so much more efficient and we'll continue to do that.

"The easy way out is to put council tax up as much as you can and start cutting services. We're determined not to do that and we've managed not to do that very well for the last eight years."