12/12/2024
Nottingham City Council would need to put council tax up by 46 per cent – or get a 70 per cent boost in funding from the Government – to continue operating as it is, a new report says.
Managers at the authority are not always present because of hybrid working, it adds, and policies are being reviewed to make them more accessible.
The verdict comes from a team of commissioners – Government-appointed experts – who were first sent in to help run the Labour-run council in February, just months after it declared effective bankruptcy towards the end of 2023.
The authority has announced a raft of further savings for the next financial year, which begins April 2025, as it faces a £69m black hole in its budget.
Over the next three years the budget gap is expected to reach a total of £172m.
Commissioners Tony McArdle, Sharon Kemp and Margaret Lee, published their first report on the progress the council has made to becoming financially sustainable on Thursday (December 12).
They note they have established “a firm, cooperative working relationship with the council”, but emphasise the challenge the authority is facing “cannot be overestimated”.
“The council is operating considerably beyond its means,” the report says.
“Notwithstanding that financial challenges face the sector as a whole, it is sobering to reflect that in order to continue operating as it has done, the council would require a 70 per cent uplift in Government grant funding.
“Alternatively, it would need to raise council tax by 46 per cent. Such impossible solutions must be avoided, and they can be.”
The report reveals while councillors and officers are “very committed and highly capable”, the commissioners have not found a unified organisation with a sense of shared purpose.
They say senior managers are not always present, and the council’s hybrid working policy is being reviewed to make managers more accessible as a result.
“We have seen many examples of systems and processes for decision making and service operation which are neither effective nor efficient,” the report adds.
“Most worryingly, we find a constant requirement to seek ‘permission’ or ‘clearance’ from multiple sources before a matter can progress. This endless checking and rechecking of whether something is ‘good to go’ saps energy, depresses initiative and delays improvements.”
The report further highlights the council’s IT systems, and how they are used, are “problematic”.
