Norfolk County Council could have ‘no choice’ but to make more cuts and raise taxes for 2025/26
Norfolk County Council says it has “no choice” but to make significant budget cuts and potentially raise taxes for the coming year.
The authority has once again relayed that it is facing “difficult decisions” as the pressures on local government budgets continue to grow.
Its budget is expected to grow by £64.5million for 2025/26, but this is not expected to cover projected increases in demand - particularly in adult social care and children’s services.
Cabinet members will consider a number of budget proposals when they meet next Monday (October 7) as they seek to address a budget gap of £44.75million.
Cllr Andrew Jamieson, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, said: “The financial challenges faced by local councils cannot be understated. Demand continues to increase, costs continue to rise and government funding remains unclear.
“We have identified a number of savings which we do not want to make, but we have no choice under the present financial circumstances while we await forthcoming financial settlements from the Government.
“We have a legal duty to balance our budget and a responsibility to Norfolk residents to keep their county solvent. We have successfully navigated our budget through the challenges of the pandemic, the spike in inflation and a continuous rise in demand.”
The pressure on the council’s budget is also being felt in the current financial year. Cuts have been made in both adults and children’s service to ensure the council continues to operate within its agreed budget for 2024/25.
The Conservative-controlled authority has been criticised for reducing the amount of funding it provides people with disabilities - although at the time, leader Cllr Kay Mason Billig said the move was necessary to prevent bankruptcy in the coming years.
Further council-wide cuts will be considered in 2024/25 if financial pressures are not adequately addressed through “departmental controls”. These “enhanced financial controls” would increase centralised financial monitoring and place a freeze on some non-essential expenditure.
The £33.552million of savings proposals identified for 2025/26 make a significant contribution towards the council’s £44.75million savings target:
• Adult social services, £16.52million
• Children’s services, £7million
• Communities and environment, £613,000
• Infrastructure, £6.082million
• Fire and rescue, £65,000
• Strategy and transformation, £1.67million
• Chief executive’s directorate, £102,000
• Finance, £1.5million
A number of the proposals that cabinet members will be considering would require public consultation – with feedback taken into account before any final budget decisions are made in February 2025.
Proposals that would go out to public consultation are:
• Raising council tax with the following options: an increase of 3%, an increase of up to 5%, or an increase of more than 5%.
• Review of housing-related support services
• Switch off a further 2% of county council maintained streetlights
The council’s scrutiny committee and select committees will consider the budget proposals, before cabinet considers the proposals in January and the full council makes a final decision on the budget in February.
