Executive members of cash-strapped Nottingham City Council have refused to recommend a report that sets out £20m in budget cuts.
Council leader David Mellen said the majority Labour administration decided there was ‘little to recommend’ in a report that proposes cuts to library provision, the number of community protection officers and grants to the voluntary sector.
Officers had put forward the proposals in a bid to fill a £60m budget gap forecast for 2024-25, after being instructed by a government-appointed improvement and assurance board to bring forward all savings they considered possible.
Cllr Mellen said this directive, a condition of receiving exceptional financial support, created what felt like a ‘no win’ situation for councillors.
However, he said the Labour group would ‘seriously consider’ the council’s duty to set a balanced budget when the report is brought to the formal budget-setting meeting on 4 March.
In November, Nottingham issued a section 114 notice due to its inability to deliver a balanced budget for the 2023-24 financial year.
