Video News: Huge savings must be made as Northamptonshire County Council faces financial black hole
FULL details have emerged of the financial crisis engulfing County Hall, as county council leaders face a huge battle to claw back £100million as part of a four-year budget plan.
A so-called ‘Local Deal’ is being proposed as the council publishes full details of how it aims to face up to the biggest financial challenge in its history.
Today the council is publishing for the first time a full four-year budget framework showing how it proposes to save around £100m between now and 2016 to help cope with slashed government funding and more people to provide services for.
Headline announcements include a £27million investment over four years in adult social care and a further £6million for looked after children, simply to keep up with demand.
The council tax will, according to the Tory administration, be the lowest in the country while savings will be made with the reduction in the number of councillors from 73 to 57 by 2013.
Partnership working is being examined for areas including Trading Standards and the Fire & Rescue Service while the county’s transport role will be completely outsourced along with the music school service and the archaeology service.
Estimated job cuts are believed to be between 100 and 200 over the next 12 months.
Empowerment allowances are being cut to £5,000 this year and will be scrapped altogether from April 2013. The county council has left library services alone for the time being although savings of £290,000 will need to be made by April 2013 to avoid possible further cuts.
Leader of the council Cllr Jim Harker said: “We want this budget to be the start of a Local Deal between the people of Northamptonshire and us here at the council.
“This budget shows how we will make further back-office savings. It shows how we will freeze council tax this year to remain the lowest county council tax in the country and it shows how we will look to innovate with radical new partnerships with other authorities and companies to help save money even further while providing the right conditions to boost growth and prosperity in the county.
“In return though we are asking people across the county to get further engaged in the services we know they value so much. To help us bring costs down for example we need volunteers to help at libraries and to help at country parks.
“However of course there are still some very difficult proposals and potentially some very painful decisions to take as we look to make our services and our organisation more affordable. It is vital therefore that, as ever, people use the opportunity of the consultation taking place to look through our proposals, and let us know about concerns they have or alternative suggestions, or how we might work to minimise the impacts some proposals may have on them.”
The budget published today gives details of proposed savings to take place over the period 2012 to 2016 to make sure people see the full scope of proposals rather than tackling the £100m savings year by year with separate proposals.
Cabinet member for finance Cllr Bill Parker said: “It is a significant achievement to be in a position today to publish our proposals taking us through the next few years which are likely to be some of the most challenging in our history.
“The proposals published today give full details of exactly how we will rise to the challenges we find facing us and I would encourage people to come forward and give us their views. This is a challenge we can only rise to by working together. I do think the Local Deal shows the way in which we can do just that.”
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Comments
There are 22 comments to this article
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Reginald Molehusband
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 11:20 PMThere is no mention on here of the impending crisis at NCC stemming form the huge deficit that has been piling up in its local government pension scheme. According to the actuarial valuation presented earlier this year (but only recently published on the NCC website), the fund had a deficit as at 31 March 2010 of £445m. It would need an employer contribution of 24% of pensionable pay for the next 20 years simply to meet current and accumulated liabilities. However, the valuation assumes grossly over-optimistic investment returns for the Fund, which the actuary himself admits would, if proven wrong. mean the real deficit could be as high as £1.215 billion! In turn that would mean that NCC should really be paying in 50% of the salary bill as a contribution to the Fund (over and above the 5-7.5% miserly employee contribution). I reckon that deficit equates to about £6000 for every household in this county. The fees are staggering, it's a ticking timebomb, andcouncillors of all political persuasion over the years are responsible for this mess and show no signs of addressing it. You have all been warned (as I did on here three years ago).
DMT48
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 10:33 PMStop_wasting_our_bluddy_money. If I could go to jail and cancel the debt, I would. Enough is enough. Or perhaps you would like to increase the rebate people on working tax credits get, now that Cameron has frozen it?
Common sense
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 09:23 PMThe long serving leaders of NCC need to change tack and become a can do rather than can't do Council on behalf of its taxpayers-the citizens. Mistakes have been made -not selling the old school sites at the peak of the market--it needs to sell Buxton Fields and generally get more business like rather than parochial by looking forward and not backwards-we can no longer live in the past-its just not possible. Get behind the growth agenda for housing as well as enterprise-not only the NED and Silverstone but Northampton as well.NCC NBC and other can make this town and county sucessful but its got to stop confusing politics and parochialism.
Common sense
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 09:16 PMIs there censorship by the Chron on behalf of NCC these days? Russia is another country where that happens and I don't think much of their politicians or state press. Sad day for freedom of speech.
TeddyMcnabb
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 09:00 PMlsmith29 [10] YOU GOT IT SPOT ON.
Finker
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 08:09 PMor is it like the rapture and you just need to recalculate the date?
Finker
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 08:07 PMCount, you told us that the entire financial and government system would collapse and anarchy would ensue. No offence but you are a bit premature saying I told you so on the back of this story.
vokey
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 07:42 PMWhy dont we just stick a penny on income tax and be done with if its going to help service and jobs
expo65
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 07:38 PMHow can he say that we are going to have lowest council tax in the country ? Can we some facts and more comparative data ? It is fine poltical talk at the start of country wide budget setting season , but we still think we are a wastful, unproductive , over staffed in some areas , and all this job cuts is just a hype which fizzels out with time. We understand NCC is still recruiting at much higher level then ever before. We will never get a sense of value for our council tax until a full and through audit and investigation is done on life time NO JOBS . Bet come Dec. 2013 and we will see the same repeat news again , i.e now called local news.
mack80
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 06:54 PMTo lsmith29 as an O.A.P I aready pay a large percentage of my hard earn`t Pension to keep the services that you mention afloat what we need are people in Government to stop claiming for expenses to attend Westminster when on the Tv Parliament programme we see about twenty members discussing items that all Members should be voting on.We need to cut back on M.Ps to start with and why we have so many to cover Northants alone is mind boggling and thousands could be cut from the deficit by reducing this number by half
ForGodsSakeStopBeingSoMiserable
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 06:38 PMDear The Count. You seem quite passionate about this. If you would permit me to ask you a direct question? Do you get involved in the consultations, You Choose last year and I see this year it's called Local Plan, or do you content yourself to idle sniping, whilst I would imagine you're supposed to be working?
Damocles
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 06:36 PMWill these economies result in the immediate removal of county councillors who live in the West Country and refuse to have an election ?
lsmith29
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 05:44 PMTaxes are the thing that make civilised societies. We should all be prepared to pay more to provide services such as Youth Offending, good libraries, services for the elderly and vulnerable, the police, fire brigades. Yes, tax the wealthy first, stop the huge bonuses in the financial sector, but dont expect volunteers to give away their labour for free - our young people need paid employment and this takes away jobs for people.
Common sense
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 03:58 PMPending Moderation
hecto
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 03:14 PMNorthamptonshire Council tax is nothing like the lowest in the country. Westminster city council in London Band B = £ 535.82 Northampton Band B = £ 1150.98 Northampton council tax is legalised extortion.
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