Have your say on North Northamptonshire Council’s spending plans
Finance21 December 2023
The draft revenue budget for North Northamptonshire Council was approved for consultation by the Executive today (December 21) and the council is now seeking views on its proposals for the next financial year.
People can take part in the consultation in a number of ways including:
- Completing the online survey
- Writing to: Budget Consultation Response, North Northamptonshire Council, Sheerness House, Meadow Road, Kettering, NN16 8TL
Please see our Your Voice Matters web page for more ways on how to have your say on this consultation and to view all of the Council’s consultation and engagement activities.
The Council’s draft budget proposals set out a detailed spending strategy for the authority for the financial year 2024/2025 as well as outlining the medium-term financial forecast for the following three years.
Protecting and investing in local frontline services against a backdrop of continued national financial uncertainty is the focus of the Council’s budget proposals.
A commitment to maintain vital service provision has seen the Council invest an additional £53.4million into services, including adult social care and children’s services, to protect the most vulnerable in our communities and address a growing need for services.
These pressures are, in part, offset by savings, efficiencies and further income of £18.5m. Taken together with an improvement in funding expected from business rates, Council Tax and government grants the Council has been able to set a balanced budget for 2024/2025.
The proposed net revenue budget for 2024/2025 is £371.5 million. This money provides a range of services to residents and businesses across the area including care to vulnerable adults and children, education, leisure and cultural opportunities, the collection, recycling and disposal of waste, highways maintenance, economic development, housing and support for those that are homeless.
Our draft revenue budget is just that – a draft – and the consultation phase is a very important one in the budget setting process as it’s essential that we get the views of all of the people the proposals affect before we can shape the final plans in February.Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council
It would be great to hear from as many people as possible from a variety of backgrounds.
What we’ve focused on is balancing the budget while working hard to protect services and I’m proud that we have a draft budget that proposes just that.
The budget is not just about how to manage within available resources but also where funding should be invested.
There is a balance to be maintained between encouraging growth, providing high quality universal services and protecting those that are the most vulnerable
Government has permitted local authorities to increase the Council Tax rate by 4.99% in recognition of the increasing demand and cost pressures faced by Councils.
As such the Council is proposing an increase in council tax of 4.99%, which includes the 2% adult social care precept. There is no change to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme which will continue at 25%.
Next steps
The consultation on the proposals will run until midnight on Friday, January 26. The Executive will then meet on February 8 to consider final budget proposals for recommendation to Full Council on February 22.