A message from the Leader of the Council
A message from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jason Smithers about the 2024/25 budget:
Your council tax helps pay for vital local services. It is used to look after vulnerable people who need care and assistance, young and old. It helps provide educational support for children and young people as well as training and skills development.A Message from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jason Smithers
Your council tax supports local communities and helps to fund rural bus services, maintain local roads, provide leisure facilities, parks, play areas, libraries, cultural facilities and much more.
This last year has been extremely tough financially. We have seen a significant increase in the need for, and cost of, social care for
both adults and children. This is placing an unprecedented financial pressure on the council.
Despite this challenging situation, we have again been able to set a balanced budget for the year ahead. This means we will only spend what we can afford. At the same time, we are planning to both protect and invest in local public services.
Delivering efficient, effective, and affordable public services is a commitment we have made to everyone in North Northamptonshire. We have been making sound progress on this, but we will of course continue to do more.
Yet again this year we are targeting significant savings in the council’s budget. Such savings not only help us to balance the budget and protect services; they also allow us to invest more in services that matter to you.
Our budget for 2024/25 continues to invest in important public services in the area where you live.
Some highlights from our budget include:
• Investing £62.6m to protect vital services and deliver service improvements, including nearly £29m in adult social care, and over £15m
in our children’s services. This investment reflects our commitment to those in our communities who are more vulnerable and in need of our support
• Continuing to make savings, efficiencies and generate income totalling £23.8m to help fund improvements in local services
• Retaining the Council Tax Support Scheme at 25%
The council is also making significant longer-term investments in the area too. This year we will progress the delivery of a capital investment programme totalling £113.1m over a four-year period from 2024-2028, including:
• £49.1m invested in local roads to help combat potholes and improve our journeys
• £12.3 investment in local schools, providing more school places and SEND provision
• £10.7m providing support in adapting homes to improve accessibility for our residents
• £9.1m to improve digital infrastructure and modernise our services
• £2.9m investment in electric vehicle infrastructure
• £2.7m, as part of a £19m overall programme of investment, for the Corby Towns Fund improvements
• £0.9m to support community groups and rural businesses
We also operate what is known as a Housing Revenue Account. This includes a capital investment programme of £58.7m for the period 2024-2028. £38m of this will be invested in our social housing stock of circa 8,000 homes and £20m will be used to help deliver new homes which is one of our priorities.
Last updated 23 February 2024