2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Oliver Pridmore)
Nottingham City Council is a completely different authority compared to this time last year. Labour are still in charge, but the leader, top team of councillors, chief executive and finance director have all changed. Yet no number of fresh faces will get the city council away from the events of this time last year.
November 29, 2023, saw an event which Nottinghamshire Live had revealed weeks earlier as a strong possibility. The council effectively declared bankruptcy. Our use of the word 'bankrupt' was challenged by many at the time, including former leader David Mellen, with the argument seeming to be that the word would cause concern among our readers.
Legally, bankruptcy happens when a company can no longer pay its staff or meet existing commitments. Councils can't legally go bankrupt, but Nottingham's issuing of a Section 114 notice triggered a period in which all but absolutely essential spending was banned. A board remains in place which has to approve every single item of new spending the city council does, with that board set to remain in place until at least the end of March 2025.
The budget gaps which the Section 114 pointed to have also meant sweeping, multi-million-pound cuts across the city. It's become abundantly clear then that whether we used the word bankruptcy or not, people had every reason to be concerned. They still do.
A Section 114 notice only applies to the financial year in which it is issued so technically, Nottingham City Council is no longer effectively bankrupt. Yet multi-million-pound budget gaps remain for the coming years, £69 million next year alone. The current leader doesn't feel another 114 will be necessary though.
Instead, we are being warned of two very difficult years of budget decisions ahead. Last year's budget saw a range of measures being taken, including the Old Market Square fountains being turned off, public toilets closing and council buildings being sold off. Yet the years ahead won't just be about these more short-term measures, instead we'll be seeing a very different council beginning to take shape.
Leader Neghat Khan says the council will have to stop the services which do not form its "bread and butter." Only the coming weeks will tell us what that really means. We'll first see sight of the council's budget plans for the next financial year in early December.
Nottingham City Council may no longer be effectively bankrupt, but there is more pain to come..
