North Northamptonshire Council Draft Budget 2021-22 consultation

Overview

The North Northamptonshire Council Draft Budget 2021-22 Consultation ran from 11 December 2020 to midnight on 29 January 2021 on the Future Northants Consultation Hub as part of preparations for the formation of North Northamptonshire Council.

The consultation has been added to the North Northamptonshire Consultation Hub as a matter of record and to provide feedback on how consultation responses assisted decision making.

The first ever draft revenue budget for North Northamptonshire Council was approved for consultation by the shadow executive on 7 December 2020 and now we’re seeking views on the proposals for when the council comes into existence in April next year.

The total draft revenue budget for 2021/2022 is £284.8 million with the new authority providing all local government services in the north of the county including looking after the vulnerable, being responsible for housing and economic regeneration, leisure and tourism and waste disposal and collection.

Further integration of adult social care and health services is also key to the future, working towards a new way of delivering important services. This makes sense as not only is there a financial efficiency but also it is much less complicated for those of you out there who want to access the services.

While the wider local government transformation programme is on target to deliver over £80m of savings annually across all eight councils in North and West Northamptonshire, like for many councils, the Covid-19 pandemic has created pressure no one could have foreseen on finances for the coming year.

This includes higher demands on services or for help and the delay in delivering savings and the transformation of services as well as a loss of income and reduced Council Tax and Business Rates collection. While the situation is constantly changing, this has created a funding gap which currently stands at £18 million.

Measures are already being introduced to address this gap, including making sure savings that have already been planned can be delivered and also those delayed by Covid-19 can be recovered.

It is also proposed that Council Tax is increased by 4.99%, comprising 1.99% core tax and a 3% adult social care precept, which is the maximum amount permitted.

This would contribute around £8m per annum and would represent a Band D level of Council Tax of £1,532.90 in 2021/22, or the equivalent of £29.48 per week, bringing the financial gap down to £10m.

The formation of the Council and the reorganisation of local government in the county as a whole has many advantages, not just for residents but in making services more efficient and cost-effective.

Once the consultation period closes on 29 January 2021 we will analyse the results and then final budget proposals will be developed before going back before the shadow executive in February.

Your feedback on this consultation is really important to us, and all consultation feedback will be analysed and considered, and will help Councillors make a final decision on the budget at the North Shadow Authority meeting on 25 February 2021. This meeting is held in public and anyone wishing to speak at the meeting must contact democraticservices@northnorthants.gov.uk by 5pm on Monday 22 February 2021.

Related Documents

Please read the related documents to gain a better understanding of the budget proposals before you comment on them.

Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs) have been prepared for those new budget proposals that may have an impact on service users and/or the wider community. These are available on the Future Northants North website.

A lot of budget savings proposals relate to decisions that have already been made in previous budgets, the continuation of projects and financial adjustments to budgets with no service impact.

This questionnaire focusses on the new proposals for draft budget 2021-22 that will likely effect residents and service users. However, you can comment on anything within the Draft Budget in the comment boxes.

For further information, please see the Shadow Executive Committee Meeting Draft Budget 2021-22 and Medium Term Financial Plan report, and its appendices, including Appendix B – List of Proposals which contains the full list of budget savings.

Following the announcement of individual authority allocations in the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on 17th December 2020, an Update on Draft Budget 2021-22 and Medium Term Financial Plan report, and its appendices, were presented to the Shadow Executive Committee Meeting on 7 January 2021.

Have your say

The following sections gives detail of the proposed budget savings including council tax harmonisation, fees and charges, and the draft Capital Strategy.

Please tell us your views by completing this questionnaire. You do not have to answer all of the questions or give us your feedback on every section. If you do not wish to answer a question or give feedback on a specific section, then you can skip those questions and move on to the next section.

Your feedback will be part of a report with many other people’s feedback, so you will not be personally identified.

You can also access this online questionnaire free of charge at any Northamptonshire County Council library. Due to current restrictions, customers are asked to check the opening times of the library you wish to visit and book an appointment in advance. Please see the Library website or telephone 0300 126 1000 to check times and make a booking.

Alternatively, you can email or send your comments in by post using the contact details below, or by handing it in to one of Northamptonshire County Council’s libraries.

If you have any queries, comments or would like a copy of this questionnaire in another format (including paper, easy read or large print) you can contact us by email, post or telephone. Our contact details are as follows:

Email address: futurenorthants@northamptonshire.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 126 1000

Postal address: 

• Budget Consultation response
• North Northamptonshire Shadow Authority
• Sheerness House
• Meadow Road
• Kettering
• NN16 8TL

The deadline for completing this questionnaire is midnight 29 January 2021.

Thank you for helping us by completing this questionnaire.