Derby City Council has published proposals for a balanced budget for the next financial year, making some tough decisions in the face of a very challenging financial position.

The proposed budget includes an investment of £31 million into essential services, savings of £10.2 million, and a significant contribution back into the Council’s reserves.

This will be achieved through the continued transformation of services to become more efficient and manage demand, which will mean some reductions and changes to services. Council Tax will increase in line with previous years.

The proposals will go to public consultation after the Council’s Cabinet review them on Wednesday 18 December.

The financial landscape for councils remains extremely challenging across the UK, despite the extra investment into the Local Government sector from Central Government. Increases in inflation, interest rates and prices have made it drastically more expensive to provide essential services and support Derby’s most vulnerable citizens.

Like councils across the country, Derby is particularly feeling the pressure of supporting the most vulnerable children and older people in the city, as well as rising costs for homelessness services. Around 80% of the Council’s total revenue budget is currently spent on statutory services to support vulnerable residents.

Proposals for a balanced budget include reducing the number of staff by a total of 107.93 full time equivalent (FTE) posts. Most of this is from posts that are already vacant, many of which have been empty for some time. The remaining reductions, a maximum of 37.6 FTE posts, will be made up of  voluntary and compulsory redundancies.

This year’s proposals would also see Council Tax increased by 4.99%, with 2% of this ringfenced for social care. This is the assumption used by Government in its funding allocation and is a necessary step in supporting a balanced budget.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Culture and Strategy said:

Not setting a balanced budget is not an option. As responsible leaders my Cabinet and I have been working closely with officers and partners over the past few months to put forward proposals for a balanced budget, which best serves the city of Derby and helps us to regain some financial resilience and stability for future years.

We’ve had to make some difficult decisions but we’re also making investments in the services that we know people want. For example, we’re putting more money into grass cutting, and for the second year running we’ve reversed the proposed reductions in our grant to the Museums Trust. Following our trial of free bulky waste collections this year, we’re proposing to make changes after identifying a more efficient way of delivering this. We’re also putting our Raynesway booking-free Sundays into the consultation to gain a view of how well received this trial has been. With a review coming to Cabinet in January, plus public consultation feedback, we’ll be able to make a fully informed decision before the final budget proposals go to full Council in February.

We hope that the Government settlement for this year is the beginning of giving councils more funding certainty in future years. This budget is the start of getting us into a position of sustainability and resilience. Make no mistake, this has been the Council’s most difficult budget. After years of cuts and underfunding from central Government we’ve had to take the toughest decisions to get us back on track.

I would strongly urge you to take part in our budget consultation, to help us make an informed decision in how we balance our budget.

Councillor Kathy Kozlowski, Cabinet Member for Governance and Finance said:

We’re managing our finances as best as we can under continued, and increased pressure on our budgets. Demand for services and costs are continuing to rise beyond our forecast, particularly in social care and temporary homelessness. This is affecting councils across the country – it’s not unique to Derby.

As part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our service offer, we've had to make some difficult decisions that will impact our workforce. While these changes are necessary to ensure we stay sustainable in the long term, they have not been taken lightly.

No one comes into local government wanting to make these difficult decisions, but I believe that these budget proposals demonstrate our commitment to our city and its citizens – prioritising the care of our most vulnerable, continuing our ambition for our city and pushing forward with technology to improve efficiency and value for money.

Alongside the budget proposals, Cabinet members will also consider the latest Council Plan, which plays a key role in addressing both local needs and statutory requirements, as well as supporting the delivery of longer-term ambitions for our city.

Cabinet will meet to discuss the proposals at next week’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 18 December. The meeting will be available to watch live on the Council’s YouTube channel.

The proposals can be found on the Council's website.