Norfolk council faces £148m cuts over seven years

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 07:02 · Archive

Norfolk County Council needs to find £148m in cuts and savings by 2031, its leader warns.

Norfolk County Council needs to find £148m of cuts and savings by 2031, with £36m required for the forthcoming financial year. Leader David Bick, who heads the Reform group on the council, has warned that without government action to correct funding trajectories, some £343m of cost pressures are unsustainable.

Bick has written to chancellor John Healey and local government secretary Angela Rayner urging fairer funding for rural areas. He argues the current settlement does not account for higher costs of providing services across a large, rural county and forces councils to raise council tax to cover shortfalls.

In his letter, Bick said demand for adult social care, children's services, special educational needs provision and home-to-school transport continues to rise faster than funding. He stated the government 'does not understand or empathise with rural communities' and that the current funding settlement will 'deepen the funding gap, increase regional inequalities, constrain investment in prevention, and ultimately transfer national policy costs to local taxpayers'.

How it is being reported

• Norfolk council warns of £148m cuts as leader demands fairer rural fundingNorfolk County Council faces £148m in cuts and savings by 2031 as leader David Bick calls for fairer government funding for rural services and care pressures.Norwich Evening News · 20 Oct, 09:00
• Norfolk council warns of £148m cuts as leader demands fairer rural fundingNorfolk County Council faces £148m in cuts and savings by 2031 as leader David Bick calls for fairer government funding for rural services and care pressures.Eastern Daily Press · 20 Oct, 09:00

In this story: Norfolk County Council · David Bick · Norfolk · John Healey · Angela Rayner

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