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Nottingham Labour

Conservatives force Nottingham people to pay more money while receiving less

Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, they have taken £230 million from Nottingham City Council and offered no answers or additional money to help with the growing pressure of care for the elderly. This leaves Nottingham residents paying more money but receiving less as underfunded council services are pushed to their tipping point.

Nottingham Labour has sought to protect frontline services from Conservative cuts as best it can. Over the past seven years we have prioritised key areas such as children’s centres, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, keeping Nottingham as the UK’s cleanest city and protecting children and supporting vulnerable elderly people. This is becoming harder though as the government takes money away from Nottingham and the costs of care for the elderly rises. Despite lots of chances to offer a solution, the Conservative only have one answer; pass the bill onto local people.

This year the Conservatives will take another £9.5 million from Nottingham’s government support grant while the cost of social care budget in Nottingham is expected to rise by £10 million. Instead of the Conservative government taking responsibility to deal with this issue and offer help through fair local government funding, they are expecting Nottingham residents to plug the gap by paying more in their Council tax. If the Government does not offer local authorities funding for social care then it will come at the expense of other local servicers that we all use and rely on.

The government has shown consistently it can give local authorities money when they want. In February of 2017, the Conservatives gave the much more affluent Surrey County Council a sweetheart deal following concerns about its financial position. Similarly, though Nottingham has lost £71 per household more affluent neighbours such as Rutland have actually gained £44 per household. Finally, 80% of a £300 million transition grant that was made available went to more affluent southern authorities that are Conservative controlled.

If they are able to find money for these areas, they should be able to find money for areas like Nottingham where levels of deprivation are greater. Until the Government produces a settlement which is based on level of need, they are just forcing Nottingham people to pay for more while receiving less.