This week the Conservative Administration at Nottinghamshire County Council will set its Budget for 2024/5. Whilst all Councils are under huge pressures, we're in a relatively decent place financially. In fact I'd go so far as to say we're among Britain's most financially viable and sustainable Authorities. We're not cutting any front line services . We're not taking the maximum Council Tax rise when 90% of Councils are. We're continuing to invest in a major program of school building and expansion, continuing to deliver our capital projects like the major A614 improvements that start this Spring. We're adding an extra £4m to the Highways Budget to help tackle the poor state of the roads, and a major new road improvement program will be announced in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Labour in Nottingham are in a mess. Whilst all Councils are under pressure, only a handful are going bust, and each and every time it's because they've made a right mess of something on a local level. In Nottingham that's because they've blown over £100m on their failed pet project Robin Hood Energy, an on illegal spending decisions with their housing account. Labour in Mansfield have announced a major raft of cuts including shutting public toilets and cutting funding to community groups. In both cases, these Labour Councils have been burying their heads in the sand for year and ignoring the issues that were coming down the track, expecting Government to bail them out rather than taking the decisions that needed taking.
Budget time is often when we see the most obvious differences between Labour and the Conservatives' management of Local Councils around Nottinghamshire. Whilst Labour make cuts and blame Government, our Conservative administration at Nottinghamshire County Council is among the most successful in Britain at balancing the books and protecting services. Whilst those Labour Councils are cutting things, we're investing in our services. We're adding more to the Highways budget to tackle this important issue. We're building a new youth centre in Mansfield and focusing our youth and children's services on those places with the most need. Whilst Mansfield's Labour Council cut their funding to community groups, we're expanding the work we do with communities so help them to do more.
We're able to do this because we have a long term plan over a ten year period to transform our services. We're modernising things, introducing more tech, making changes to reduce waste and reduce contract prices, reducing our buildings from 17 down to 9 to save millions in running costs.
We've also worked really hard to secure this £1.5bn devolved transport fund that is coming down the track under the new regional Mayor. That's a massive chance for us to make a major investment in fixing our roads and improving local transport. It's real game changing money. As those elections come along on May 2nd, residents should look at these local examples. Who do you want to manage that money? Local Conservatives who have turned Nottinghamshire County Council in to one of Britain's best and most stable Councils, with a record of good performance? Or the same Local Labour party who have bankrupted the City of Nottingham and are cutting your services at Mansfield District Council? It's going to be an important decision.
