Nottinghamshire and Bassetlaw councils confident their finances are in good shape

The city council issued a ‘Section 114 notice’ because it expects it won’t have enough money to cover its costs in the current financial year and is facing a budget deficit of £23m.

Councils across the country have struggled with budget black holes over the last few years as a result of cuts, rising social care, rising energy bills, changes in wage costs and – in some cases – their own expensive decisions.

Coun David Mellen (Lab), the council leader said while he accepted past decisions had cut its reserves, the authority’s decline pointed to a worsening national picture for the finances of local councils.

By law all councils must be able to set a balanced budget – meaning they do not spend more money than they receive in 12 months.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has asked both Nottinghamshire Council and Bassetlaw Council for their latest financial positions as of December 1.

A report that went before cabinet in November revealed the county council as running at £700,000 over-budget for the financial year – around 0.1 per cent of its annual budget.

However, it is confident this will be closed within the financial year.

Coun Ben Bradley MP (Con), council leader, said back in November: “We’re in a reasonable position given the challenges everyone is facing.

"We are managing the situation well.”

Senior councillors were hopeful of closing the gap, and said it compared favourably to other nearby county councils such as Derby, which has a £46m predicted overspend.

Over the next three financial years to 2026-27, it is estimated the council will spend £60.2m more than it brings in, although this gap too could close.

Meanwhile, latest figures from a cabinet meeting back in November show Bassetlaw Council currently has an overspend of £588,000 as of quarter two.

However, the council says this will be met with ‘in-year management actions totalling £251,000, and the use of reserves, with a figure of £337,000, to address one-off pressures’.