Northamptonshire financial plan confirms dramatic cuts

摘要

The stark reality of the financial cliff-edge facing Northamptonshire CC has this week been revealed by its emergency budget plan.Proposals for an asset fire-sale, and wide-ranging fees, cuts and closures have been drawn up after the first Section 114 notice in almost 20 years limited the council to only essential spending.The tone of the budget documents hint at the stark treatment residents can expect, with Northamptonshire on course to overspend by £21m in 2017/18.One document read: 'The council is not here to deliver or commission all services. It is.. .important that the council makes it clear what its duties are, what it can and can't do for the people of Northamptonshire, and what it is that residents and communities can do themselves with the right support.'The council now faces a delicate balancing act as it tries to find the £111m in savings needed by 2021.Concerns have already been raised over how some of the proposed cutbacks could breach equalities duties.Finance director Mark McLaughlin warned in a report: 'In this financial climate and faced with difficult decisions, some savings and income generation proposals within this budget may have a negative effect on groups with protected characteristics.'Privately, senior figures familiar with Northamptonshire's politics and finances have told The MJ it was 'inevitable' that the two-tier county will now be reorganised - most likely split into the two-unitary model favoured by the county's seven Conservative MPs.