Dear Enquirer

 

Thank you for your request for information in regard to Budget cuts for
NCC.   Your request was received on 02 March 2015 and will be dealt with
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

 

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

 

If you have any queries about this matter please contact us at [1][email
address].  Please remember to quote the reference number above on any
future communication.

 

Kind regards

 

Information Governance Office

Northumberland County Council

County Hall

Morpeth

Northumberland

NE61 2EF

 

Tel:  0845 600 6400

Email:  [2][email address]   

Web:  [3]http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

 

 

Northumberland County Council have classified this Email as UNCLASSIFIED

[4][IMG]

Save Time Do It Online!
We have made some key improvements to our site to make all of our services
easy to access. Now you can do everything from paying your council tax, to
reporting a faulty street light online. Go to:
[5]www.northumberland.gov.uk and click 'pay, apply or report' to access
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Northumberland added disclaimer
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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]
2. mailto:[email%20address]
3. http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/
4. http://family.northumberland.gov.uk/
5. http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/

Dear Mr Cockburn

 

Thank you for your freedom of information request (ref: 101002966610) in
which you asked:

 

I would like to have the total of your overall budget each year since
2009, including an indication of the level of central government grant
provided each year versus council tax and other sources of revenue.

 

Please use this to estimate a % change in budget and central government
grant each year, and if you have information regarding how this compares
to the national average cut for a local authority please do share that
also.

 

I would like to understand (1) how much NCC's budget has or has not been
reduced over the last 5 years (2) how much this is due to cuts in central
government grants, and (3) whether this is below or above the national
average.

 

Please see attached the requested information. Please also see an
explanation below:

 

• The spreadsheet has been split into financial years.
• The Net expenditure on all General Fund Services Total on each tab
shows the Councils net budget.
• The Net expenditure on all General Fund Services Total includes
on-going efficiency savings which are required to balance the budget. 
These figures represent the true level of savings / reductions the
Council has to make in order to balance the budget.  Over the period
these are as follows;

◦ 2009/10                £26 million
◦ 2010/11                £16.5 million
◦ 2011/12                £46.5 million
◦ 2012/13                £16.6 million
◦ 2013/14                £23.6 million
◦ 2014/15                £32.5 million
◦ 2015/16                £28.8 million

• The funding section shows the major funding sources received by the
Council.  The yellow highlighted areas are Government Grants.

◦ In 2013-14 the Government changed the grants funding mechanism
for local authorities and introduced the Business Rates Retention
scheme which makes comparison of the figures prior to this very
difficult.

• The Council tax requirement shows the budgeted annual income derived
from Council Tax, however;

◦ In 2013-14 the Government changed the way that Councils
calculated the tax base, which is the key driver of Council Tax
income.  This resulted in a significant reduction to the tax base
for Northumberland which in turn reduced the income we could
achieve.  To compensate for this the Government gave all councils
a Localisation of Council Tax support grant which is included
within the formula grant figure.  Again this makes year on year
comparison very difficult

 

Complaints

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office:

 

Information Governance Office

Northumberland County Council

County Hall

Morpeth

NE61 2EF 

 

Email:  [1][email address] 

 

Information Commissioner

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information
Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with
in accordance with the requirements of the Act at:

 

The Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

 

Tel: 01625 545 745 / Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [2][email address]

 

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

FOI Corporate Resources Group

County Hall

Northumberland County Council

0845 6006400

[3][IMG]

Save Time Do It Online!
We have made some key improvements to our site to make all of our services
easy to access. Now you can do everything from paying your council tax, to
reporting a faulty street light online. Go to:
[4]www.northumberland.gov.uk and click 'pay, apply or report' to access
the relevant forms.

Northumberland added disclaimer
This email is intended solely for the individual or individuals to whom it
is addressed, and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If
you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing,
copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of
this email is prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please
contact the sender and delete the email from any computer. All email
communication may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance
with internal policy and relevant legislation. Please, consider your
environmental responsibility. Before printing this e-mail ask yourself:
"Do I need a hard copy?"

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email%20address]
2. mailto:[email%20address]
3. http://family.northumberland.gov.uk/
4. http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/