Council tax rise in spite of cuts

Employees believe vital services will be lost

Residents in Nottinghamshire will have to cope with a 4.7% increase in council tax after the county council finalised its budget.

The rise comes in spite of protests by county council employees against hundreds of money-saving job cuts.

The increase will mean an extra £48 per year for the average Band D house in the county.

Unions will ballot members over strike action as employees say the elderly and vulnerable will be the ones to suffer.

This has been a very difficult budget for us David Kirkham, council leader

Grace Perry, a county council employee and protester, said: "I have worked at the county council for 23 years and worked with people who have no voice.

"It is up to us as council workers who provide the services to stand up and fight because this is not just about us losing jobs, it's about vulnerable people losing services."

About 200 employees met outside Nottingham's County Hall on Thursday to protest against planned job cuts.

Council leader David Kirkham, said: "This has been a very difficult budget for us. We believe that we have focused on the needs of the community and have tried to protect front line services as far as possible."

"We are being very tough on finding as many efficiency savings that we can so that we can divert money into front line services."

The council said it received less money than expected from central government while demand for council services and costs were increasing.