Newcastle City Council approves budget for the city

Councillors in Newcastle have set a budget for 2024-25 to support communities in the cost-of-living crisis.

They agreed to spend £281m on vital public services and invest £155m in capital projects such as roads, housing, and schools. 

A package of measures was also approved to save £14.4m by reducing subsidies, deleting vacant posts, reducing non-essential spend on contracts and increasing charges on a range of services such as garden waste collection.

It also approved a 5% increase in Council Tax in line with Government expectations which will be used to support frontline services. The budget was agreed at a meeting of the city council at the Civic Centre last night.

Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Nick Kemp, said: “It’s been very tough finding the savings to balance the budget, but I am satisfied that once again we have achieved this despite the fact it is getting more challenging each year.

“Sadly after 14 years of austerity there is no low hanging fruit left and many of the decisions we have taken to balance the budget have been painful. Although our financial position is forecast to get harder, rest assured we will continue to put residents at the heart of everything we do and do our level best to protect essential frontline services for residents and minimise redundancies among our hard-working and committed workforce.

“There is a lot of news at the moment of councils going bust. Although we are operating under severe financial pressure, we are well governed and manage our finances prudently. We will continue to do everything we can to make the decisions that we have to take to set a balanced budget fighting for greater funding for our city and longer-term financial settlements so we can plan responsible for the future in the best interests of our residents.

“We will continue to work with the city to build an inclusive economy where everyone has a stake and can play their part, and we will continue to focus on tackling poverty and inequality. Finally, I want to thank the residents and organisations who took part in this year’s budget consultation. We are a listening council and genuinely appreciate the insight of others who live and work in our city.”

There will be a reduction in 40 full-time equivalent posts at the council as a result of the savings. The authority will work closely with trade unions and support employees at risk of redundancy while continuing to avoid compulsory redundancies where possible.

Taken together the rises in Council Tax and the Adult Social Care Precept will add £95.78 per year to a Band D property or £63.85 per year to a Band A property. Over the next three years the council is forecast to have to save £59.8m.

Major capital projects which the council will undertake include, among others, £20.5m in improvements to Northumberland Street, £17.7m on a new leisure centre in West Denton and £10m of improvements to the Grainger Market. 

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