Difficult decisions need to be made to balance Norfolk budgets
The County Council could find itself needing to save almost ÂŁ50m next year.
Difficult choices are going to have to be made soon as Norfolk County Council try to balance the books for next year.
The authority says it predicts it'll need to save more than ÂŁ39m in 2022, or ÂŁ47.8m if Council Tax is frozen.
Councillor Andrew Jamieson, cabinet member for finance, said a new report set out the council's current financial prospects, before proposals are developed and put out for public consultation in October.
He said: "We're facing a menu of unpalatable options, unless the Government grasps the nettle and sorts out council funding - especially for adult social care.
"I'm proud of the work this council does every day, to support the people of Norfolk and particularly during this challenging, pandemic year.
"But we can only stretch the elastic so far. Without fair, sustained funding, we're going to have to make painful choices over savings, higher Council Tax, or both."
Cllr Jamieson added it was too early to speculate on detailed proposals but confirmed the cabinet was going to look at all areas of spending.
What does the report show?
The County Council says it predicts it will have to save ÂŁ109m over the next four years.
The Government assumes councils will raise Council Tax within the referendum limit which is set annually - currently expected to be a 1.99 per cent rise in general Council Tax.
The council's planning includes a one per cent increase in the adult social care precept, deferred from 2021-22.
If the county council chose not to increase Council Tax next year, it would have to find a further ÂŁ8.7 million of savings next year, rising to ÂŁ37.2 million extra over five years.
Proposed savings for next year per department are as follows:
- Adult social services: ÂŁ17.7m
- Children's services: ÂŁ8.7m
- Community and Environmental services: ÂŁ8.7m
- Finance and Commercial Services: ÂŁ1.8m
- Finance General: ÂŁ1.8m
- Governance: ÂŁ0.4m
- Strategy and Transformation: ÂŁ0.5m
The Cabinet will consider the findings of the report when it meets at 10am on the 5th July.