In her latest column, Councillor Nadine Peatfield reflects on the difficult decisions needed to set a balanced budget for the next financial year.

As the Leader of the Council, I’ve witnessed firsthand the relentless pressure our city faces.

We’ve made no secret of the fact that when we came into power in May 2023, we inherited an incredibly challenging set of finances. As costs continue to rise, we continue to manage the demand facing the 240 services that we manage and are responsible for. This means that the decisions we need to make become increasingly more difficult.

The Government's underfunding for local authorities up and down the country has reached a crisis point. Every year, we're forced to make cuts that impact essential services, from adult social care to children's services. It’s a constant struggle to balance the books, and the consequences are far-reaching.  

The rising cost of living is exacerbating the problem with soaring inflation and sky-high energy prices. This also means that more and more of our residents are turning to us for help. Across the city we’ve seen a surge in demand for food banks, housing support, and mental health services. While we welcome the Local Government settlement package which has been issued to us, it simply isn’t enough to make ends meet.

To address these challenges, we're proposing a balanced budget that prioritises essential services while making significant savings. This includes:

  • Investing in key areas: We're committed to protecting frontline services, such as social care and children's services. We're also investing in infrastructure projects that will benefit our city for years to come.
  • Making tough decisions: Unfortunately, we've had to make some difficult choices. This includes reducing our workforce and increasing Council Tax. These measures are necessary to ensure the long-term financial stability of the Council.  
  • Transforming our services: We're working hard to modernise our services and improve efficiency. This involves using technology to streamline processes and reduce costs. We're also exploring new ways of working, such as collaborative partnerships with other organisations.

I understand that these proposals may not be popular, but they are necessary. We're facing a perfect storm of financial pressures, and we must take decisive action to protect our city.

We’ve published our proposals about how we want to achieve this and now we need your thoughts. It’s essential that we hear from you, the people who live, work and study here, so please take part in our consultation. You can find this on the Let’s Talk Derby Website [LINK].

While this is not a situation that we want to be in, as a responsible and practical administration, we must take charge to ensure that the control of Derby’s finances remains in the hands of those, who you - our residents - have elected. These are not decisions that we have taken lightly, but that are necessary to stop Derby from joining the growing list of local authorities who have been forced to issue Section 114 notices in recent years. The Government’s one-off rescue package and has allowed us to reset our finances, but we cannot rely on this for future years, so it is vital that we replenish our reserves to help give us resilience in the future. It’s my hope that this will mean brighter and more positive budgets in the years to come.

Despite the doom and gloom of publishing budget proposals, so close to Christmas – which is something completely out of our control – I truly believe that we have a lot to celebrate this festive season.

Since my new Cabinet was formed in May we have achieved a lot and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made towards our ambitions for our city. 2025 is shaping up to be a very exciting year for Derby, with the opening of the Market Hall and Becketwell Live, improvements to the Eastern Gateway and the start of works to restore the Guildhall and transform St James’ Street.

Together, I’m confident that we can build a strong, vibrant and welcoming Derby.