OPINION: Mick Barton's Nottinghamshire County Council column

As leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, I’ve worked with Cabinet colleagues and officers over the last few months to make sure that this Reform administration sets a balanced budget at our February Full Council meeting.

A balanced budget is the foundation of a financially sound, well run and well managed Council.

I know how tough things have been for residents in recent years and we’re not out of the woods yet.

Food bills, energy bills, rent payments, all going up, which puts a lot of pressure on families the length and breadth of Nottinghamshire.

That’s why when we set this year’s Council Tax, we set it 20% below the maximum and almost 20% below last year’s council’s figure, despite intensive pressure from the Government to set it at the maximum.

The 3.99% Council Tax is one of the lowest in the last decade and means that Band A properties will see an increase of £50.39 / year and Band B properties increase by £58.79 / year. This affects 60% of properties across the county and means just under a pound a week and just over a pound a week respectively.

Since getting elected last May we’ve been looking at smarter, more efficient, and modern ways of running services.

The Efficiency Review has been extensive & thorough and as a result we’ve identified £44.2m in efficiencies over the next 3 years, £18m will be realised in 2026/27.

That’s the biggest efficiencies programme this council has ever seen.

There’s no doubt that the number one issue concerning residents is the state of our roads.

We know we have a lot of work to do, and we’re determined to get on top of it so that you’ll see a big difference over the next 6 - 18 months.

Investment on our highways will see an extra £12.5m being ploughed in this year so that means more potholes fixed and more miles of roads resurfaced.

Every single Reform councillor is determined to work tirelessly in their division to put roads at the top of their to do list, so please get in touch with them if you’ve got a concern.

Another service where we have a duty of care is the protection and care of our elderly and the most vulnerable in our communities.

Recent figures show that there’s more than 12,700 adults in full time elderly care, 4,500 adults in part-time care and more than 900 children in care across Nottinghamshire.

We’re championing independent living for the elderly, keeping more people at home with the right care packages because people tell us they want to live behind their own front door. We hear this day in, day out and we’re listening.

We’ll also be starting a county-wide fostering campaign to attract more foster carers.

Family is one of the pillars of Reform, so we’re focussed on recruiting more foster carers to give children a loving home and future. We’d be delighted to hear from people who think they could do this wonderfully rewarding role.

This is Reform’s first budget and I’m proud to say it invests in key services, protects our libraries and youth services and predicts millions of pounds worth of efficiencies.

It’s a budget that delivers for the people of Nottinghamshire and along with my fellow councillors it will get discussed in depth at the Full Council meeting on 26th February.