Nottingham City Council has published its Draft Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan for 2026/27, outlining a fully balanced budget that includes an additional £25 million investment in front‑line services, while keeping Council Tax rises well below the maximum level permitted.
The proposals, due to be discussed at the Council’s Executive Board meeting on 24 February, set out how the authority plans to strengthen essential local services while continuing financial recovery work undertaken over the past year.
According to the Council, improved financial control and organisational changes have helped create a more stable position, enabling investment in priority areas and avoiding the need for emergency support.
The draft budget proposes extra funding for essential services including street cleaning, community safety, road maintenance, as well as parks and green spaces
This £25 million uplift includes £10 million of new investment, in addition to £15 million previously announced for 2026/27, made possible by increased funding from the recent national local government settlement.
The Council says the funding supports delivery of core priorities in its Council Plan and reflects public expectations for visible improvements in neighbourhood services.
The draft budget includes a proposed 3.5% increase in the local authority’s Council Tax requirement, of which 2% is the Adult Social Care precept.
This is notably lower than the maximum 4.99% increase allowed by Government. Several authorities nationally have already indicated they will need to apply the full increase, with some receiving permission to exceed it.
According to the Council, this is the first time in many years it has been in a position to rule out applying the maximum rise.
Other key elements of the 2026/27 draft budget include:
- A balanced budget with a £1 million surplus
- No requirement to draw upon Exceptional Financial Support
- £22 million in efficiency savings planned across the Medium-Term Financial Plan
- A £744.7 million capital programme to 2029/30, covering roads, housing, regeneration and infrastructure — an increase of £35.6 million, funded through capital receipts, reserves and grants, without additional borrowing
- A substantial reduction in Council debt — from £827 million in 2019/20 to £287 million this year, representing a two‑thirds reduction
- Prudent reserves totalling approximately £42 million
Councillor Ethan Radford, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council, said:
“Over the last two years we have been working hard to get this Council’s house in order after over a decade of having our funding reduced. For 14 years Nottingham, like many urban and deprived areas, has suffered from the effects of underfunding and austerity, with local people being hardest hit.
“This budget marks a huge milestone in this Council’s improvement journey, and with the fairer funding from the Labour Government, ushers in an end to the austerity that has been imposed on us for so long.
“We promised to renew this council – and with the Government confirming the departure of the commissioners as planned, with our financial improvement described as ‘almost unimaginable’, and the first council in recent times to have commissioners leave within the time frame – we are keeping our promise.
“We promised to deliver for local people – and with this budget we will see a council tax increase at the lowest it’s been for 18 years, council debt halved in the last 6 years and record levels of investment in frontline services with £25m being invested in the things that matter most to residents – safety, cleanliness, roads, parks, pride in place and more – we are keeping our promise.
“We promised to lead Nottingham forward – and by getting our house in order Nottingham City Council’s finances will become an enabler not a blocker for our city, unleashing our potential, meeting the needs and matching the ambitions of our residents and undertaking the huge piece of work to reshape Nottingham and the wider region through Local Government Reorganisation.
“While we have already come so far in the last two years, our promise to the people of Nottingham to go even further. This is the end of austerity in Nottingham, and the beginning of a new chapter for this council, and this city.”
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