Local authority funding needs fixing, says Norfolk Councillor
This comes as Council tax is increasing by nearly £90 in Norfolk under annual budget plans being voted on today
The second largest party at County Hall is calling for Ministers to fix local authority issues for good.
Conservative-led Council are planning to make over £40 million in savings and hike local taxes by nearly 5 per cent at its budget meeting today.
It's understood that most of the planned savings will come from budgets to Adult Social Care and Children's Services.
Over £148 million is going towards infrastructure, More than £300 million will be available for Adult Social Care, £253 million for Children's services and £41 for the Fire and Rescue Service
"People are already finding it very hard"
Brian Watkins leads the Liberal Democrats at Norfolk County Council:
"The Council could and should have done more to prepare for the position that it now finds itself in.
"Council taxpayers that are going to have to deal with this burden during the cost of living crisis, where people are already finding it very hard.
"I think there could be more innovation within the Council. It needs to develop more preventative strategies that will help not just to save money but also to free up officer time that will help improve services, in general.
"Devolution does provide real opportunities for the area to sort of punch above it's weight, get in more investment and have a strong voice on both the regional and national level.
What has the Government and Norfolk County Council said?
The Government says it's putting in place the first 'multi-year' funding plan- that will increase by 2.5% next year.
Norfolk County Council say it needs to make 'difficult decisions' to ensure key services can continue working.