Scrutiny considers budget and environment challenges

Major budget and environmental challenges will be considered by councillors next week (24 November).

Norfolk County Council’s scrutiny committee will examine the authority’s latest budget proposals, plus its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its own estates by 2030.

Scrutiny committee chair, Councillor Steve Morphew, said: “It is timely

that with the major challenges facing us, scrutiny should rigorously look at whether progress towards our target of making Norfolk carbon neutral by 2030 is fast enough and the impact of further budget pressure on key services for our county.

“Everyone accepts there are hard choices. The job of scrutiny is to examine how those choices are made, on what basis and what other options were considered.”

Earlier this month, cabinet agreed to find “further recurrent savings of £5 million” and “agree to undertake a full review of how the council operates to deliver its future services and strategy”.

The council must bridge a £39 million budget gap next year. It has already identified £2.2 million of savings and is now bringing forward new proposals, worth £24.4 million.

Scrutiny will also consider an update on progress towards achieving the target of making Norfolk carbon neutral by 2030. That is part of the environmental strategy adopted by Norfolk County Council in November 2019.

The scrutiny committee will discuss the reports when it meets at 10am on Wednesday, 24 November. Watch the meeting and read the reports, live or afterwards.