How Northumberland residents can put their budget questions to council leaders

Cuts of £8.3million have been identified by Northumberland County Council to balance the budget for 2020-21.

A cornerstone of next year’s plans will be a focus on economic recovery after a challenging financial year, with significant budget pressures due to increased demand in adult and children's social care, special educational needs and disability services, as well as the impact of Covid-19.

However, there will also be a significant push on helping Northumberland to recover and grow economically, with an emphasis on delivering a green and sustainable future for the county.

Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “The global Covid pandemic has presented profound challenges for us all this year – not least the way we communicate with residents and that’s why we’re doing things a little differently.

“We’ve always prided ourselves as being a council that listens to its residents so that's why we’re up for a discussion on our budget proposals.

"We’d really like to hear the questions people have, whether they want us to spend more or less or certain services, what we’re doing well and where we could improve. This is an opportunity for people to ask the questions that matter to them.”Questions can be submitted until 5pm on 4 January via bit.ly/3mG3VAk

The Q&A is at 5.30pm on January 7 and will be broadcast on the council’s Facebook page

The council’s budget consultation runs until January 21 – http://haveyoursay.northumberland.gov.uk – and will go before Full Council in February.

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