Your views on our 2025-26 budget savings proposals, including a proposal to increase council tax

Overview

In this consultation we are asking for your views on our proposal to increase council tax, and on our other 2025-26 budget savings proposals.

We will feed back the findings from our consultation to our county councillors as part of the evidence they will use to help them come to a decision about our budget proposals. Final decisions about the level of council tax will be made by the council on 18 February 2025.

We are consulting through:

• The online consultation, which is also available as a paper copy and in different formats
• Email /Letter to key stakeholders and partners
• Email to members of the Norfolk Residents’ Panel

Find out more and have your say by clicking on the online feedback form, or links to print, large print, or easy read versions below.

There are also detailed consultation documents and response forms available for two specific proposals:

• Review of our Housing Related Support Services 

• Switch off a further 2% of Norfolk County Council maintained streetlights 

If you want more detail and to have your say on those proposals you can find out more at www.norfolk.gov.uk/budget or click on the links above.

Why your views matter

We want to hear your views on our proposals to help our elected councillors make the right, even if tough decisions, in agreeing a robust and sustainable budget for the year ahead.

How we will make our decision and report back to you

We will take a report about the findings of this consultation to the Norfolk County Council Cabinet meeting in January 2025.

The council’s scrutiny committee and select committees will comment on the budget proposals, before Cabinet finalises the proposals in January 2025 and the Full Council makes a final decision on the budget in February 2025.

Our county councillors will consider the consultation responses we receive very carefully. In particular, they will take into account:

• The impact of any proposal on individuals, groups or communities and in particular on people identified as having 'protected characteristics' under the Equality Act 2010. The protected characteristics are: age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.  As well as this equality impact assessment, councillors will consider the impact of proposals on rural areas
• The views of people and stakeholders consulted
• The evidence of need and what is proven to work effectively and well
• The financial and legal positions and any constraints at the time
• Any potential alternative options, models or ideas for making the savings.

The consultation runs from Friday 1 November 2024 and closes on Monday 16 December 2024.

Please note that if we receive any consultation responses after this date, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to take them into account.

The consultation questions should take about 15 minutes to complete.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this and respond.