Council funding
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page [ [link removed] ].
Coronavirus update email header
Council funding
*"A Message from City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen:"*
Cllr David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council
Councils have stepped up when the country needed us most we call on the Government to recognise the crucial role that key workers have already played and will play in Britains recovery from Covid. This is the rallying cry from councils up and down the country across the political spectrum.
This council has been decimated by the Governments austerity programme over the last decade, which has seen our Government funding for day-to-day services slashed by 80%. Like other councils we have been forced to cut services, cut jobs and look at new ways to bring in income. Unfortunately, most of those funding streams have dried up during the pandemic, making a bad situation even worse. Government has tasked councils with responding to the Covid crisis, which we are well placed and willing to do but this places us under even greater financial strain. We estimate the cost of Covid and lost income to be at least 56m, with only 20m coming from Government so far.
Without urgent support from the Government, councils are facing a funding black hole that threatens vital services. I alongside many other council leaders will continue to the lobby the Government to make good on their commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with us.
________________________________________________________________________
*Phased return of more children to Nottingham schools from 22 June*
School children
Getting children back to school is a priority for Nottinghams families, schools and for this council. However, we have all recognised the need to take a cautious approach with this. We have seen a gradual increase in pupils from Year 6 and now feel that local authority schools are in a position to begin the phased return of children from other year groups.
Since the beginning of June we have seen a sustained fall in the number of cases of Covid-19 and an increase in the capacity for testing children and adults. Coupled with the valuable experience schools have already gained from remaining open to key workers children and bringing back Year 6, many schools are now feeling confident that they can start to open up to more children and we support them.
We recognise that for each individual child the decision at this time rests with parents/carers based upon their judgment and the council would like to make clear that if parents and carers choose to keep their children at home, they will not be fined for non-attendance.
As ever, I really do thank all our local schools and their teams as well as local families for all the tremendous efforts made to ensure that Nottinghams children continue to learn over this uncertain period.
________________________________________________________________________
*Investing in Nottinghams parks and green spaces*
Nottingham Arboretum
This pandemic has shown why nature and green spaces are important to people. More so than ever, local green spaces have become our neighbourhood gyms, our cycling tracks and our therapeutic escape. Use of urban parks has greatly increased and polling has shown that the public appreciate local green spaces more - and that they want them to be a higher Government priority.
Deep inequalities have been exposed over this pandemic; communities that have been hardest hit by the virus and its fallout have the least access to green spaces. The Covid recovery period will give us all the opportunity to think radically and to increase quality of life for all. Research has shown that green infrastructure schemes have proved themselves economically, it makes sense to build towns and cities where people want to live and importantly invest in.
I wrote to the Government to urge them to seize this opportunity to transform the quality of all urban lives in the UK by committing to a significant investment in urban green infrastructure. We have a number of schemes in Nottingham that are shovel-ready - we now just need the Government to be bold and ambitious for our green future.
is placeholder text.
________________________________________________________________________
Coronavirus FAQs
Please clickhere [ [link removed] ]for some of the answers to questions weve been asked about what you should do, and what we are doing, to respond to Coronavirus.
________________________________________________________________________
Twitter [ [link removed] ]Facebook [ [link removed] ]Instagram [ [link removed] ]
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk [ [link removed] ]
Give feedback
Unsubscribe [ [link removed] ]
NCC logo white
Contact Nottingham City Council
Tel: 0115 915 5555
Council Web: nottinghamcity.gov.uk [ [link removed] ]
Follow us on Facebook [ [link removed] ] | Twitter [ [link removed] ]
You have received this email because you are subscribed to Nottingham City Councils Stay Connected service for news and information about council services. You can review which emails you receive from us or unsubscribe by editing your subscriptions [ [link removed] ]- log in with your email address and then make your choice.
tagline may 2020 [ [link removed] ]
This email was sent to
[email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Nottingham City Council Loxley House, Station Street Nottingham. NG2 3NG GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]
________________________________________________________________________
