Latest news with #NottinghamshireCountyCouncil
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Lowdham care home goes into liquidation after suspension
A care home in Nottinghamshire that had its licence to operate suspended has been placed into liquidation. An inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found "concerns around safety, care planning and oversight" at The Firs Residential Care Home in Lowdham, leading to a three-month suspension and residents being moved out of the home.A Companies House document showed liquidators from FRP Advisory Trading Limited were appointed on 29 care home has been contacted by the BBC for a comment. Companies House documents from 24 April show the care home's summary of assets stood at £52, reduction of unpaid pension contributions, priority creditor payments and payments to the taxman resulted in £30,168 being left over.A total of £125,476 was owed to the rest of the Firs' creditors, with this amount including £40,000 in remedial works on its site and £45,860 in unsecured employee claims. The documents also showed nine residents who had lived in the home before it closed were owed thousands of pounds - with one owed £4, in April, Nottinghamshire County Council it had "supported a number of people who were moved to alternative accommodation" and "also offered our support to all the families affected"."The county council is in communication with the CQC regarding this matter and will await updates regarding the current suspension of registration," a statement said.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£1.58 million boost for Mansfield through shared prosperity fund
Mansfield District Council has secured £1.58 million through the Government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The funding, allocated by the East Midlands Counties Combined Authority (EMCCA), will give the council an extra £1.58 million pounds to be distributed to community grants, local events, skills support and business growth initiatives. The grant was discussed at a council meeting for the Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Finance on Friday (May 9). The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a £2.6 billion fund open to all parts of the UK. It aims to reduce inequalities between communities and promote economic growth by providing funding for local projects and initiatives. Mansfield 's total allocation for this year will spread out across £508,181 for capital projects, £1,010,117 for revenue projects, and £63,262 for management and administration. READ MORE: Monty Don names two plants that need to be cut back in May for huge blooms next year READ MORE: I ate at Bingham pub that's best known for its beer and it was pretty much perfect The funding will support projects within five key themes – including healthy, safe, and inclusive communities, thriving places, supporting for businesses, employability and skills. Mansfield CVS and Nottinghamshire County Council 's Business Advisory Service are key delivery partners for Mansfield District Council's UKSPF programme. Cllr Craig Whitby (Lab) said the funding was a boost to Mansfield, though it is 'much less' than the grant funded in previous years. Mansfield recieved an allocation of £2.955m in 2022, which covered the district until 2025. In the Autumn 2024 Budget, the UK Government announced the continuation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) would be reduced for a further year in 2025/26, documents say. Cllr Craig Whitby (Lab) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting: 'This latest round of UKSPF funding gives us the opportunity to build on the success of previous community projects – like the outdoor gym at Manor Park – and support local businesses, events, and skills development across the district. I'd like to thank Mayor Claire Ward and the East Midlands Combined County Authority for backing Mansfield with this vital investment.' The council will now enter into funding agreements with EMCCA. They will then enter into partnership and delivery agreements with key delivery partners, including Mansfield CVS – for the Community Grant Fund – Nottinghamshire County Council 's Business Advisory Service and West Notts College and Futures – for employability and skills programmes.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reform takes control of Nottinghamshire County Council
Reform UK has gained control of Nottinghamshire County Council, taking over from the Conservatives. The party secured 40 of council's 66 seats, having needed 34 for an overall majority. The Conservatives now sit in second place with 17 seats, and Labour in third with four seats. A full picture will be confirmed in June when two remaining seats are set to be contested in a by-election, following the death of Mansfield North candidate Karen Seymour. Reform had only ever been represented by one councillor in Nottinghamshire before Friday, Dr John Doddy, who switched allegiances from the Conservatives in January. Live: Follow latest on local elections Who won the local election in my area? What's happened so far and what's still to come? Outgoing Nottinghamshire County Council leader Sam Smith retained his seat in the Newark East ward. However, Katie Foale, leader of the county's Labour group, lost her seat to Broxtowe Alliance candidate Teresa Cullen, who defected from the party in January. Dr Doddy told the BBC Reform was going to to things "differently". He said: "We're looking at how to use the taxpayers' money better and that's what people say to me - they don't understand where all the money is going and their services are going down and the money they're paying is going up and they can't put that together . "That's where the common sense come in." By Hugh Casswell, BBC Nottingham political reporter Coming into today, most parties and candidates I spoke to expected Reform UK to gain a decent number of seats in Nottinghamshire, perhaps enough to be the junior partners in some form of coalition with the Conservatives. But they've smashed all those expectations and ended up not just in control of the council, but with what looks like a comfortable majority. It's striking that they seem to have taken seats from Tory and Labour alike, as well as very nearly wiping the Ashfield Independents off the map in what is now not just a surprising but a convincing victory. There is still the small matter of who will be the council's leader. As Reform's only incumbent, de facto spokesperson John Doddy told me there will be a "democratic process" among the party's councillors within the next 24 hours. When I asked if he wants the job himself, he told me: "If the ball comes loose from the back of the scrum, you'd be tempted to pick it up and run for the line." Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Nottinghamshire County Council
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
What next as Nottinghamshire council election results will be incomplete
In a county where the margins for victory are as fine as they come, the election for Nottinghamshire County Council has always been tough to Conservatives, having been in charge since 2017, only need to lose one seat and they would lose overall control of the now as polling day looms we know that the results, as well as being unpredictable, will be is because the death of Karen Seymour, a candidate standing in Mansfield North, has led to the election for that council division being delayed. No date has been set for the subsequent by-election, but it is likely it will be several weeks after polling day proper on 1 division is represented by two council seats, and in an election that could be incredibly close, two seats could make all the difference. What could happen? Recent years have taught us that political predictions, even when made with confidence, should be taken with a fistful of reality is absolutely anything is possible at this election, and things become all the more unpredictable if turnout is are so many challengers and variables in a county like Nottinghamshire, that the vote could be split in all sorts of different directions, meaning seats can end up being won with a comparatively small share of the other words, there could be some real that seat-by-seat uncertainty and apply it across a council with 66 seats and you're left with little more than with all that said, when I've spoken to party sources and candidates throughout this campaign, the most commonly-held expectation has been for no party to win enough seats for a majority.A hung council is far from unprecedented in happened as recently as 2017 when the Conservatives were the largest party but short of a then, they partnered with councillors from the Mansfield Independent Forum to form an we're in that sort of situation again when results come in on Friday, we'd be set for days or weeks of talks between parties trying to strike a deal, either for a formal coalition or a looser agreement. Those talks tend to be a bit messy, with different demands and counter-demands being thrown could be messier still with a by-election still to be me paint you a picture - but I stress it is a hypothetical magic number for control of the county council is 34 if one party ends Friday with 32 seats? They're very nearly there but they need those two seats in Mansfield North to get over the line, and suddenly that by-election is scenario - what if one party gets 24 seats and another gets 8?Again, they're within touching distance of the number for an administration between them, but how do they conduct coalition talks when they don't know exactly how many seats each has?And how do those two parties contest that by-election? Would one stand aside to allow the other a better chance of getting the numbers between them?These are questions that are enough to make your head spin, but they are questions which those closely involved in this election are now asking could be a moot point - never rule out someone getting enough seats at the first time of asking.I have been assured that, in any eventuality, council services won't be a statement, the council's chief executive Adrian Smith said: "As is standard practice in the run up to an election, the council has plans in place to ensure the continued smooth running of council services."But it is perhaps a mark of what a politically volatile area Nottinghamshire is that, on the eve of polling day, there is even more uncertainty than can see who is standing for election in your area here.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nottinghamshire: How council shake-up became an election battle
The upcoming county council election in Nottinghamshire is an unusual one as it looks set to be the council's last - at least in its current the government announced in December it wanted to overhaul how local authorities are organised, you'd have been forgiven for thinking it would be little more than a drab restructuring and would all happen without much attention being now, what started as a row between those most closely involved in local government appears to have spilled out into the public at large and, therefore, to voters. Or as one local leader put it recently - "people are stirring."It means an issue which is not, in itself, directly relevant to how Nottinghamshire County Council is run has now become a big talking point in the election what is an incredibly finely-poised authority, could it be enough to tip the balance in favour of one party or another? How close is it to reality? The plans are still at a very early "interim proposals" with three potential options were submitted to central government last leaders have emphasised the submission was a progress report rather than tangible plans, and some have expressed frustration at the timeframe in which they've had to come up with other words, what eventually happens could end up being completely different to any of those three regardless of all the uncertainty, the BBC has been told it has been one of the big topics of conversation on the doorstep, and it is perhaps a more divisive issue in Nottinghamshire than other areas for two first is council reorganisation has been on the cards in the county in recent plans driven by then-county council leader Kay Cutts back in 2018 were met with criticism and ultimately failed to get off the was a very different scenario - the Conservative government at the time seemed fairly lukewarm towards the idea, whereas now it's the Labour government pushing the plans does mean, however, that some key local voices are already primed to have this second reason is the well-documented financial problems at Nottingham City Council, which Nottinghamshire County Council envelopes on all city council doesn't have elections this year and its leaders insist its financial situation is improving, but its not hard to see how its circumstances could have a bearing on the election outcome for its nearest nothing is confirmed, some of the options for reorganisation would see the city combining with surrounding boroughs to create a new, larger suggestion alone has prompted concerns from some who worry they'd end up being "absorbed" by a city with a chequered history - concerns which some politicians have been quick to seize a ready-made attack line for parties other than Labour, who whilst campaigning for the county council elections can point across the border into the city and give warnings about what its "expansion" could mean. What do different parties say? The current county council leader, Conservative Sam Smith, was among the first to break cover when the plans were unveiled by central favours the so-called "county only" option, which would see the smaller district and borough councils scrapped and Nottinghamshire turned into a unitary authority, but the existing boundary with the city would remain in place."Any city expansion will mean residents of Nottinghamshire will pay more tax because there will be less people paying in so the new authority will charge more, but they'll receive less services," he said."The Conservatives have been absolutely clear that no services should be cut as a result of local government reorganisation and nobody should pay more."He has been joined in his calls by the county's only remaining Conservative MP, Robert position of local Labour politicians is more nuanced. While the city council's leader has backed a "Nottingham + 2" model, the Labour group leader at the county council, Kate Foale, adopted a more cautious tone."There are all kinds of models being suggested, but the Labour government has only asked for a progress report, we don't have to decide until November," she said."Until we've seen the evidence of what will have the best impact for our residents throughout the county, then we cannot make a decision."Labour leader of Gedling Borough Council John Clarke, meanwhile, has been quite open in saying he doesn't want the area to join the Labour voices, however, have rejected the Conservatives' characterisation of the plans as a "takeover" by the city council - arguing that all councils in the area would actually be scrapped and new authorities established in their place. Leader of the Ashfield Independents, Jason Zadrozny, is a long-time critic of local government reorganisation, but now seems resigned to some sort of change."The government are forcing this to happen, it's going to happen come what may. There is the big elephant in the room that people are very nervous of being associated with the city," he said he prefers options where the county is divided into two or three councils, but is completely opposed to a Nottinghamshire-wide unitary authority, encompassing both the current city and county."It's too big. People need to know they can liaise with their council and their councillors," he a national level, Reform UK has been critical of the government's plans, particularly in areas where it has meant elections have been they are calling for a full public consultation before any decisions are party's only current county councillor, John Doddy, said: "Nobody has gone out to Nottinghamshire and said - do you want a unitary council?""My position on this quite simply is that if the people want it, as a representative of the people I will happily give it to them."For the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, their positions are fairly similar and unambiguous - both think the whole thing is a waste of Dem candidate David Watts said: "We are opposed to the government's plans. They want to do away with a vast amount of local democracy and people really value their local areas.""If there is an issue somebody has, they can pick up the phone and talk to somebody they know will deal with it. That's the sort of representation we want, and that's what you won't get if all the borough councillors are done away with."The Green Party's Ben Gray called the plans "uncosted, undemocratic and unnecessary"."There's no real promise that we're going to see greater efficiency. It's hinted at but there's no evidence to back that up," he said."It is evidence to reduce democracy though, taking decisions away from the grassroots up into larger and larger councils just isn't going to deliver the democracy we deserve."Arguments over local government reorganisation will doubtless continue until well after polling seems strangely apt, however, that the campaign for the upcoming election has become so entwined with the debate which, ultimately, looks set to end with the authority being abolished day for the Nottinghamshire County Council election is 1 information and a full list of candidates is available on the council website.
