Norfolk County Council warns of a £148.5 million budget gap as its leader calls for fairer funding for rural services.
Norfolk County Council's leader has called on the government to provide more funding for rural services amid warnings of a projected £148.5 million budget gap over the next three years.
Councillor David Bick has written to ministers ahead of the forthcoming government budget, urging them to recognise the additional costs faced by councils serving large rural communities.
The authority says increasing demand for adult social care, children's services and home-to-school transport is putting significant pressure on its finances.
Providing services across a county as geographically spread out as Norfolk can create additional challenges, particularly when residents live in smaller villages and isolated communities.
Longer travelling distances and the need to support vulnerable people in rural areas can make delivering essential services more expensive than in densely populated urban areas.
Councillor Bick believes the current funding arrangements do not adequately reflect these pressures and wants ministers to address the imbalance when making future spending decisions.
The projected £148.5 million shortfall covers a three-year period and highlights the financial challenges facing the authority as it attempts to maintain services while balancing its budget.
Adult social care, support for children with additional needs and school transport are among the areas experiencing growing demand.
The council is calling for a funding settlement that better recognises the costs of delivering public services in rural counties such as Norfolk.
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