A petition calling on the Government to rethink the huge cuts in funding for local council services was presented to Downing Street on Monday by Coun Alan Rhodes, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, and MP for Ashfield, Gloria De Piero.

The Fair Deal for Nottinghamshire petition was signed by 3,222 local residents to ask the Government to think again about its approach of making the largest cuts in funding to areas, like Nottinghamshire, where deprivation is highest.

Only five county councils in the country saw a bigger reduction in ‘spending power’ than the council in the latest round of cuts to council funding, despite Nottinghamshire having some of the areas of highest deprivation in the country.

Coun Rhodes said: “On the back of cuts to our budget by the Government, we have had to make some extremely difficult decisions about cutting back on nearly every service we provide – and this situation is set to continue.

“Taking the petition to Downing Street was important for Nottinghamshire’s residents as their concerns should be heard and acted upon by the Government. We need to speak out about a situation where cuts in funding are greater for councils such as Nottinghamshire, which include areas of high deprivation, over councils such as those in the South East with lower levels of deprivation.

“This does not make sense and I welcome the fact that so many local people have recognised how unfair this Government policy is.

“By presenting the petition in person at Downing Street along with Gloria De Piero, the MP for Ashfield, we have been able to show Ministers the strength of feeling about the way public services are funded in Nottinghamshire. This is an issue that cannot be ignored and we are hoping to see some positive action to redress the balance of funding.”