Budget cuts imposed by central government in March 2015 have resulted in Newcastle City Council implementing £30m in cuts for their 2016-2017 budget.

Some of the cuts voted through included a £5m cut to Sure Start and Family Services, reduction of litter bin pickups, changes to a response service to night time noise, as well as increasing council tax by 1.95%.

As reported by BBC News last month, 240 jobs are expected to be lost in 2016. The council aims to save £100m over the next three years, having already reduced the budget since 2011 by £191m, while having cut the staff by almost a third of its workforce.

Councillor Nick Forbes – head of the Labour-run authority – expressed concern for the communities that will face “less support for vulnerable people who will have to be more reliant on friends, family and the voluntary sector” with social care facing the most cuts – £15m of the total £30m cuts.

South Jesmond Councillors Kerry Allibhai and Felicity Mendelson stressed that these cuts, being largely aimed at social care, would have less effect on the Jesmond area due to the large student population. Cllr Allibhai expressed concern for the student population of Jesmond under the national and local budget cuts, and suggested it would take a year after the cuts are imposed to see the true effect on students. “It’s important that we look after our students to protect Jesmond’s vibrancy,” she told JesmondLocal.

Cllr Mendelson stressed the effect of the budget cuts on social care and disabled members of the community. Social care before the cuts was aimed at helping the disabled with their wellbeing, while under these cuts “[social care is] to merely keep them from harm.” Cllr Mendelson said she expects more people to go into care because of the cuts.

One way Jesmond is already responding to the proposed budget cuts to social care is through community driven support groups such as Dementia Friendly Jesmond, launched in July of this year, which aims to educate others about dementia and ways to help those that suffer from it. Jesmond Library also holds monthly wellbeing events that will help offset the effects of the budget cuts on the Jesmond population.

26% of the total potential cuts are to be taken from local libraries, with 29 jobs lost. The Jesmond Library faced closure in 2013 and was spared by the community and a group of volunteers. Volunteer-run since September 2013, Jesmond Library will continue as normal after these cuts, leaving it with more hours than the city-run libraries expected to be affected. “It’s about communities doing what they can… Jesmond is very resilient,” Cllr Mendelson said.

The finalised cuts of £30m were announced at the end of 2015, with a total of £100m in cuts to be implemented between 2016-2019. Newcastle City Council is encouraging residents to review the 2016/2017 budget, which can be reviewed on the City Council website, and will be running a consultation on Let’s Talk Newcastle until 31 January, 2016. The finalised budget will go into effect in March 2016.