Birmingham City Council unveil devastating cuts for residents
It's set to cut millions to services, raise council tax and leave hundreds of jobs redundant.
Last updated 20th Feb 2024
The budget for the next year has been revealed by Birmingham City Council and it's set to be a challenge for residents.
It's set out cuts of 150 million pounds this year and another 150 million pounds for 2025/26.
Council Tax is set to be increased by 21 percent over the next two years as part of a way to balance the books.
Other cuts come to dimming streetlights to save around one million pounds, fortnightly bin collections from 2025, with pilot schemes of that taking place in "selected areas" and up to 600 job losses.
The biggest cut comes at Children, Young People and Family services with 51 million pounds to be cut this budget and another 63 million pounds in 2025/26.
Assisted transport for disabled young people and children will be cut my 13 million this year.
Unveiling the budget proposals on Monday February, 19, Council Leader John Cotton, said: "I want to apologise unreservedly for the significant spending reductions and this years substantial council tax increase.
"We have no alternative but to face these challenges head on.
"We'll do whatever is absolutely necessary to put this council back onto a stable and sound financial footing."
Cllr Robert Alden (Con, Erdington), Leader of the Opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said: "Birmingham Labour have hidden the details of their devastating cuts until the last possible moment.
"For an administration that had promised to be open and transparent, this is sadly exactly the kind of behaviour we’ve come to expect from Labour in Birmingham – symbolically underscored by the constant refusal to publish the draft budget and the letters they have sent saying they are not going to set a balanced budget without selling the city’s assets.
"The Labour group has been discussing their plan to gut the city's services for a year and yet have left it until the last two weeks to tell Brummies of their plan.”
“The impact of Labour’s double whammy of reduced services and significantly increased council tax – 21% over 2 years – will be particularly painful for residents and businesses in Birmingham.
"After promising a golden decade, this budget reveals Labour’s true legacy for Birmingham; fewer services, higher taxes, and more debt."
Liberal Democrats leader in Birmingham, Councillor Roger Harmer, said: “Birmingham Labour keep blaming the council’s financial woes on central Government cuts.
“It’s precisely because of these cuts that their failure to manage the council have been so damaging to our city.
“This council has faced the same headwinds as everyone else – Covid, rising interest rates, soaring inflation, a flatlining economy and Brexit.
“It’s their failure to manage Equal Pay, their failure to implement Oracle and their failure to manage the budget that has led to the disastrous situation that we now face.
“These failures are totally unacceptable, and entirely the fault of Labour.”
The budget's set to be discussed in a cabinet meeting on February 27, and a full council vote will be made on March 5.
This is the full breakdown of budget cuts for 2024/25:
Adult Social Care
Total Savings - ÂŁ23.709m for 2024/25 and forecast savings of ÂŁ52.861m for 2025/26
Review Care Packages - ÂŁ5.687m
• Review Care Centre Model - £0.346m
Review Day Centre Model - ÂŁ1.950m
• Review Enablement Service - £1.755m
• Review of social work teams and improve efficiencies - £1.501m
• Review of third sector inflationary uplifts - £4.464m
• Review and recommission third sector contracts - £1.600m
Transformation of Neighbourhood Advice and Information Service and Community Libraries:
ÂŁ1.260m
• Grant maximisation - £3.161m
Children, Young people and Families
• Cuts to careers, NEET and youth services, with £1m fund identified to be spent on you services once full review carried out - £1.263m
• Early Help Contracts for Children, Young People and Families - £8.378m
*• Children's Travel Transport Contracts Reprocurement - £13.700m
• Review of non-statutory transport packages for post-16 - £7.066m
• Reduction of contract sum for Birmingham Children's Trust - £9.000m
• Headcount reductions in Children and Families - £2.474m
City Housing
Total Savings - ÂŁ6.236m for 2024/25 and forecast savings of ÂŁ9.536m for 2025/26
• Increased property acquisition through HRA to fund Temporary Accommoda
• Workforce reduction including the deletion of vacancies - £1.650m
• Negotiating down B&B costs - £0.420m
Council management
Total Savings - ÂŁ11.872m for 2024/25 and forecast savings of ÂŁ24.395m for 2025/26
• Savings from reviewing and reducing Traded Services - £2.299m
• Insourcing enforcement work for some council tax, business rates and Business Improvement
• Increased tax collection - £3.840m
• Restructure of Corporate Procurement Service - £0.240m
Cease Local Welfare Provision Scheme - ÂŁ0.900m
• Voice Automation within Contact Centre Services - £1.490m
Digital and Technology Services Redesign - ÂŁ2.200m
• Restructure of Legal Services - £0.835m
Place, Prosperity & Sustainability
Total Savings - £8.365m in 2024/25 and forecast savings of €11.150m for 2025/26
Service re-design and restructure for whole directorate - ÂŁ4.365m
Service re-design and restructure for whole directorate - ÂŁ4.365m Reduction in Central Administrative Buildings Premises - ÂŁ1.000m
Increased income generation through lease and rent reviews and increase in planning fee income - ÂŁ1.500m
• European Affairs and Business Enterprise Teams to be self-financing and funded from external grant - £0.800m
Strategy, equalities and partnerships
Total savings - ÂŁ2.447m for 2024/25 and forecast saving of ÂŁ2.597m for 2025/26
• Consolidating services and teams, redesigning some divisions and managing vacancies - deletion of c.31 posts, including 39% cut to Cabinet Office - £1.780m
• Return non-pay inflation and other budget efficiencies - £0.667 m
Cross cutting
Total Savings - ÂŁ1.000m for 2024/25 and forecast savings of ÂŁ5.207m for 2025/26:
• Savings to be made through procurement contracts, the consolidation of counc functions and automation of manual processes - £1.000m