Birmingham City Council must save 200 million pounds to deal with financial crisis
It's after the council declared itself essentially bankrupt
Birmingham City Council must find savings of 200 million pounds over the next two financial years, due to it's "precarious financial position"
This means delivering £165m of savings in the 2024/25 financial year and delivering an additional £35m of savings in the 2025/26 financial year.
A report has been published ahead of cabinet committee on 14 November a forecast budget gap for future financial years that the city council must address, with the expected gap of £164.8m in 2024/25, rising to £177.1m in 2025/26.
The Cabinet has been asked to endorse the savings targets and commit to delivery of the budget.
It's after the authority declared itself essentially bankrupt in part over a £760m equal pay bill.
But Commissioners, who were appointed by the Government to help run the local authority, said: "There has been very limited progress in developing options to close the budget gap for 2024/25 and subsequent years."
They added that the Council must now identify viable savings options for the next two years "at pace".
Cllr John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We need to be absolutely transparent about the situation the council is in and this report confirms the figures we have already made public in terms of the budget shortfall we face after a decade of cuts and recent rampant inflation.
“The cabinet and leadership team are focussed on working with commissioners to meet these challenges and get the council on a road to improvement. We know it will not be easy and we will have to make very difficult decisions about where money is spent and invested – and what we can no longer afford to do.
“We will continue to be open about the position we are in, however difficult those conversations will be, and what it means for the city.”
Budget proposals will be developed in line with the 2024/25 budget setting process, and the public will be engaged as part of this process.