City hall bosses plan £148m spending cut in budget
BBCBirmingham City Council has announced fewer bin collections, dimmed streetlights and less road maintenance will be among measures to help balance its books.
The authority is planning to cut about £148m of spending while increasing council tax by 7.49% in the coming financial year.
It effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023, and was forced to find at least £300m in savings and sell assets worth £750m by April 2026.
But its Labour leader John Cotton said he was working to ensure the council's finances would be in a more stable position next year.
The latest cuts announced include:
- £43m cut from adult social care services
- £40m cut from the children's social care services
- £20m cut from city operations - which includes things like bin collections and pest control, leisure centres and events
- £18m from housing
The authority made £149m of the £300m planned savings last year - including cuts to arts funding in the city, the closure of some libraries, reduced bin collections and the closure of four day centres for adults with learning difficulties.
The council does, however, think it will need to make an additional £30m of savings in 2026.
"Nobody wanted to be in the position where we took those big council tax rises that we have had to make," Mr Cotton said.
"Clearly we are in a different position with the 7.49% this year to where we were previously.
"As you'll see in the budget papers we're committed, going forward, that we remain in the referendum limit for the following year."
Robert Alden, the Conservative opposition leader, said: "It's good to see Brummies are getting a slightly lower council tax [increase] but what we've got to remember is the bigger context here.
"This is an administration that put up council tax 73% since they took over in 2012.
"That's an extra £814 on the average council tax bill in this city, and yet what are residents getting for that more money? Less services."
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