2HJJT74 DERBY, UK. JAN 30TH Blues players celebrate after Scott Hogan of Birmingham City scored a goal to make it 0-2 during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Birmingham City at the Pride Park, Derby on Sunday 30th January 2022. (Credit: Jon Hobley | MI News) Credit: MI News & Sport /Alamy Live News
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In order to save £300 million in spending, Birmingham City Council has announced that it will increase council taxes by 21% over the following two years.
The cost of burial will rise, rubbish collections will now occur every two weeks, and street lights will be turned down.
According to the local authorities, up to 600 job losses are still possible.
Since essentially declaring itself insolvent last year, the Labour-run council has been disclosing the specific cuts it has to make.
The council unveiled its plans to trim £150 million from its budget in 2024–2025 and the same amount in 2025–2026 in a briefing on Monday.
The introduction of twice-weekly waste collections is scheduled for 2025–2026; however, additional savings should be realized practically immediately.
Streetlight dimming is predicted to save around £1 million annually, while reducing highway maintenance costs may save as much as £12 million, contingent on the results of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI), a collaboration with the private sector.
In the upcoming fiscal year, there will be a £23.7 million reduction in adult social care, while the Children, Young People, and Families department will have to find £51.5 million in savings.
The council believes that renegotiating the travel agreements for kids might result in annual savings of £13 million.
John Cotton, head of the council
Council Leader John Cotton stated in the image caption that these were “extremely difficult decisions to make.”
The council requested approval from ministers in January to increase council tax by 10% for the following two years.
It was faced with equal pay claims of up to £760 million and an £80 million overrun on an under-fire IT system last year, which led it to submit a section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself bankrupt.
Independent commissioners were so appointed to assist in managing the council.
In response to “the council’s inaction” in resolving equal pay concerns, the GMB union, which is now organizing ballots for members to take strike action, announced that it now desired federal intervention to address the issue.
The GMB organizer, Racheal Fagan, stated, “Birmingham City Council seems to have a plan for slashing local services, but they don’t yet have a plan for settling equal pay.”
“Even though City Council leaders often emphasize that they must find budgetary savings in order to resolve historical equal pay claims, not a single cent of the money that was taken from working women’s earnings has been given back.
“We need to see urgent central government intervention on the equal pay crisis but instead, they’re trying to pass the cost onto ordinary Brummies.”
The difficulties, she continued, will become “a tragically familiar story across the country” if nothing is done to address them as more councils deal with declining resources and mounting equal pay debt.
Presenting grey line analysis by Birmingham-based BBC political reporter Simon Gilbert
These wounds are severe, profound, and pervasive.
There’s no avoiding the fact that residents of Birmingham will be impacted by these measures.
Not least because residents will lose hundreds of pounds as a result of a 21% increase in council tax over a two-year period.
We’ll see the results, though. Things that are likely to have an effect on the city’s appearance include cutting back on road and grounds upkeep as well as streetlight dimming.
However, the cuts that are not readily visible may have the most detrimental effects.
A total of £75 million in savings is expected for the budgets for Adult Social Care and Children, Young People, and Families.
These divisions typically serve as preventative measures, working with some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. There will be legitimate worries that these cuts might provide temporary benefits but long-term harm.
Grey line for presentation
Birmingham City Council has a debt of over £2.9 billion to lenders, which puts it in front of Leeds (£2.2 billion) and Woking (£1.9 billion).
Although specifics regarding the number of jobs that would be eliminated in each department are still lacking, a warning of up to 600 jobs might have been issued last year.
Deborah Cadman, chief executive, stated that no choices would be taken until after the comment period was over.
Council Leader John Cotton stated in a Monday speech that they were “extremely difficult decisions to make.”
“This is a big number we’re seeking to take out of the budget and clearly we know that these will have impacts on citizens in terms of services that they receive,” he stated.
“What we’ve sought to do in framing this budget is we mitigate the impact on the most vulnerable, so we’ve ensured that adult social care and children’s services take a much lower percentage cut.”
