£50m in cuts as residents face bigger bills
BIRMINGHAM’S beleaguered city council is to make £50 million in cuts next year as leader Ian Ward rejected the Prime Minister’s assertion that austerity is coming to an end.
The authority this week revealed its 2019/20 budget proposals will include a huge 4.99 per cent council tax rise, more than 120 council job losses and £18 million of “new” cuts.
The proposal means residents living in Band D properties in Birmingham could likely pay around £65 more per year to the council – and that does not include precepts for other services such as police and fire and rescue service.
But crucially the council will use no reserves to balance its books next year following a formal warning from auditors after it burned through more than £116 million in the last two years.
It is set to plunder its funds to the tune of at least another £30 million this year.
Councillor Ward said: “Although the Prime Minister has claimed austerity is over, it is not over from a local government perspective, certainly not from the numbers we are presenting.
“This is still the most challeng- ing period in Birmingham Council’s history.”
Cllr Ward said by the end of the year the council will have lost £690 million of its funding since 2010.
Up to £86 million needs to be slashed over the next four years including £50 million in 2019/20.
That figure includes £32 million of cuts previously announced and £18 million of new savings proposals.
Since 2010 the workforce has also shrunk from around 25,000 staff to 10,000. The job cuts figure quoted for 2019/20 and beyond was 122, rising to 204.
Cllr Ward stated he was “under no illusions” that many residents will be affected by the budget proposals but vowed to listen to the feedback, pointing out that the council tax increase was reduced last year following the consultation.
The 4.99 per cent increase for 2019/20 is the maximum rise City allowed before triggering a referendum and also includes a two per cent social care precept.
Cllr Ward declared the budget would take the council in the direction of the “culture change” required by the authority to actually deliver on its savings proposals – the budget for the current financial year is forecast to be £12.9 million overspent after just six months.
But the leader told members that the Birmingham was not in the same position as Northamptonshire County Council which notoriously ran out of money and had new spending blocked.
He added: “With the Prime Minister saying austerity is at an end, what I think she now needs to do is demonstrate that austerity is at an end for local government because there is no sign of that at the moment.
“It is our absolute determination that we deliver value for money.
“It’s interesting that back in 2010 all the polling was indicating that people actually supported the idea of making spending cuts in order to balance the nation’s budget. That’s flipped over now.
“People have become tired of this ongoing period of austerity and people want to see a different solution in the future and that means bringing an end to the cuts.”
This is the most challenging period in Birmingham City Council’s history Council Leader Ian Ward