U-turn on rat catchers and arts as council tax rises by 4.99%

BIRMINGHAM City Council has backtracked on controversial moves to introduce charges for dealing with rats as well as cuts to crossing patrols and arts funding – but residents still face paying more tax.

The authority has published its revised 2019/20 budget proposals which still include a 4.99 per cent increase in council tax – about £65 for those in a Band D property.

The authority needs to save £46 million next year – down from original estimates of £50 million – rising to £85 million over the next four years up to 2022/23. The council also expects to see its workforce shrink by 1,000 staff in that period.

The £46 million figure included £18 million worth of ‘new cuts’ which had not previously been consulted on.

Council Leader Ian Ward said the authority had ‘listened’ to residents during a public consultation on the budget plans, which attracted more than 870 online responses.

Some of the key changes include:

Axing a proposal to introduce a £25 charge for dealing with rats in homes and gardens. The service will remain free.

Maintaining

funding

for

the 189 priority crossing patrols when it was previously put forward to remove it.

Slashing proposed cuts of £1 million to arts and culture organisations to £500,000. There will also be a new £2 million ‘arts endownment’ pot to support them.

Removal of HIV and TB support services will be phased over a number of years, rather than fully implemented in 2019/20.

Other revisions include maintaining white goods through welfare provision and keeping the tourist information centre open.

However, Cllr Ward confirmed other high-profile ideas, such as dimming street lights by a ‘margin- al amount’, increasing bulky waste and green waste collection fees and reducing funding in fly-tipping enforcement by £300,000 would still go ahead.

On the latter proposal he stated there would be an increase in the number of staff who can issue fixed penalty notices, meaning there would not be a drop in prosecutions.

Cllr Ward said: “We consulted on our budget proposals in the weeks leading to the end of the last calendar year.

“We have listened, as we always do, to the feedback from that consultation and we are proposing a number of changes to those pro- posals in response to what people have told us.”

The leader stated the council was under continuing financial pressure due to the reductions in government funding, which totals £690 million in the past ten years.

But he said the city faces a ‘golden decade’ thanks to the Commonwealth Games, the arrival of HS2 and major developments such as Smithfield.

Cllr Ward added: “It feels like the impact on the city council’s budget is less this year than has been in previous years, although I would very much caution that we are not out of the woods here because of uncertainty around Brexit.”