Service cuts and tax hike approved by city council

Birmingham residents are set to pay more council tax from April, despite cuts to adult social care, library closures, and reductions in bin collections.

The cuts, which also include a reduction of about £148m in spending, were announced during the authority's annual budget meeting.

Council leader John Cotton apologised for the agreed 7.5% tax rise, but said the authority was now "moving in the right direction".

Protesters, including striking refuse workers and residents, had gathered outside the council's headquarters as the meeting took place, to express their anger over the authority's decisions.

The Labour-run council effectively declared itself bankrupt in September 2023 and was forced to find savings of at least £300m, in addition to selling assets worth £750m, by April 2026.

The council tax rise follows last year's increase of just below 10%.

Robert Alden, Conservative opposition leader, said it had been a "hugely disappointing day".

He criticised the "double whammy on Brummies" as they are being hit by tax rises and reduced services.

The Labour administration had "directed savings to the back office" rather than "protecting frontline services", Alden said.

Cotton has promised council tax would not rise again next year and insisted the authority continued "to be on the side of the people of Birmingham".

There was "still much to do" in terms of the authority's recovery, he said, but he remained optimistic.

""I am determined to put things right," he said.

Addressing the ongoing strike action among refuse workers, Cotton said: "We are determined to reach a settlement with our workforce, but the dispute will not slow down the progress of change."

The council would "do whatever it takes" to establish a "modern, efficient and reliable" waste service, Cotton said.

However in response, Alden said: "Under Labour's budget litter will go up, bins will go fortnightly and rats will spread".

The sight of streets filled with rubbish discourages investment in the city, Alden added.

Councillors from the opposition parties used the meeting as an opportunity to make grim predictions for the Labour-run authority ahead of next year's city council election.

Roger Harmer, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, argued Labour's time running the city was "coming to a close".

However, Cotton reminded councillors the financial crisis was "14 years in the making", through cuts made by a Conservative government.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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