The first devastating details of the cuts on their way in Birmingham have been revealed - and the impact on the most vulnerable is predicted to be catastrophic.
Children's services operated by Birmingham City Council are to be slashed by at least £59 million, including services for children with special needs, schools and early years services and social care. Another £21m will go in adult social care provision and social work.
Housing, including services for the homeless and housing management, is to lose £5.8m, while city operations services including highways, parks, bins and enforcement is to be cut by £29.2m. Transport and sustainability initiatives will also be slashed.
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The biggest percentage cut will come in council management services, with the current £31.3 million budget slashed in half, likely to be found mostly in job losses. The directorate includes HR, digital and customer services, legal and democratic services, finance, revenue, benefits and busines support.
The devastating outline of where the axe was about to fall was in an appendix belatedly attached to papers for a meeting of the council's Cabinet which met yesterday, Tuesday, December 12. Cuts totalling £149 million were set out, by directorate, in the single page document.
And the council has not finished finding services to cut yet - a further estimated £75m-worth of cuts are still to be allocated.
Council leader Cllr John Cotton described it as the biggest challenge facing the council in its history. Asked if his pledge several months back to ensure any cuts 'protected the vulnerable' could be fulfilled, he said it remained his priority.
"Undoubtedly this is the biggest challenge we have ever faced. We faced a big challenge in the first years of austerity, but this is much bigger than that.
"In drawing up the budget plan we need to minimise impacts as far as possible (on those people). People are dealing with multiple issues of cost-of-living, a crisis is emerging in other public services like health and policing, and there are changes in social security, so we are trying to navigate through this in the most sensitive way in accordance with our values as a Labour council and to mitigate the impacts on our most vulnerable, but there will be some tough decisions."
A full detailed budget has still not been published, months after the city council knew it was in dire straits. A full breakdown is expected 'within two to three weeks' that will finally identify where cuts will come.
Cllr Cotton said of the delays: "We are continuing to challenge the savings lines (put forward by officers) to ensure they are robust and can be delivered. The details will emerge in the next two to three weeks, to be followed by a budget consultation with residents and businesses to shape the final set of proposals."
What we know so far
A full breakdown of the savings identified so far was contained in a late appendix to a cabinet report about the finances. Of the £149m of cuts already found, the council has revealed which directorate they fall in, and which services are delivered. It bodes ill for the future of several services facing rocketing demand - including homeless services, support for vulnerable adults, and care for children. This is the full breakdown:
Adult Social Care - provision of Social Care and Principal Social Work, to be cut by £21.9 million out of a total budget of £903.4m, a cut of five per cent.
Children's Services - provision of Education and Early Years, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and Social Care, to be cut by £57.04m out of a total budget of £428.8m, a saving of 13.3 per cent.
City Operations - provision of regulation and enforcement, street scene, neighbourhoods, highways and infrastructure - cut of £29.2m, out of budget of £206.2m, a saving of 14.2 per cent.
City Housing - provision of housing management, homelessness - cut of £5.8m, out of £24.4m budget, a saving of 23.8 per cent.
Places, Prosperity and Sustainability - provision of corporate landlord services, transport and connectivity, sustainability and planning, to be cut by £9.07m, out of budget of £54.7m, a cut of 16.6 per cent.
Strategy, Equalities and Partnerships - provision of public health, communications, the Chief Executive's office, Cabinet office and City Observatory, to be cut by £2.6m, out of £8.2m, a cut of 31.7 per cent.
Council Management - provision of People (HR) Services, Digital and Customer Services, Legal and Democratic Services, Finance, Customer Services, Business Support, Revenues and Benefits to be cut by £15.6m, out of budget of £31.3m, a saving of 49.8 per cent.
Further cross-department savings of £8.5m have been identified including contract savings, consolidation, digital tools and automation. All local government was facing similar challenges linked to increased demand and higher bills to deliver services, said Cllr Cotton, highlighting the recent announcement by Nottingham City Council that it too was de facto bankrupt and has had to issue a Section 114 legal notice saying so.
But he accepted Birmingham had unique challenges linked to its catastrophic implementation of a new finance, procurement and HR digital set-up, and its failures to cut out discriminatory pay practices which have triggered an estimated £760m bill for payouts. The costs of equal payouts are not included in the £300m savings now planned.
Cllr Julien Pritchard, Greens, said of the cuts: "The amount of cuts being proposed will be horrendous for Birmingham residents. With a potential council tax rise also coming, Brummies will be paying much more for less.
“We still have no details about what’s going to go. However, it’s clear residents of this city are suffering the double whammy of national Tory cuts to councils, and local Labour mismanagement of what’s left, with residents losing many services they value. There appears to be no sign services will be protected. I’m really worried those with the least will suffer the most.”
The council has also confirmed it intends to ask the Government to give it special permission to raise council taxes above the current maximum allowed of 4.99 per cent, and ask that it can use money from selling off assets to pay for redundancies and equal pay liability costs.
Share your thoughts on this issue - email jane.haynes@reachplc.com Please get in touch if you work for the council or receive at-risk council services that you rely on
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