On Tuesday evening (February 28), Birmingham City Council passed its budget for the year ahead, setting out how we will be spending £3.2 billion on services across the city, covering everything from rubbish collection to schools, and street cleaning to adult social care.

Setting the budget is a huge challenge, especially at a time of economic uncertainty, rising costs, and increased demand for the council’s support. I am proud of the budget that the council has passed, as it will deliver on the priorities of the people of Birmingham.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, we have earmarked a further £6 million which will be used to support vulnerable adults in the year ahead. This is on top of the £5 million that we set aside last autumn to support people across the city, setting up Warm Welcome Spaces, supporting food banks, and helping people to claim the benefits that they are entitled to.

Alongside this, we have redoubled our efforts to keep our streets clean and tidy, making our Mobile Household Recycling Centres a permanent feature, and bringing in a free bulky waste collection for every household with an assisted collection. This will benefit nearly 10,000 households across the city. We have also put more investment into fly-tipping response crews and clean-up teams to make our communities more pleasant for everyone.

Our budget also sets out how we are going to invest in every ward in the city, through a new £1.01 million fund which will see £10,000 invested in single-member wards and £20,000 invested in two member wards. Councillors will work with their residents to decide where this money should be spent.

We are also expanding the trial of Neighbourhood Action Co-ordinators, meaning that our councillors will have a local council officer that they work closely with to deliver the action that residents want to see.

Despite the challenging economic circumstances, Birmingham has delivered a balanced budget for the year ahead that focuses on the priorities of the people of the city. Together, we will build a cleaner, safer and better Birmingham for everyone.

This blog was published on 1 March 2023