A report has been published ahead of cabinet committee on 14 November which sets out the council’s latest financial position and savings targets for the next two financial years, 2024/25 and 2025/26.
It sets out a forecast budget gap for future financial years that the city council must address, with the expected gap of £164.8m in 2024/25, rising to £177.1m in 2025/26. The precarious financial position the council is in means it is estimated that the council must find savings of £200m over the next two financial years.
This means delivering £165m of savings in the 2024/25 financial year and delivering an additional £35m of savings in the 2025/26 financial year. Cabinet has been asked to endorse the savings targets and commit to delivery of the budget.
Councillor John Cotton, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We need to be absolutely transparent about the situation the council is in and this report confirms the figures we have already made public in terms of the budget shortfall we face after a decade of cuts and recent rampant inflation.
“The cabinet and leadership team are focussed on working with commissioners to meet these challenges and get the council on a road to improvement. We know it will not be easy and we will have to make very difficult decisions about where money is spent and invested – and what we can no longer afford to do.
“We will continue to be open about the position we are in, however difficult those conversations will be, and what it means for the city.” Budget proposals will be developed in line with the 2024/25 budget setting process, and the public will be engaged as part of this process.
