Council budget approved by 40 votes to 37, with £40m for cleaner streets

Birmingham City Council's budget for 2026/27, including an extra £130 million for frontline services, has been approved by councillors by 40 votes to 37.

The vote came at a reconvened full council meeting on 2 March, after the meeting on 24 February, where council leader Councillor John Cotton set out the budget, was adjourned before a final vote. Two amendments to the budget were also approved.

Where the money goes

The council now has a balanced revenue budget for the year ahead. The additional funding will:

• put an extra £40 million into cleaner streets;
• step up enforcement against fly-tipping;
• protect libraries and keep them open longer, with Community Hubs open an extra day every week;
• create a £1 million culture fund, supporting the city's City of Music bid and community events from St Patrick's Day to the Ramadan Streets Festival;
• spend a further £1 million on youth services to tackle knife crime; and
• support further action on exempt accommodation, the supported housing sector that has been linked to anti-social behaviour in parts of the city.

"Bankrupt Birmingham" behind it

The budget is the first since the council declared in February that it is no longer under a Section 114 notice. The notice, issued in September 2023, meant the council could not balance its books and led to government-appointed commissioners overseeing its finances.

"Thanks to two years of decisive action, tough choices, and a great deal of hard work by members, officers, and Commissioners - the Section 114 is gone, and we have ditched, once and for all, the tag of 'Bankrupt Birmingham'," said Councillor Cotton.

He said the council had closed a £300 million budget gap and tackled its equal pay liabilities, and was now "getting to grips with improving the services that the council provides for the residents of Birmingham".

"I am determined that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated," he said, adding that there would be "no backtracking on the progress that we have made over the last two years".

A close vote

The narrow margin, 40 votes to 37, shows how closely divided the council chamber remains as the recovery continues.

Councillor Cotton said the council would now step up its work with the regional mayor and the Government to invest in communities, delivering "the homes, jobs and services that the people of this city deserve".

The budget takes effect from April, at the start of the new financial year.

"We have reached an important milestone in the council's recovery and that is down to the sheer hard work that has been undertaken here in Birmingham by members and officers, supported by commissioners," Councillor Cotton said.