Budget Challenge: Consultation on how would you prioritise the city council’s spend?
Birmingham: An interactive webpage has been launched by Birmingham City Council to get people thinking about how they wish the organisation’s budget to be prioritised to best meet their needs.
The webpage contains a series of sliders, which enable visitors to adjust the amount spent on key services provided by the city or alter the income generated via chargeable services or Council Tax.
A completed submission on the council’s strategic resourcing can only be made when the numbers balance – so if more is spent on one service, that needs to be offset by reductions in other areas.
The submissions will be considered by the council and help inform decision-making ahead of the finalisation of the 2022/23 budget, which will be presented to elected members in February of next year.
Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “For many years the council has consulted on its proposed budget and financial plan, but we want to change the focus so people can see for themselves how tricky it is to prioritise services when there is only a finite amount of money available.
“This will hopefully give people a better understanding of the challenge we have faced over the last decade, during which public sector funding has been dramatically reduced and we have faced an unprecedented global pandemic.
“Despite this, we have a golden decade of opportunity ahead of us thanks to projects such as HS2 and our decision to bid for and secure the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, but we need to do this in a way which meets the needs and priorities of people in all parts of the city. The way in which we allocate the council’s budget is a key part of this.
“It only takes a few minutes to take on the Budget Challenge on our website and I would urge as many people as possible to let us know what is important to them, as that will help our decision-making processes.”
To take part in the Budget Challenge, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/brumbudget22
