Birmingham City Council reveal details of massive budget cuts to young people's services

The cash-strapped Labour-run authority is embarking on the massive series of cuts due to an equal pay fiasco costing almost £1 billion, the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system and the impact of years of austerity.

The cuts to youth services are being planned despite a teenage knife-crime epidemic and the city being "the youngest in Europe".

The council faces an enormous budget gap of at least £300 million – with chief executive Deborah Cadman recently warning of ‘unpalatable’ decisions to come.

The crisis at the council has sparked fears of cuts to local services, hikes in council tax and job losses, sparking protests outside the council’s HQ amid concerns over expected cuts to youth services in the city.

The council’s budget proposal was finally published today (Monday) and it set out how the authority plans to cut over £100 million from the Children, Young People and Families directorate over the next two years.

The proposed ‘savings’ for next year include cuts to youth and careers services as well as support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). Total saving: £1.263m (£1m fund identified to be spent on youth services once full review carried out).

Early help services contract for children, young people and families. Total saving: £8.378m

Review of non-statutory transport packages for post-16 – £7.066m

Reduction of contract sum for Birmingham Children’s Trust. Total saving: £9m

Council leader John Cotton said: “What’s really important is that we use our statutory consultation processes to engage with families and to engage with citizens around how we take those proposals forward.

“But this is a very difficult budget to bring forward and we’ve very much aware of that and the decisions we have to take.”

He added: “We have no alternatives but to face these challenges head on. We will do absolutely whatever is necessary to put this council back on a stable and sound financial footing.

“The level of savings contained in these proposals are unprecedented and the council will continue to face financial pressures as it seeks to meet its wide ranging statutory duties and to protect those residents in the city most in need of support.”

He continued that the council needs to “fundamentally change” how it delivers its services.

Last week the campaign Save Birmingham Youth Service marched through Birmingham to the council house to protest against cuts amid a teenage stabbing epidemic in the city.

To highlight the danger of knife crime, as the council cut its £1m anti-knife crime budget, the protesters held a minute's silence for Muhammad Hassan Ali who was stabbed to death outside the council house last month.

Labour Councillor Kerry Jenkins said such services were “absolutely vital” to young people in the city.

She said: “Every young person should have access to youth services and to lose them in this city at the time would be an absolute travesty and disaster.

“Whatever happens at the budget meeting on March 5 we have to carry on fighting.”

Lee Wiggetts-Clinton, Unite regional officer, said the protest was about “saving the children and saving the future” and spoke about the impact youth centres have in their communities.

“These places are safe hubs for these people,” he said.

Leader of the Conservatives at BCC Robert Alden responded to the budget by saying: “These problems have been created by Birmingham Labour but it is Birmingham residents – and their children and grandchildren – who will pay the cost of fixing it.”

Councillor Ewan Mackey, Conservative deputy leader, added: “The cuts Birmingham Labour are proposing are deep and far-reaching – youth services, libraries, street cleaning, bin collections, school transport – little will go untouched and few people will be unaffected.”