"Wendy Collymore had experienced first-hand the impact of the council's cost-cutting drive on the UK's second largest city when the adult day centre her elderly father attended was forced to close in 2024. It was awful to me personally, for my dad, but for the staff as well, the 65-year-old said. It was really sad. You had service users crying, saying: I don't want to go.' It was soul-destroying."
"The council issued a section 114 notice declaring effective bankruptcy in September 2023, blaming a 760m equal-pay liability, a botched IT system and 1bn in cuts over the previous decade of Conservative government. In response, the council put forward a massive cost-cutting drive, a 750m asset sale programme and a 17.5% rise in council tax bills over two years. The city has also been dealing with the impact of a more than year-long bin strike after the council slashed pay and jobs."
Birmingham City Council issued a section 114 notice declaring effective bankruptcy in September 2023, citing a 760m equal-pay liability, a botched IT system and 1bn in cuts over the previous decade. The council implemented a cost-cutting programme that included a 750m asset sale plan and a 17.5% rise in council tax bills over two years. Cuts forced closures of community services, including an adult day centre in 2024, and threatened libraries and youth centres. Pay and job reductions prompted a more-than-year-long bin strike, and Unite members voted to extend strikes beyond May into September. Campaigns formed to protect community assets.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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