A report from the Guardian following Eric Pickles’ council budget announcements says this:
On [14th December], Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, revealed that Birmingham faces a reduction in spending power of 8.32%, which is almost double the national average and just under the maximum amount to be imposed nationwide.
…
The reality is that Birmingham council estimates it needs to cut £300m in expenditure over the next four years, which translates into £300,000 for each working day. Plans have been announced to eliminate approximately 10,000 public sector jobs through redundancies and early retirement, which is devastating for a city with an unemployment rate already of 13.5%, well above the national average of 7.9%.
The full article is here
Birmingham has the highest unemployment rate of any city in the UK, and has 3 of the 5 parliamentary constituences with the highest rate of unemployment in the UK, but we will face almost the maximum budget cuts whilst wealthy constituencies face only a small reduction in spending resources.
Birmingham can ill afford to lose 10,000 council jobs with the knock on effects that the TUC has shown this will have [link].
Birmingham should not be facing cuts at all, there are alternatives to the cuts. Birmingham should certainly not be facing amongst the largest % reductions in spending in the UK. These cuts will harm the economy, both locally and nationally, and will hit the poorest hardest.
Birmingham Against The Cuts 