The window to offer your suggestions for Birmingham City Council’s budget for 2018 closes today.

While most of the council’s tentative decisions surround back-end logistics and efficiency, cuts to adult social care and childcare have faced criticism from residents.

At the public meeting held at the Council House last Wednesday, angry residents criticized the council’s proposed cuts to adult social care and plan to shut down all 14-day nurseries across the city.

Deputy Leader of the Council, Brigid Jones said that while the Council deeply regretted the proposed cuts, it was necessary to weigh the pros and cons of all plausible cuts and adopt the ones with the least negative consequences – a line of argument the Labour council unanimously agreed to.

Jacqueline Robinson, an active advocate for better social care for the differently abled called for the council to address the serious lags in services at care facilities:

“Requests to safeguard our basic rights is being ignored. I have been asking the council to join the citizens and go down to London and challenge the government,”

During the discussion, Robinson pointed out that there were reports of the disabled being left in the same nappy for 12–24 hours in some facilities, calling it an unacceptable breach of human rights:

“We are the sixth richest country in the world and there’s no reason why any adult should be left in an unchanged diaper in their urine and faeces. No one deserves that and it’s just not right,”

Responding to criticism, Ian Ward, the leader of the City Council has said that Birmingham and the United Kingdom as a whole need to reconsider its approach to adult social care to ensure supply meets the growing demand.

The Council has been pulled up for holding just one public meeting for budget consultation. Previously, this Labour council held four meetings while the Conservative Council held eight while they were in office.

Ian Ward, the leader of the council, drew attention to the dwindling attendance of these sessions and said that the conversation was taken online, to keep convenience and higher participation in mind.

Birmingham City Council will set its budget for this financial year on February 18th, after which consultations will be held to discuss the clauses and decisions taken for every sector.

Check our Twitter moments to know what transpired at last week’s public meeting:

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