Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, has welcomed the announcement that Birmingham will be one of 16 councils to pilot community-based budgets.
He said: “Pooling budgets for families with complex needs will allow us to protect some of the most vulnerable in our city. We have considerable experience in working with our partners in targeting family intervention and support. Taking into account the current economic climate and the need for agencies to work together this announcement will allow us the flexibility to continue to support the families most at risk.
“We need to deliver more for less across the public sector – saving money but achieving even better results for residents. If we are to achieve this then we need to work ever more closely together and engage local communities in tackling problems at source. This prototype will help demonstrate how this can be achieved across the country.
“Looking at the wider announcements today, it is important to understand that this review is just the start of the process; we will not know how much money Birmingham will be granted until the local government settlement in December. We will then set a budget in March which will clarify how we intend to implement changes in funding for the year ahead.
“We will need to make some difficult decisions but, as always, we will do this with fairness – protecting those in our city who are most in need of our services. We are confident we can take on this challenge without unduly damaging frontline services.”
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