Almost 50 cuts or money-generating measures proposed

Raising almost £600,000 by fining more motorists for dangerous driving and cutting school transport are among the measures that will be discussed by Bradford Council’s Executive at a meeting on Tuesday.

Charges for garden waste bins are likely to rise, and the Council will save £1.6m by “using voice automation, robotic process automation and other digital technology” for customer services.

The Council’s leader says while many of the cuts will be efficiency savings, the local authority "will inevitably still have some very tough decisions to make". 

It comes as the Council faces a £140m budget gap in the current financial year.

Earlier this year it was announced that the authority had been granted “exceptional financial support” by the Government to avoid bankruptcy.

This would allow the authority to use money from the sale of assets to prop up its budget. It could also loan money to stay afloat.

A report going before the Council’s Executive says: “It is currently forecast that it will take at least another five years (to 2029/30) for the Council to become financially sustainable which at this stage is likely to require a total capitalisation direction of £573m.

“This will require the Council to deliver circa £40m of additional savings each year over that period, along with many other financial actions.”

The Council has already identified around 160 assets it plans to sell off to help reduce its budget deficit.

Next week a number of these properties, including the former Rhodesway Pool, will go under the hammer at a property auction.

Cuts and savings included in the document include

• Amendments to the Post-16 transport policy, which is expected to save £300,000. This would involve young people who are currently offered Council-arranged transport to and from school and college instead receiving a yearly transport allowance to make their own arrangements.
• Cuts to certain school bus services, including the removal of dedicated bus services to St Bede’s and St Joseph’s and Bingley Grammar School from September 2025. This is expected to save £200,000 a year.
• £1.38m will be saved by dimming LED streetlights across the district.
• A “remodelling” of the street cleansing and parks service will save £1.5m. This will include the removal of numerous small waste bins to be replaced by much larger bins.

Larger bins will replace smaller bins in town and city centres (Image: Bradford Council)

Other proposals in the report look to generate additional income for the cash-strapped Council.

These include

• An increase in charges for green waste collections. Raising the annual cost of the service from £53 a year to £61 a year will raise £400,000
• New car parking charges will bring in an additional £1.2m a year
• An increased focus on “tackling dangerous driving” will raise £580,000 a year. The report points out that the Council was recently given powers to fine motorists for traffic offences such as stopping in a yellow box. There is currently enforcement in two areas the junction of Godwin Street and Sunbridge Road (yellow box infringements) and Shipley/Airedale Road and Leeds Road (no right turn). The report says enforcement will be rolled out at additional sites over the next four years.

As well as the cuts proposed by the Council, the report to the Executive also details more than £16m worth of savings that will be made by the Children and Families Trust – an arm’s length trust that runs Bradford children’s services but is funded by the Council.

Savings proposed by the Trust include a reduction in employing expensive agency social workers, which is expected to save £3.2m, and reducing the number of children in care.

There are currently 1,398 children in the care of Bradford Council – the trust aims to reduce that to 1,335 by March. This could save over £7m.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “We have to make significant savings and are doing all we can to achieve them through efficiencies, innovation, finding better ways of working and maximising our income rather than service reductions.

"However, we will inevitably still have some very tough decisions to make.

“We’re working hard to ensure a stable financial future for Bradford Council and we are being clear with residents about what we will have to do to achieve this.

“Bringing these savings proposals forward now means we have time to have meaningful consultation with residents ahead of the overall budget setting in February next year.”