Birmingham Council has announced it will cut its housing budget by around £30 million over the next four years.
The move is part of widespread cost-saving measures by the council, which will see it save a total of £230 million by 2014. It aims to save £120 million during this tax year.
The council, which owns 68,000 homes, said it was unable at this stage to say where the cuts would fall or how many jobs could be lost as a result.
It will consult with trade unions in early August about the changes.
John Lines, Birmingham’s cabinet member for housing, said cuts were inevitable because the government ‘hasn’t got much public money left’. ‘We recognise that there’s no money but we have to take a responsible view of the situation,’ he added.
Roger Jenkins, regional organiser for the GMB Union, said these cuts would affect the lowest paid members of the housing department. ‘We haven’t been told about any specific job losses yet, but we think it will be significant.’
In a statement, the council said it had achieved savings of more than £36 million across the board last year thanks to the negotiations with contractors.
The bulk of the total came through a new contract for housing repair, maintenance and gas servicing - £30.9 million cheaper than the previous deal.