Council housing proposal rejected as Walsall councillors approve maximum tax increase and £32 million cuts

Members were asked to rubber-stamp the finances for the upcoming year at a budget meeting on Thursday (February 26).

Councillors were able to debate amendments at the meeting, but, in an unprecedented move, were not allowed to debate the budget as a whole before taking the final vote.

Residents in Walsall will now face a 4.99 per cent increase in council tax which includes a two per cent precept ringfenced for adult social care costs.

Several amendments were put forward by opposition leaders including a proposal to make Walsall Council a social housing landlord again.

The proposal by Councillor Aftab Nawaz, leader of Walsall Community Independents, suggested amending the capital programme by £5m for the purpose of additional social housing.

Councillor Nawaz said: “Council housing in my opinion is essential for the people of Walsall. Can we rely on big registered social landlords [RSLs]? I don’t think so. I think they’ve let us down because we’ve got such a big backlog. This amendment would use money from the capital budget to invest in council housing.”

Leader of the council, Conservative Councillor Mike Bird, was "not prepared to support" the amendment.

He said: “This would be a retrograde step following the large-scale voluntary transfer so many years ago. We were the worst landlord in the world. We were paying out millions from Section 83 of the Housing Act.

“We decided to transfer the housing stock to the Beechdale Housing Association and then over to the current RSL. I will not and cannot ask anybody to support this. I think it is a really, really bad decision.”

Councillor Peter Smith (independent) ‘wholeheartedly’ supported the amendment. He said: “Apart from fly-tipping, the most serious problem in Blakenhall is housing shortages. The situation is so dire, they are now turning to scapegoats, turning to racism, saying ‘these asylum seekers are getting the houses not us’.

“The two key reasons people can’t get somewhere to live is the sale of council houses that reduce the housing stock dramatically, and secondly the failure of successive governments, Labour and Conservatives, to build properties over the last few years.

“We are seeing private estate after private estate being built, with a small proportion of affordable housing. We want housing for rent, not private rent.”

Leader of the labour group Councillor Matt Ward said: “For far too long we’ve neglected our duty in building homes. Every child deserves a safe and secure home.

“We see now that WHG is preparing for a merger with Aspire. What does it mean for tenants in Walsall?”

Councillor Adrian Andrew, deputy leader of Walsall Council, said: “If £5 million and doing this would solve the housing problems in Walsall, I would have proposed it myself. It is such a complex and difficult situation in terms of solving the housing crisis we’ve got. In terms of this council becoming a landlord, I can’t support that.”

Councillor Paul Bott added: “I was on the transfer 25 years ago. It was one of the best things that this borough could achieve. It improved the housing stock tremendously. It also gave tenants the right to run those organisations.

“What concerns me about WHG is when they’ve got auction signs outside the property. When we transferred we didn’t give it to WHG to auction off. So there’s less and less housing stock and you’re to blame for that.”

Councillors Graham Eardley, Sarah-Jane Cooper, Bobby Bains and Keir Pedley also spoke against the amendment. Councillor Vera Waters spoke in support.

Councillor Nawaz added: “The issue here is whether you believe in council housing or not. £5 million won’t solve everything but we need to make a start.”

The vote on the amendment was nearly neck and neck, with 22 in favour and 26 against it.

Councillor Matt Ward put forward an amendment to use £160,000 from the capital budget to buy a Hiab vehicle to support fly-tip removal.

The Labour leader said the authority is only in possession of one Hiab which leads to delays and further costs.

Councillor Ward said: “Flytipping is out of control. It undermines community pride and sends a message that nobody is in charge. Staff are working incredibly hard, the goodwill and hard work are not enough. If you want better outcomes we must provide the right tools.”

The cost of the new purchase will also require £133,930 from the 2026/27 revenue budget rising to £148,330 from the following year.

The group proposed that the initial costs are funded using the council’s reserves.

The amendment was approved after support from both the Conservatives and Walsall Community Independents.

'More pen pushers'

Councillor Ward’s second amendment was not as successful.

He proposed to create six full-time town centre manager posts to be based in Walsall, Bloxwich, Aldridge, Willenhall, Darlaston and Brownhills at a cost of £254,166.

Funding would be created by moving Streetly Library to the voluntary and community sector, saving £20,000, and the remaining would be found by realising savings by maximising efficiencies.

Councillor Smith said the amendment was "absolutely pathetic" and would result in "five more pen pushers with clip boards walking around the town centres".

Councillors Bobby Bains, Keir Pedley, Sarah-Jane Cooper, Mark Statham, Vera Waters and Adrian Andrew also spoke against the proposal.

Group leaders Councillor Bird and Councillor Nawaz both opposed the amendment and it was not carried into the 2026/27 budget.

Two amendments were submitted regarding bereavement services from Councillor Nawaz.

The first was to extend Sunday opening times (currently 9am - 10am) to be in line with Saturday hours (8.30am - 12pm).

Councillor Khizar Hussain said: “This has been a long time coming. We have been asking for the last few years on behalf of the Walsall community who have been suffering for many years.

“The last thing grieving families want is bureaucracy and red tape.”

Councillor Izzy Hussain added: “Increasing just a few hours' opening on a weekend will make a huge difference to our residents. I can’t stress what they have to go through just to get their loved one buried on time.”

The changes would result in an additional cost of £4,910 and be funded by the use of reserves in 2026/27.

Councillor Smith said: “I’m sorry it’s taken to bring it to full council to get approval, almost as if we’ve got a begging bowl, for £4,000 worth of services which should have been given years ago.”

With the support of the Labour and Conservative groups, the amendment was carried.

The final amendment by Councillor Nawaz was to reduce the out-of-hours burial fees by 25 per cent, costing £9,210.

However, due to a technical error it was withdrawn. Councillor Nawaz said he had been given an undertaking that a future notice of motion on the same would be accepted by the council leader.

The final amendment from Councillor Ward involved a £210,000 investment into youth services, but it was quickly withdrawn due to uncertainty.

When voting on the budget as a whole, members were not allowed to debate. Councillor Smith challenged the decision but was overruled by Councillor Bird.

Councillor Bird said: “You put an amendment forward so you disagree with one per cent of the budget, meaning you agree with 99 per cent of the budget. The amendments are the only items that have been disputed, which have now been agreed, job done.”

There were 47 members present at the meeting, out of a total of 60 councillors. Forty-five voted in favour of the budget, Councillor Smith voted against and Councillor Eardley abstained.