Title: Sandwell’s Budget Consultation: Now With Even More Pre-Decided Decisions!
Every year, Sandwell Council releases its shiny “budget consultation” and every year residents are treated to a survey that looks like it was designed by someone who fears what residents might actually say.
Once again, we have a consultation that looks like engagement, smells like engagement, but behaves much more like performance art. Lovely posters, polished webpages, forced-choice surveys, and absolutely no room for actual influence.
Because why ask residents what they think when you already know what you want them to say?
Sandwell’s Annual Black Hole: £17–20m and Counting
For the third year running, Sandwell has magically rediscovered a £17–20 million budget gap. Not a one-off. Not a freak occurrence. More like:
“Alexa, repeat last year’s financial crisis.”
And every year, the same four options appear:
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Raise council tax.
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Increase charges.
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Cut neighbourhood services.
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Raid the reserves like you found the cheat code.
It’s like a financial washing machine stuck on spin cycle.
The Consultation: A Masterclass in Answer Control
Residents are invited to take part in a survey bursting with creativity such as:
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Forced ranking.
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Agree/disagree boxes.
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Small text boxes designed for tiny opinions.
All the tools you need to create the illusion of choice without actually offering one.
Residents can select from four flavours of pain, but heaven forbid anyone suggests doing something different.
This isn’t consultation.
This is choreography.
Cabinet Approved the MTFS Before Consultation Even Launched
According to the Council’s own timeline, Cabinet approved the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy before the consultation started.
Imagine asking the public to comment on a decision after you’ve already printed the brochures.
But fear not! The Council assures us this is “transparency.”
Councillor Horton Responds… Politely
To be fair, Cllr Horton responded very politely. No complaint there. He’s clearly doing his best with the script he’s been handed.
But the response boiled down to:
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“We promoted it widely.”
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“We used multiple channels.”
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“Lots of people saw the video.”
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“The survey went to many groups.”
Yes, true.
BUT everyone still got the same restricted questions.
Promotion ≠ Participation.
Reach ≠ Choice.
You can give thousands of people the same limited options — the options are still limited.
The Alternatives That Never Made the Cut
This is the bit the Council hopes residents don’t notice.
Sandwell could choose internal reform over resident taxation and service cuts.
Other councils already do.
Here are the real alternatives your consultation did not show:
A. Management & Corporate Reform – £6–8m
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10–15% reduction in senior management tiers
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Combine overlapping teams
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Reduce agency staff reliance
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Forced cashable savings from Oracle Fusion
These are not radical ideas. They’re standard practice.
B. Better Use of Council Assets – £3–5m
Instead of letting empty buildings sit like forgotten props:
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Let them out commercially
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Create workspace hubs
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Lease land properly
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Expand filming and event income
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Encourage enterprise rather than dust
C. Procurement & Digital Efficiencies – £3–4m
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Regional procurement
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Shared services
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Reduced contract duplication
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Proper digital automation (not just writing “efficiency” in a report)
D. Debt & Capital Review – £1–2m
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Refinancing expensive PWLB loans
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Slowing non-essential capital schemes
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Using internal borrowing when available
E. Controlled Reserve Use – £3–5m
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£1 reserve = £2 recurring savings within 2 years
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No more giant single-year withdrawals
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Use reserves for transformation, not patching holes
Total Potential Savings: £16–24m
Enough to close the gap without new bin charges, stealth taxes, or “modernisation” of services that just means “less for more.”
Yet none of these options were shown to the public.
Why? Because Real Alternatives Create Real Debate
And as long as the consultation only includes four predictable options, the Council gets predictable answers.
The whole exercise feels like a budget quiz where the only answers allowed are the ones printed on the Council’s answer sheet.
This isn’t consultation.
This is theatre.
This Isn’t About Attacking Individuals
But the process needs fixing.
A real consultation would:
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offer alternative scenarios
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include internal reform options
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start before decisions appear in the MTFS
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give residents real space to comment
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publish “What We Heard / What We Changed”
Until then, residents are simply extras in someone else’s performance.
#Sandwell #SandwellCouncil #LocalGovernment #Budget2026 #CouncilTax #MTFS #BudgetConsultation #PublicEngagement #ResidentsVoice #DemocraticDeficit #LocalPolitics #CommunityMatters #Accountability #FinancialReform
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