Birmingham City Council is facing renewed pressure to scrap its controversial ‘rat tax’ as the city grapples with ongoing bin strikes.
The council’s licensing and public protection committee has been urged to abolish charges for rat control treatments, which were introduced last year.
Conservative councillor Adam Higgs has called for the removal of the fee, warning that uncollected waste during the current strikes could lead to increased rat problems across the city.
The charges, previously a free service, were introduced as part of the crisis-hit authority’s budget cuts last year, which affected various services including bin collections and libraries.
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A Birmingham City councillor warned that uncollected waste during the current strikes could lead to increased rat problems across the city
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The council’s licensing and public protection committee has been urged to abolish charges for rat control treatments
PA
Councillor Carmel Corrigan highlighted the added risks from the current waste crisis, noting: “The current situation with waste adds an additional dimension to the potential issues that we have with rats.”
Councillor Higgs emphasised that residents shouldn’t pay for a problem not of their making during the strikes.
Council officials defended the charges, with director Sajeela Naseer explaining the free service had cost the authority around £400,000 annually.
“We followed a lead that has been shown by other local authorities across the country,” Naseer told the committee.
While acknowledging a drop in service use, she reported no increase in rat-related complaints to environmental health.
The city is currently grappling with ongoing bin strikes
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The council believes residents are now treating rat problems themselves, purchasing poison from online suppliers and hardware stores.
A consultation on a new operating structure for pest control is currently underway.
The committee ultimately voted to reject the proposed charge increase, backing the amendment put forward by Councillor Higgs.
However, Green Party councillor Julien Pritchard warned that similar amendments had been overturned at full council level last year.
“My plea would be to those members who vote for it here to also follow through on that and vote for it at council as well,” he said.
The council’s financial challenges stem from various issues, including an equal pay dispute and problems with a new IT system.
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