Residents, businesses and community groups across Sandwell are being invited to have their say on budget proposals that will help shape the future of council services.
Sandwell Council has launched a public consultation on its draft Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), which sets out how the council plans to balance its budget while continuing to invest in key services over the coming years.
The draft strategy includes significant investment in services facing growing demand, including an additional £20million for adult and children’s social care and £8million for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) home-to-school transport.
The council faces increasing financial pressures from inflation, higher service costs and rising demand, particularly in social care and SEND services. The MTFS outlines a range of savings and income generation proposals that would allow the council to meet its legal duty to set a balanced budget for 2027/28.
Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services Councillor Gary Dale said: “We’re committed to looking after every penny of taxpayers’ money and making our services more efficient.
“We will spend more next year on things that matter to people in Sandwell like social care for children and our older, disabled and vulnerable residents.
“We will also continue to prioritise tackling illegal activity and making Sandwell safer by addressing anti-social behaviour, stopping fly-tipping, closing shops that act illegally, making our high streets safer and tackling nuisance in properties with multiple households.
“We are asking people what they think about how the council spends money. We want to hear from residents, businesses and community groups about where they think we should invest more, what they think of our savings proposals and what impact any changes may have.
“This will help us decide how to use our budget for the next financial year, starting in April 2027.”
The consultation runs until 25 November 2026.
Feedback from the consultation will help shape the final budget proposals, which will be considered by Cabinet and then by Full Council in February 2027.
Sandwell Council spends more than £1billion a year delivering services to residents and businesses.
The draft MTFS proposes £37.7million of investment in services for 2027/28, including additional funding for adult social care, children’s services and SEND transport.
Final budget proposals will be presented to Cabinet on 3 February 2027 and Full Council on 23 February 2027.