Greens’ hard work pays off in budget that delivers for Bristol

Bristol City Council budget for 2026/27, as proposed by Green Council Leader Tony Dyer, “makes sure we get the basics right while also investing in Bristol’s future”, and shows that “Greens in power are making a real difference.”

The budget was referred by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee yesterday to be voted on at a meeting of the Full Council on Thursday 12th February.

Cllr Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, said, “After years of austerity and the unsustainable finances left behind by Bristol Labour, last year’s budget was all about setting the council on a sound financial footing whilst also investing in core service areas that the previous administration had neglected.

“This year, I am pleased to say that after nearly two years in power, the Greens have been able to not only achieve financial stability, but are now putting forward a budget that makes sure that we get the basics right while also investing in Bristol’s future.”

“Not only have we been able to protect the Cultural Investment Programme and Bristol Impact Fund, which provides grants for community organisations and charities, we are investing in reopening public toilets, restoring services to clear flytipping, improving recycling collection services, making council houses warm and safe, preventing homelessness, fixing potholes and building social housing.

“However, these are only the fine details of a budget that will invest over £850m into our city over the next year, delivering core services for children and adults, providing decent, affordable homes, enabling safer transport, protecting our environment, and creating improved educational performance and skills opportunities, which will lead to fulfilling careers.

“I cannot overstate what an achievement this is. While councils across the country are facing financial uncertainty, Greens in Bristol have made the decisions needed to get us to the point where we can begin to reverse some of the damaging cuts inflicted over years of austerity.”

“But the pressure is still there. One budget cannot immediately repair over a decade of cuts. The need for key services like children’s and adult social care is increasing at a rate that all councils are struggling to keep up with, and requires urgent attention and solutions from the national government.

“And while we welcome extra money from the Government over the next three years, it’s important to know that this additional funding comes not from the Treasury, but from effectively forcing the council to make the maximum increases in council tax alongside the greater retention of the business rates collected from the local residents and businesses of Bristol.

“Rather than the claimed additional money coming from the Labour government, the reality is that direct government grants are in fact being cut by over 60%. It is the people of Bristol, both at home and at work, who are providing the additional funding allowing us to build a better future for our city.”

“Whilst we continue to invest in Bristol, Central government must do more to address these key issues. If the promise of devolution is to achieve its aims, then local councils like Bristol must be funded properly so that we can fully provide the opportunities our residents deserve.”

Key Budget Points

The budget, which has been voted through by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee, and will be debated by Full Council on the 12th of February:

• Protects the Bristol Impact Fund in full, which provides much needed investment to support local community organisations.
• Protects the Cultural Investment Programme for the next three years, which will provide funding for cultural organisations across the city.
• Protects the library budget in full.

Last year, Greens committed publicly to spending money in this year’s budget to reopen public toilets, and have confirmed £400,000 to begin this work.

Following the news that under Green leadership, the Council’s planning department has been taken out of special measures; this budget will also invest £300,000 in recruiting more planning enforcement officers to keep developments within the conditions of their planning approval.

In last year’s budget Greens committed to using extra money in the final Government settlement to tackle street litter and fly tipping, key issues affecting local residents, but this was vetoed by the other parties.

This year, the council will spend £400,000 on increasing the amount of street cleansing, and deliver an improved fly tipping collection, replacing services cut by the previous Labour administration which residents have strongly criticised.

The council will also invest £1.3 million over the next two years on improving recycling with better processing facilities and supplying improved waste containers to households.

Additionally, £0.7 million will go towards the Local Crisis Prevention Fund, which provides vital welfare support, and £0.2 million will go towards supporting carers’ breaks.

Homes and Housing

Cllr Barry Parsons, Chair of the Homes and Housing Policy Committee, said, “After years of neglect by the previous administration resulting in a damning judgement from the regulator of social housing on the state of our council housing stock, this Council has worked tirelessly to turn this around.

“In 2025, we invested £75 million to make council housing safer and warmer, and adapted nearly 2,000 homes so disabled people can live independently.

“We have also delivered the highest number of affordable houses that Bristol has seen in a generation, and started building 240 new council homes with thousands more planned.”

“This year, we plan to invest £203 million to tackle the housing crisis, continuing to improve council homes and investing in temporary accommodation so families experiencing homelessness can live with stability while they find a permanent home.”

Adult Social Care and Children and Young People

The vast proportion of the Council’s budget is taken up by providing adult and child social care and special education provision.

After Bristol saw costs for these vital sectors spiral under Labour, the Greens are working to transform the services to make them more efficient while still meeting the needs of the vulnerable people they serve.

Cllr Lorraine Francis, Chair of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee, said “By focusing on prevention and supporting vulnerable adults to be as independent as possible for as long as possible in their own homes and communities, the Council is reducing our costs while also improving the quality of life of those who need care.

“And by increasing our own in-house provision for supported housing, we will enable people to stay in Bristol without throwing council taxpayers’ money at expensive private care companies.

“Over the last several years Adult Social Care has improved performance and strengthened our workforce, with Ofsted referring to us as ‘safe, effective and well-led.”

“We will continue to push for improvement so that everyone who reaches out receives the support that they need.”

Cllr Christine Townsend, Chair of the Children and Young People Policy Committee, said,

“Significant progress has been made to improve Children’s services since Greens came to power. This has now been recognised by Ofsted and is down to the tireless dedication and hard work of our staff, who also report high levels of job satisfaction.

“In this budget, we will continue to invest in the care workforce, build more children’s homes, create more school places for children with special educational needs and create more homes for people with complex needs.

“As well as this, prevention is at the heart of this Green administration’s strategy. We have already invested in dozens more social workers to help stop families spiralling into crisis so children can stay with their parents more often, and our efforts to recruit more foster carers will save over half a million pounds over the next two years alone.

“And by building many more children’s homes, when children do need to go into foster or council care they can stay closer to their communities, in Bristol. Children in care are the most vulnerable people in our city and these measures are supporting their wellbeing, improving their life chances, and keeping costs down for the Council.

Environment and Sustainability

To help Bristol move towards net zero while delivering local benefits like cleaner air, lower bills and greener neighbourhoods, the council has also announced millions of pounds of investment to decarbonise council sites and support community energy.

In 2o25, Bristol was declared the best city in England on climate action as the council announced significant steps taken to decarbonise. The council has reported a 56% reduction in emissions over the whole city between 2005 and 2023, and an 88% reduction in the council’s own emissions between 2016 and 2025 thanks to investment in cutting energy waste and utility bills.

Cllr Martin Fodor, “Last year we raised £2million from local residents, who have invested in energy saving projects across council buildings and services, such as a respite care home for young people. This investment will provide them a return of capital and interest.

“We also raised almost £1 million from the lottery to support community action for nature recovery, and continue to work with our joint venture, City Leap, to decarbonise homes and public buildings. This is through measures such as expanding the low carbon heat network that supplies buildings in the city centre, and energy saving projects for council and private homes.

“This year, we will continue to invest to decarbonise council services and support community energy to ensure a clean, secure future for Bristol.”

Public Health and Communities

This budget also invests £1.7 million in playgrounds across the city, including water play in Hengrove and a new skate park in St George. It also protects the library budget in full, following years of cuts, while a new strategy is being developed.

Cllr Fi Hance, who sits on the Public Health and Communities Committee, said “This is a budget that prioritises people. We have protected the library budget in full while we look at how to make them work better for everyone, and have protected budgets for services that help domestic violence victims.

“We also continued to support groups working with the most vulnerable in society through the Bristol Impact Fund and the Community Resilience Fund, and are investing in opening a new youth hub in East Bristol.

Transport

Cllr Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and connectivity committee, said “We know that transport is a key issue for Bristol. Reliable buses, safe roads, better provisions for active travel.

“Over the last year, we have introduced new bus routes, extended night services, repaired key bridges ahead of schedule and installed 36,000 LED street lights to lower carbon emissions.

“This budget continues this work, investing £60 million into local transport measures, including over £3 million for maintenance of drains, line repainting and potholes. We are also investing £3m to repair the new cut walls.

“While we will continue to invest in the basics, we are also being hugely ambitious to rebalance Bristol’s transport system.

“We will continue to invest in liveable neighbourhoods, cycle lanes, pedestrianisation schemes and other measures to make sure Bristol’s transport network is rebalanced to be fairer and work for everyone.”

Notes:

1. Greens slam Labour claims about council funding – Bristol Green Party
2. Full budget papers – ModernGov – bristol.gov.uk