Local residents are urging Birmingham City Council to axetheir ‘rat tax’ as ongoing bin strikes could worsen the rodent problem.
Charges for rat control treatments were implemented last year, yet the council’s licensing and public protection committee has been urged to abolish the fee.
Previously a cost-free service, financial hardship pushed the council to implement the ‘rat tax’ as budget cuts affected various services including bin collections and libraries too.
The monetary issues stem from an equal pay dispute and problems with a new IT system, alongside various other troubles.
However, Conservative councillor Adam Higgs has called for the charge to be scrapped due to the uncollected rubbish, amid the bin strikes, potentially increasing the number of rats across the city.
The cost for rat treatment in homes and gardens stands at £24, yet a review is taking place with proposals to increase this to £26.40. The service remains free for council tenants.
Tensions arose when the move was first introduced as one Tory councillor warned of a “golden decade for rats”.
Committee chair Sam Forsyth echoed these concerns, strongly opposing the charges, saying: “For what I hope are obvious reasons, nobody wishes to see this city overrun with rats. Rats carry disease and they frighten people.”
Another councillor, Carmel Corrigan, noted the link between the waste crisis and rats, warning: “The current situation with waste adds an additional dimension to the potential issues that we have with rats.”
However, council officials were quick to defend their choice to impose the charge, as director Sajeela Naseer explained 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. She also reported there was no increase in rat-related complaints to environmental health.
To tackle the rat issue, the council believes that locals are taking matters into their own hands by exterminating them using poison from online suppliers or stores.
A consultation on a new operating structure for pest control is reportedly underway.
