News / bristol city council

Council’s spare £900k going to the mayor’s office and reserves

By Betty Woolerton and Alex Seabrook  Thursday Jun 9, 2022

An unspent £900,000 from Bristol City Council’s budget last year will go towards reserves and the mayor’s office.

As the council spent less than it budgeted, questions have been raised about how that leftover money should be spent. Green councillors pressed for the money to go towards reopening public toilets, improving safety outside schools, and investing in parks, during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Despite a majority of councillors agreeing these spending priorities in February, when this year’s budget was set, the £900,000 will instead go into the council’s reserves and towards the mayor’s office, to be spent on things like a war memorial and a poet, according to the mayor Marvin Rees.

Independent journalism
is needed now More than ever
Keep our city's journalism independent. Become a supporter member today.

Details of how much money the council actually spent over the last financial year, compared to what was budgeted, were revealed in a recent cabinet report. The report showed the financial burden of Covid was less on the council than expected, and the council also received more income than expected from the NHS for providing adult social care services.

Some £400,000 will go to the mayor’s office and £500,000 will go towards the council’s reserves.

Leftover budget will be spent on to be spent on a war memorial and a poet – photo: Betty Woolerton

Heather Mack, leader of the Green group and Lockleaze councillor, said: “In February a majority of councillors voted to increase funding to improve safety outside schools, increase investment in local parks, and reopen public toilets. When faced with nearly a £1-million underspend last year, why should the money go to the mayor’s office and reserves, instead of what were clearly the democratic priorities of this chamber?”

Rees replied: “The mayor’s office works on delivering the democratic priorities as voted for by the people of Bristol—they voted for the mayor’s office and that’s what we do. This includes supporting the mayoral commissions and their work, events such as the Falklands war memorial this coming weekend, the city leadership programme, and the city poet.”

In February earlier this year, when the council set the current budget, councillors voted to approve several budget amendments including reopening public toilets, improving safety outside schools and investing in parks.

But despite a majority of councillors voting in favour of these amendments, the mayor ignored them, instead making a deal behind the scenes with Conservative councillors in order to get his budget through.

In the same month, campaigners wrote an open letter to the mayor and councillors calling for toilet facilities to be reopened in seven locations across the city, arguing their closure has a detrimental effect on many people.

Acorn Bristol claim a lack of access to public toilets in Bristol raises issues of equality and dignity and leads to public spaces becoming “effectively open sewers”.

Main photo: Arvind Howarth

Read more: Criticism of ‘unnecessarily harsh’ Bristol City Council budget cuts

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:

Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
I want to receive (tick as many as you want):
I'm interested in (for future reference):
Marketing Permissions

Bristol24/7 will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing. Please let us know all the ways you would like to hear from us:

We will only use your information in accordance with our privacy policy, which can be viewed here - www.bristol247.com/privacy-policy/ - you can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at meg@bristol247.com. We will treat your information with respect.


We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Bristol24/7 is an independent media outlet and community interest company. We're not owned by a large corporation and your contribution will help keep it this way. It will also help us grow and improve our content. By supporting us you will:
  • Support young people, charities and environmental projects in Bristol
  • Shape a Better Bristol
  • Enjoy exclusive perks
  • Comment on articles

Related articles

Choose payment frequency
Choose payment method
Credit/Debit
Apple Pay
Google Pay
By signing up to become a member you agree to our privacy policy and terms & conditions.
Fill in this form or email partnerships@bristol247.com and a member of the team will be in touch.
You've read %d articles this month
Consider becoming a member today
Independent journalism
is needed now More than ever
You've read %d articles this month
Consider becoming a member today
You've read %d articles this month
Consider becoming a member today
Join the Better
Business initiative
You've read %d articles this month
Consider becoming a member today
* prices do not include VAT
You've read %d articles this month
Consider becoming a member today
Enjoy delicious local
exclusive deals
You've read %d articles this month
Consider becoming a member today
Wake up to the latest
Get the breaking news, events and culture in your inbox every morning