Chancellor Philip Hammond should put up the £31 million Birmingham needs to fit fire safety sprinklers at its 213 tower blocks when he delivers his budget on Wednesday.

Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward has made the call in an open letter to the Chancellor in which he also puts the case to end austerity for local government as council's struggle to meet the rising demands and costs of social care.

Coun Ward said: "I hope the Chancellor listens to growing calls for the Government to fund a nationwide programme of retro-fitting sprinklers in high-rise blocks.

"This matter is of extreme importance to over 10,000 Birmingham residents living in 213 tower blocks who are understandably concerned following the Grenfell tragedy earlier this year.

"The retrofitting of sprinklers in all high-rise social housing would make a vital difference to people's safety and I hope the government heeds the lessons of past disasters and provides the funds for this vital work."

Coun Ian Ward launching Velo Birmingham in September 2016 when he was deputy leader of the city council

Coun Ward, who recently took over as Labour council leader, added that the council needed a better deal - especially as he argued Birmingham was short-changed by the Government in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 funding rounds.

"For the last seven years, Birmingham has suffered some of the highest cuts in the country, while demand for the services that protect many of the most vulnerable people has continued to grow," he added.

"This can clearly be seen by the growing crisis in social care . Like local authorities across the country, Birmingham faces significant budgetary pressures in social care and the Local Government Association has warned that for every £1 of council tax collected by councils in 2019/20, almost 60p could be spent on caring for the elderly, vulnerable adults and children."

He also called for the Chancellor to lift the one per cent pay increase cap on council staff - and make sure the pay rise was funded by the Government rather than via more job losses and cuts to council services.

So far, the Government has refused to offer funding for sprinkler systems - with Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid last month saying he would wait until an inquiry into the Grenfell tragedy published its report before making a decision.