Interim director of finance, Clive Heaphy, was speaking at a meeting of the council’s Audit Committee on June 26.

Mr Heaphy was presenting the authority’s statement of accounts for the last financial year which ended on March 31.

The accounts show the council spent £312.9m in the year which was significantly less than predicted after the introduction of strict controls on spending.

Mr Heaphy said: “We are a big body, probably the third largest in the West Midlands. Within that making a £17m saving on a £330m budget shows we are getting a better grip on the numbers now.

“We have done that through pay controls internally, procurement controls, all the things we need to do to get a grip on that.

“It has been painful for service directors and heads of service who were sometimes at the mercy of that but it is necessary to get that control. It will be a temporary measure, there will be a point at which we release it but this is not the time to release it.”

The newly-released accounts show adult social care was the biggest cost to the council’s general fund with a bill of £121.6m while children’s services was next, costing the authority £91.1m.

The report shows the only other department which cost the council’s general fund more than £20m was environment which spent £45.1m.

Housing and education both have separate ring-fenced budgets which are not counted as part of general funds.

Adult social care, children’s services and housing are the biggest employers in the council with a total of 4,080 of the authority’s 5,621 full time or equivalent staff.

The general fund had three sources of income, council tax brought in £156.5m, business rates generated £79.3m and grants, including from central government, brought in £93m.