Is it a bird, is it a plane: commissioners set to run Birmingham City Council

This week Michael Gove announced a series of substantial measures to help the UK’s largest local authority recover from its bankrupt state.

Two weeks ago Birmingham City Council made headlines as they issued a Section 114 notice, effectively declaring themselves as bankrupt. As a result, Michael Gove, the communities secretary, has announced commissioners would be flown into the local authority to take control of decision-making in the next few weeks.

Some of the requirements Birmingham will have to undertake to regain financial security include selling authority-owned assets, job cuts and a rise in council tax.

The news of having to let some members of the council go is devastating as the local authority has over 12,000 employees. In addition, the council also serves more than one million people and has a budget shortfall of £87m for the current financial year.

‘I do not take these decisions lightly but it’s imperative in order to protect the interests of the residents and taxpayers of Birmingham,’ Mr Gove told the House of Commons on Tuesday. ‘Poor leadership, weak governance, woeful mismanagement of employee relations and ineffective service delivery have harmed the city. The one constant is there has been a failure to deliver for residents who deserve better.’

In response to this, the labour leader of Birmingham City Council, John Cotton, stated he welcomed government intervention and that it was vital to help get the councils ‘budget back on track’.

The council’s chief executive, Deborah Cadman, said in a report: ‘Our work to address the situation must be urgent, will involve hard choices about what we deliver and how we operate, and will result in a smaller organisation.’

Mr Gove has claimed commissioners will work with the local authority to agree on an improvement plan within six months whilst the current inquiry that has been launched is working to address how the council ended up in this fatal position.

Image: Ethan Thompson

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