Birmingham remains in a “fragile” position, minister warns

Birmingham City Council remains in a "fragile" position, as an ongoing dispute over its waste service escalates to a "major incident”, the Local Government Minister has warned.

In a letter to Lead Commissioner Max Caller CBE, minister Jim McMahon acknowledged progress in the council’s recovery efforts but stressed that significant challenges remain.

The minister's letter comes in response to the commissioner team's second report, which found that the city council continues to face challenges in finances, equal pay, culture, governance, services, and transformation.

However, commissioners also highlighted a set of significant milestones, including building a stronger corporate team and working with trade unions to achieve an agreement to settle litigant claims on equal pay.

Responding to their findings, the minister said he was "encouraged" by the steps taken towards settling the equal pay liability and welcomed the "notable progress made on the Oracle re-implementation programme".

He added: "The committed leadership of Councillor Cotton and Joanne Roney CBE is a positive step in the right direction, and I am confident that the recent senior appointments made by Joanne will help to build a strong corporate core; I expect the new appointees to help drive the governance and culture of the organisation along the right trajectory."

However, he described the progress as "nascent", adding that the report "clearly sets out that the journey to recovery and financial stability is far from over and has been heavily dependent on the input, guidance and advice of the Commissioner team".

He also said that while the council’s recruitment campaign is beginning to address capacity gaps, "it will take time for the Council to be able to stand stably on its own feet without external support."

McMahon also mentioned the ongoing waste worker strike that has stopped the council from collecting bins in recent weeks.

“The report has been published at a point of acute difficulty to residents, as the ongoing dispute in the waste service, which has been escalated to a ‘major incident’ is impacting on local residents and businesses", the minister said.

He encouraged all parties to "get round the table and find a resolution", adding: "It is vital that the current waste dispute is brought to a close in a sustainable way as soon as possible for the benefit of Birmingham residents.

"I trust that Commissioners will continue to support Birmingham City Council in reaching a fair and sustainable resolution to the dispute - one that maintains value-for-money and delivers a modern, efficient waste service, without creating or storing up liabilities for the future."

The ministry has requested a further progress report from commissioners by October.

Adam Carey