'Birmingham must get itself out of its own mess'

Birmingham got itself into its financial mess and will have to get itself out, according to the man brought in to oversee the crisis-hit city council.

That meant, said government-appointed commissioner Max Caller, that taxpayers would have to foot some of the bill to help stabilise the authority.

Major job losses have also not been ruled out by Mr Caller.

Birmingham declared itself effectively bankrupt last month.

On 5 September, facing an immediate budget shortfall of £87m, the council formally acknowledged it could no longer balance its books by way of a Section 114 notice.

All but non-essential spending has been halted, with the government assigning commissioners to guide the authority through.

A team of eight - led by Mr Caller, who has branded Birmingham's woes the biggest challenge of his career - is expected to be in place for the next five years.

"Recovery is the only game in town," said Mr Caller, who led similar intervention at Slough Borough Council.

"So who should pay for it then?

"The people of Birmingham elected their council to manage the services and budget well and they didn't do that.

"There may be things the council can do, without having a major impact on jobs and services, [but] it seems unlikely. Birmingham got itself into this mess and it is Birmingham that has to get itself out."

The council is facing a bill of £760m to settle equal pay claims and has already paid more than £1bn in compensation to underpaid workers.

The flawed rollout of a new IT system saw the project's costs spiral from £19m to £100m, adding another burden.

Mr Caller described the Commonwealth Games held in the city last year as a "distraction".

"[It] was a brilliant result for Birmingham, it was done magnificently, it was a triumph for the city, the council, the people - and it was totally the wrong thing to do.

"All the issues of equal pay are here today and the reason why commissioners are turning up is because the council didn't use that time before the Commonwealth Games to solve the problem."

He also cast doubt over the upcoming Euro 2026 European Athletics Championships, saying the "council must focus on recovery first".

The commissioners will each be paid £1,100 a day - £1,200 for the lead commissioner - for up to 150 days a year.

The team is to report to the Levelling Up secretary within six months and thereafter at six-monthly intervals, or at such other times in arrangement with commissioners.

Under the government intervention, the city council will be required to undertake several actions and must prepare and agree on an improvement plan within six months.

"This is the absolute biggest challenge of my career," Mr Caller said.

"If the council, the officers and the commissioners work together and face up to the challenges then I think we can get a council the city will be proud of."

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