City council leadership crisis warrants independent review panel remaining, Government told
The crisis in leadership facing Birmingham City Council warrants the independent review panel set up to monitor the authority in the wake of the Kerslake Report remaining in place, Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid has been told.
The chairman of the panel, John Crabtree, has written to the Secretary of State saying the council has suffered a “serious setback” in relation to its ongoing dispute with the city refuse workers and the perilous state of the city’s finances justifies an overseer until the problem is resolved and overspends are avoided.
Mr Crabtree states in the letter: “The dispute is causing major inconvenience to the city’s residents. In the course of the dispute, questions (arose) about the conduct of the Leader of the Council, and whether it constituted a breach of the council’s constitution and its Member Code of Conduct.”
The comments appear to relate to the supposed deal with the binmen announced in August following arbitration with ACAS and which prompted the Unite union to suspend industrial action.
Former council leader John Clancy was adamant that no such deal was in place but the fallout from the affair prompted the councillor to fall on his sword earlier this month, just hours before he was set to face a vote of no confidence.
The dispute is now set to continue with claims it could run on until after Christmas unless a solution is found.
“This setback is therefore very disappointing particularly given that in our most recent letter to you we were able to report positively on the progress the council was continuing to make,” adds Mr Crabtree in his letter.
He adds that in a letter sent to Mr Javid in August, the panel had reported on the serious risks facing the council in relation to its financial position.
“These risks to the council’s budget remain significant and maintaining a relentless focus on achieving the 2017/18 revenue budget and preparing for the 2018/19 budget could prove to be an even greater challenge for the council in the current circumstances,” adds the letter.
“Following the events of recent weeks the council now faces a period of significant transition. A new leader will be elected and in the coming months the council hopes to appoint a permanent Chief Executive, and to make permanent appointments to other key senior manager roles, including the Corporate Director of Finance.
“At the same time the council has recognised that it still has a great deal of ‘catch up’ work to do for the council to function with fully effective corporate governance and major change programmes to modernise its key services over the next five years.”
He said the panel had met with interim leader Ian Ward and interim chief executive Stella Manzie, to discuss the current situation.
Both had agreed that it it would be helpful if the panel remained in place to support the council until it could demonstrate that the changes in culture and governance still required were truly embedded.
They both wish to work constructively with the Panel to enable it to evolve its role over the coming months to help provide stability and continuity while the Council addresses its most pressing priorities.
In his own statement, Cllr Ward said: “I will continue to work with the Improvement Panel to achieve the best possible outcomes for Birmingham and its citizens. I look forward to further detailed discussions regarding the next stages of our improvement journey.”
