Birmingham City Council watchdog to dissolve
A Birmingham City Council watchdog, set up on the back of concerns of how the authority is run, is to be dissolved, almost four years later than planned.
The Birmingham Independent Improvement Panel was set up by the government in January 2015 on the back of the damning review by Sir Bob Kerslake which highlighted major issues around the governance of the council.
It was only ever intended to last for six to 12 months.
The final stocktake report, providing the final assessment of the council’s improvement progress, has now been published alongside the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan and updates on service transformation and improvement priorities for 2019/20, as part of a report to cabinet on March 26.
The report makes clear that, while the improvement strategy continues, the council is “aware of the scale of the ongoing challenge, particularly around finance and industrial relations”.
An independent review of waste services has been commissioned in the wake of the city’s bin strikes, and a new industrial relations framework, working with local trades unions and supported by UK Core Cities, will be developed.
The report also says there are ongoing risks that require “rigorous monitoring and vigilance”, such as equal pay, capital investment, and major contract changes, and that the council will be actively working with audit, overview and scrutiny and external peers to ensure our improvement is sustainable.
Leader of Birmingham City Council Cllr Ian Ward said: “Our improvement journey continues and it’s testament to the hard work and collective determination of staff, management and councillors that we have continued to make progress at a very testing time for local government.
“This has always been about ensuring we provide the best possible outcomes for our citizens. We have made a number of steps towards modernising and improving the way we provide services for residents and have delivered on our commitments in the last stocktake report.
“I’ve said many times in recent months that this city has entered a golden decade – a period that will shape the lives of that next generation of young Birmingham citizens.
“Our challenge now is to ensure that the people of Birmingham reap the rewards of regeneration, investment, HS2 and of course the Commonwealth Games. We will continue to work hard to deliver our vision for the city as a whole and ensure all communities and sectors share in Birmingham’s success.”
