Birmingham council leadership faces vote of no confidence over budget plan

THE leadership of Birmingham City Council will come under the spotlight today when opposition councillors try to force through a vote of no confidence in Labour due to the local authority’s continuing economic woes.

Last month, the independent body monitoring the city council criticised the “flawed planning and insufficient delivery” of revenue after it highlighted a £49m overspend in the current financial year.

The panel, set up in the wake of the Kerslake Report, said it believed the council faced a mammoth task in preparing a balanced budget for 2017/18.

Conservative councillors have now seized the opportunity to beat the Labour leadership with a large stick by tabling the no confidence vote at today’s full meeting of the authority.

The motion, put forward by Conservative leader Cllr Robert Alden and supported by Cllr Ken Wood, states: “The council notes the latest findings of the Birmingham Independent Improvement Panel, in particular that there was ‘insufficient understanding and ownership of the council’s 16/17 budget and a lack of comprehensive and robust delivery plans for the budget reduction measures that were required.”
 
They said this was in spite of the Improvement Panel issuing warnings to the council’s leadership in late 2015 and early 2016, before the budget was agreed.

They said the overspend that will result from this will, according to the council’s own report to the panel, leave a further £78m of savings required to balance the 2017/18 budget and means the Improvement Panel will have to maintain its role in overseeing the council.

The motion cites Chapter 8, of part 2 of the 2016/17 budget, which sets out a number of key organisational short and medium term priorities from the Leader of the Council.

One of these states that setting a realistic budget and planning framework for the next four years is essential if the council is to have the security to move forward with confidence and the credibility.

The Tory councillors add: “This plan sets out the vision, strategic approach and financial plans that will give us this security. We now know that this is not the case. As such, this council has no confidence in the Leadership of the Council and its ability to restore independence and pride to our municipal governance.”