Commissioners have been appointed to Birmingham City Council to address its serious financial and governance problems after Leveling Up Secretary Michael Gove today (5 October) confirmed a five-year intervention.

The team of six commissioners will be led by Max Caller CBE, an experienced local government professional and former commissioner, and will be able to provide advice and challenge the council while making decisions directly, if necessary. They will have powers relating to governance, finance and procurement and will bring expertise in local government improvement, finance, human resources, equal pay, housing, ICT and business projects.

The commissioners will be joined by Lord John Hutton, former Defense Secretary and Business Secretary, and former Tower Hamlets mayor John Biggs as political advisers to the council. The advisors will not have the legal power of the commissioners, but will support the council’s political leadership as they make the difficult decisions that will be necessary.

Leveling up secretary Michael Gove:

Residents have been left disappointed by Birmingham City Council’s failure to get a grip on the major issues it faces, from its equal pay obligation to the implementation of its IT system.

We are always committed to protecting taxpayers’ interests and will take all necessary steps to ensure this happens in Birmingham.

That is why today I have made the decision to intervene and appoint a team of commissioners to help return the council to a sustainable footing in the future.

A package of intervention proposals was outlined in the Oral Statement made to Parliament by the Leveling Up Secretary last month (September 19), which stated that the Government was “willing” to intervene to protect residents and taxpayers from the city. The plans were subject to a five-working-day representation period with stakeholder views considered before the final decision was made today.

It comes after Birmingham City Council issued a ‘section 114 notice’ on September 5, admitting its retroactive equal pay obligation, estimated by the council to be up to £760 million, along with an annual budget shortfall including costs of implementing an IT system are greater than the council’s available resources

The local authority subsequently issued a “section 5 notice” and a further “section 114 notice” on 21 September because it failed to obtain a decision relating to its equal pay obligation.

A local investigation will be launched in due course. It is anticipated that it could examine the fundamental questions about how the problems facing Birmingham have developed and would examine the council’s ongoing management of the problems identified in Review of the authority by Lord Bob Kerslake in 2014and subsequent non-statutory intervention.

The independent review, commissioned after the ‘Trojan Horse’ investigation into several Birmingham schools, found that successive administrations had failed to address deep-rooted problems and highlighted a culture of sweeping problems under the rug, rather than tackling them head on. .

More information:

• Max Caller CBE was the chief executive of the London Boroughs of Hackney and Barnet and chairman of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. He has experience of multiple interventions, including having been Chief Commissioner in Slough, Chief Inspector for the Liverpool and Northamptonshire Best Value Inspections, and Commissioner in Tower Hamlets. Mr Caller also has experience working with Birmingham City Council, having been appointed by the City Council as one of its non-executive advisers following non-statutory intervention.
• John Coughlan CBE has significant experience in local authority governance, is the former chief executive of Hampshire County Council and has extensive experience in local government interventions, particularly in children’s services. Mr Coughlan has been asked to focus on broad improvement, supporting cultural change and transformation and driving work on the long-term sustainability of the Authority. His role will be complemented by his role as Commissioner for Special Educational Needs and Disability Services in Birmingham, to which he reports to the Secretary of State for Education.
• Chris Tambini is the former Director of Corporate Resources at Leicestershire County Council, where he held other roles including Section 151 Officer and Head of Strategic Finance. He was president of the Society of County Treasurers and also served on the city’s unitary councils. Tambini will focus on the financial situation and recovery of the Authority. This will include supporting the Authority’s work to develop and implement a plan to manage the significant equal pay obligations that led to the Section 114 notices, and oversee the steps necessary to manage other budget pressures for 2023/24 and beyond, and to return the Authority to a position of long-term financial sustainability. He will also include considering what actions may be necessary to ensure that the Authority has adequate and effective processes, governance and capacity in relation to its overall financial management.
• Pam Parkes FCIPD is the current Executive Director of People and Transformation at Essex County Council, is an FCIPD qualified senior professional and was part of the Best Value Inspection Team at Thurrock Council. Pam Parkes will focus on supporting Birmingham to improve its human resources capacity and organizational design and find solutions to the equal pay issue, including ensuring appropriate action is being taken at the pace necessary to address and manage its equality obligations. salary, in a way that is sustainable and represents good value for money.
• Jackie Belton is the chief executive of the London Borough of Bexley, formerly chief operating officer of the London Borough of Newham, where she was responsible for Housing, Planning, Regeneration and Environment, and was deputy director of housing strategy for the London Borough of Camden. Jackie Belton will focus on supporting the Authority’s housing function.
• Myron Hrycyk is the Crown Representative in the Cabinet Office for Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. Myron Hrycyk previously held senior executive positions as group CIO and chief procurement officer at Severn Trent Water and as CIO at Yusen Logistics. Myron has worked in a variety of sectors including financial services, technology, utilities and logistics. Myron will focus on supporting the Authority to rectify its issues with Oracle, improve IT and provide business insights.
• Lord John Hutton served as Defense Secretary and Business Secretary during the previous Labor government. In 2010 he led a major review of public sector pension provision and, more recently, was appointed chair of Make UK. He is currently the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Turkey and a member of the House of Lords.
• John Biggs is the former Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets and previously held positions there as Labor Group Leader and Council Leader. He has also served in the London Assembly. He has now retired from elected politics.