Three things all Brummies should know about the latest report into BCC finances

“There’s going to be wholesale cuts in council services. There are going to be job losses and the basic infrastructure that the council has built up over 150 years is going to be demolished or destroyed. It doesn’t have to be this way”

The latest report done by Audit Reform Lab, a research and campaign organisation, has repeated the call for a public inquiry into Birmingham City Council after a “catalogue of problems and errors” that have led to the city’s dire financial situation.

Speaking about the report, Cllr Tilsley said:

“It substantiates the line I’ve been taking for the last 18 months, that the Equal Pay claim is only a claim, it is not an actual expenditure on our accounts.

“There isan urgent need for the Government to review the situation of Birmingham, in particular, the commissioners demand for the sale of assets and savings cuts.”

“We are going to lose libraries, community centres, see less waste collection, more waste on streets, fewer children’s services, fewer services for older people and fewer employees to provide essential services in the city.”

“If the Govt extend the savings period from 2 years to 5, it would allow a sensible sale of assets instead of the "fire sale". It is the equivalent of building societies extending the loan period or interest only on a mortgage.”

Commenting on this, Group Leader Roger Harmer said:

“The figures being used are estimates, but the impact of the decisions made on those numbers is real. It’s quite possible that the Equal pay figure will be lower, but by the time the deal is done, the damage to the city’s infrastructure will be committed.”