City fails to offer value to taxpayers

BIRMINGHAM City Council’s accounts are littered with failings and the authority may not be providing value for money to the taxpayer, a damning report has revealed.

The council’s official auditors, Grant Thornton, have given an “adverse” rating on the city’s ability to make and deliver savings following a £49 million budget shortfall last year.

It is a severe rating and comes after the accountants found a series of “weaknesses” in the city council’s spending and savings plans.

Auditor Phil Jones said: “This judgment is relatively more severe than last year but has many of the same ingredients.”

Last year the auditors said the accounts were mostly sound, except for four areas of concern – but the new report says the failings are far more widespread.

He added: “This is because weaknesses in arrangements which we have identified, are both significant in terms of their impact and numerous in terms of the number of different aspects of proper arrangements affected that we are unable to satisfy ourselves that the council has proper arrangements to secure value for money.”

He added: “The budget comprises two things – getting it right and delivering it and I think last year you got neither right.”

The auditors’ concerns focus on the city’s inability to deliver cuts – such as those in the waste collection department which massively overspent on overtime and agency staff last year, prompting the overhaul of the service which in turn led to the summer of strike action.

There are also severe concerns over the council’s “future operating model” – a wide-ranging plan to deliver major savings which has stalled, and over the quality of political leadership in the light of the recent resignation of Labour council leader John Clancy over his handling of the bins strike.

Ongoing difficulties in children’s social care and financial control of schools are lighted in the report.

Mr Jones stressed that many of the issues raised predated the overhaul of senior management during the spring.

The overspend in 2016/17 was a factor in the departure of former chief executive Mark Rogers in February and introduction of new interim senior management, including chief executive Stella Manzie and finance director Mike O’Donnell.

Conservative shadow cabinet member for value for money and member of the audit committee Meirion Jenkins (Sutton Four Oaks) said: “Last year was bad enough in that Labour failed to get good value for money in four areas. This year it’s far worse, although the auditors are only confirming what hard-working tax-payers in Birmingham already knew – Labour cannot be trusted with the city’s finances.

“Same old Labour – they just can’t operate within a budget like the rest of us have to and they are quite incapable of delivering value for tax-payers’ money.” also high-