Birmingham shows signs of improvement, but governance reform “remains fragile”: Commissioners

The comments came in the commissioner team's third report on the local authority, which was handed to the Government in October and made public on Monday (1 December).

Writing in the report, the Commissioners said the council has shown signs of "enhanced resilience and improved performance in some areas" since their last report.

However, "substantial risks and persistent challenges continue to affect the council's ability to operate fully effectively as a corporate body".

Birmingham is showing "genuine grip and steady progress in some key service areas", including in housing, children's services, and adult's services, the report said.

There has also been progress in reaching a framework agreement on the council's historic equal pay claims that had partly led to Birmingham issuing its section 114 notice in 2023.

The report said the agreement was an "encouraging development" and was an opportunity to limit further costs and "positively reset its relationship with its staff".

It also highlighted progress in the creation of a Corporate Plan for the period 2025-28 and making procedural progress in the establishment of a tangible vehicle through which to deliver its existing Improvement and Recovery Plan (IRP), the Improvement and Recovery Board (IRB).

Despite improvements, the council continues to face four "substantial and specific high profile risks", including an ongoing waste dispute, "fragile finances", the reimplementation of its IT programme Oracle, and equal pay financial liabilities.

"While these risks may be specific, sustaining successful outcomes to them after any initial resolution will depend – as does the council's future as a whole - on the council's ability to address more persistent challenges in governance, culture and in the delivery of transformation across the council," the report said.

Among the governance and culture challenges listed, the Commissioners said Birmingham is "not yet fully functioning as a coherent corporate entity", cultural change is not embedded, and governance reform is underway but "remains fragile".

The city council also continues to suffer from capacity gaps, and transformation across procurement and commercial functions was described by the Commissioners as "slow".

The report added: "These significant risks and persistent challenges, together with the expected churn of councillors and natural uncertainty of outcome in the impending election, mean that Commissioners must continue to provide general and targeted support and oversight.

"The next phase of endeavour must be on embedding corporate resilience, progressing the positions on equal pay and service transformation and ensuring the council begins to independently command its own improvement journey by resolving structural governance issues."

Responding in a letter to the Commissioners, Local Government Minister Alison McGovern said the council's equal pay framework agreement and improvement in its children's and adults' services are "important steps".

However, she noted that "several areas of significant risk remain", adding: "The waste dispute has undoubtedly diverted the focus of the leadership team, contributing to delays to the waste service transformation programme and slowing progress in other areas.

"Finances remain fragile and the council must continue to develop an overall corporate transformation plan and narrative. The final equal pay liability remains a substantial risk which could have a major impact on the overall financial position of the council."

She said upcoming 2026 goals, including Oracle reimplementation and the equal pay resolution, set against the May elections, "require the council to maintain absolute focus on delivery while sustaining the momentum of improvement and recovery".

"Embedding a strong culture, sound governance, and a central transformation vision and plan is essential. The next report should provide evidence of progress in these areas," she added.

Lead commissioner Tony McArdle issued a separate statement on the report, recognising "commendable progress in a number of areas".

He added: "There is still much for the council to do so that it can deliver its ambitions for the city and to operate effectively across the full range of its responsibilities and we continue to support it as it works through these challenges.

"We intend to set out in the New Year what needs to be accomplished over the next three years in order for those foundations to be fully put in place and confidently built upon."

Adam Carey