Birmingham's equal pay risk still red as recovery grinds on

Local TV

Birmingham’s equal pay risk remains “critical” despite a union settlement framework and a recovery plan backed by government support, asset sales and near-10% council tax rises. We set out what changed, what hasn’t, and the tests that decide when the red flag comes down.

Transcript

00:00Equal pay still carries the council's highest risk rating.

00:04If compliance slips more claims follow and the finance is judder.

00:08That lands on bin rounds, youth services and adult care.

00:12Here's what's changed.

00:14The council has a framework settlement with unions worth around a quarter of a billion.

00:20It sits inside government support of around one and a quarter billion.

00:24In return rights went up by almost 10% two years running and the council is selling assets

00:29to balance the books.

00:31Right here the argument is not whether staff deserved equal pay, they did.

00:36The test now is whether the system is fixed so it can't happen again.

00:41That means a clean job evaluation, new grading and the same rules across services and schools.

00:47Until that's live the risk stays red.

00:50Another pressure point, the filed IT overhaul that wrecked financial control and is still

00:55being rebuilt.

00:57Residents call it why invoices went missing and accounts fell behind.

01:06So the practical questions are simple.

01:08When will the first settlements land and who is excluded?

01:12When does the risk drop off the register?

01:14How much of the asset sales target is real cash not wish lists?

01:19And well will the IT system work end to end without emergency patches?

01:25The equal pay bomb has been contained in 2A settlement.

01:28The council says it can fund but the score tissue is deep.

01:33Services are thinner.

01:34Bills are higher.

01:35The commissioners are still in.

01:37Until the new grading is complete.

01:39The checks clear and the books reconcile.

01:42The red flags dies up.

01:43The red flags dies up.

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