Broke Birmingham's £1 million commissioners

Since last September, the commissioners running Birmingham Council have stopped publishing their minutes online. Apparently there has been ‘a slight delay’.

This is a shame because Birmingham taxpayers might then discover more about what the commissioners are doing. This is important given the bankruptcy of the council, the rise in local taxes and the fact that the commissioners themselves are adding £1 million to the city’s expenditure.

The direct cost of the commissioners over the 12 months to March this year was a little over one million pounds (£1,046,000 give or take).

Their day-rate is £1,100 though top banana Max Caller’s on £1,200. This money isn’t just for turning up, it includes hotels, subsistence and travel expenses (all necessary given that, as far as I can tell, none of them lives in Birmingham).

Then Cabinet Minister Michael Gove called Mr Caller, aged 74, out of retirement to become chief commissioner. Mr Caller is apparently ‘the man who fixes broken councils’. He’s been Chief Executive of Hackney and Barnet councils and Chair of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

The other commissioners are John Coughlan, ex-Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council, now director of a company called Skills for Care;

Chris Tambini, ex-Director of Corporate Resources at Leicestershire County Council;

Pam Parkes, ‘Executive Director for People and Transformation’ (what was once head of personnel) at Essex County Council;

Jackie Belton ex-Chief Executive of Bexley Council;

John Biggs the commissioners’ ‘Political Advisor’, a career London Labour politician; and

Myron Hrycyk, the only commissioner with private-sector experience, having worked at that paragon of entrepreneurialism, Severn Trent Water, apparently turning it into ‘a Digital 1st business’. Mr Scrabble at least has local connections having obtained an MBA from Birmingham University and been a member of the Midlands CBI Council.

The commissioners, appointed in October 2023 on five-year contracts, sent a report to the Government in January complaining the council was ‘budget-setting without enough urgency’, suffered from ‘highly defensive and siloed management’, key service areas remained unacceptable and, despite a few changes, the council failed to remedy the ‘deeper, cultural dysfunction that led to the Council’s failure’.

Luckily, the report also said: ‘Commissioners are working in partnership with the Council to promote a resolution to this dispute which is essential for service transformation.’

That went well then…