Meeting of the City Council - 11/07/2023 - Tuesday 11 July 2023, 2:00pm

Meeting of the City Council - 11/07/2023
Tuesday, 11th July 2023 at 2:00pm

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Speaking:

Start of webcast

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Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

1 Notice of Recording

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1 Notice of Recording

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2 Declarations of Interests

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2 Declarations of Interests

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Cllr R Goodwin
Cllr R Goodwin
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr W Zaffar
Cllr W Zaffar
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Goodwin
Cllr R Goodwin
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr K Jenkins
Cllr K Jenkins
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Bennett
Cllr M Bennett
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Forsyth
Cllr S Forsyth
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr Z Islam
Cllr Z Islam
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr G S Atwal
Cllr G S Atwal
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

3 Minutes

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130623_City Council Minutes v1

3 Minutes

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130623_City Council Minutes v1

4 Lord Mayor's Announcements

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4 Lord Mayor's Announcements

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5 Petitions

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5 Petitions

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Cllr E Mackey
Cllr E Mackey
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr D Pears
Cllr D Pears
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Pocock
Cllr R Pocock
Cllr M Jan
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Jan
Cllr T Huxtable
Cllr M Jan
Lord Mayor
Cllr I Knowles
Cllr M Jan
Cllr M Jan
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Jan
Cllr M Jan
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Hunt
Cllr J Hunt
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Ahmed
Cllr S Ahmed
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr D Harries
Cllr D Harries
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr Mumtaz Hussain
Cllr Mumtaz Hussain
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr Z Islam
Cllr Z Islam
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

6 Question Time

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6 Question Time

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Public Gallery
Public Gallery
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Public Gallery
Public Gallery
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr N Brennan
Cllr N Brennan
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Public Gallery
Public Gallery
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Public Gallery
Public Gallery
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Bernasconi
Cllr M Bernasconi
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Marsham
Cllr L Marsham
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr D Barker
Cllr D Barker
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Locke
Cllr M Locke
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr G Moore
Cllr G Moore
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Brooks
Cllr M Brooks
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr A Yip
Cllr A Yip
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Jones
Cllr B Jones
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr A Yip
Cllr A Yip
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Jones
Cllr B Jones
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Parkin
Cllr R Parkin
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Parkin
Cllr R Parkin
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Marsham
Cllr L Marsham
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Marsham
Cllr L Marsham
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Bernasconi
Cllr M Bernasconi
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr D Clancy
Cllr D Clancy
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Jones
Cllr B Jones
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr D Clancy
Cllr D Clancy
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Jones
Cllr B Jones
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Alden
Cllr R Alden
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Alden
Cllr R Alden
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Harmer
Cllr R Harmer
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Harmer
Cllr R Harmer
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr Mahmood Hussain
Cllr Mahmood Hussain
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr Mahmood Hussain
Cllr Mahmood Hussain
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Lines
Cllr B Lines
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Lines
Cllr B Lines
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Mahmood
Cllr B Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Mahmood
Cllr B Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr E Mackey
Cllr E Mackey
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Thompson
Cllr S Thompson
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr E Mackey
Cllr E Mackey
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Thompson
Cllr S Thompson
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

7 Appointments by the Council

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7 Appointments by the Council

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Cllr D Hughes
Cllr D Hughes
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr B Baz
Cllr B Baz
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

8 Srebrenica Memorial Day

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Agenda Item 08_11.07.23_Srbrenica

8 Srebrenica Memorial Day

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Agenda Item 08_11.07.23_Srbrenica

Cllr M Brooks
Cllr M Brooks
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr A Yip
Cllr A Yip
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr I Knowles
Cllr I Knowles
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr W Zaffar
Cllr W Zaffar
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr P Tilsley
Cllr P Tilsley
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Mahmood
Cllr M Mahmood
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Brooks
Cllr M Brooks
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

9 Decisions Not on the Forward Plan and Those Authorised for Immediate Implementation

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Agenda Item 09_11.07.23_Council FP Report

9 Decisions Not on the Forward Plan and Those Authorised for Immediate Implementation

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Agenda Item 09_11.07.23_Council FP Report

Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

10 Scrutiny Business Report

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Agenda Item 10_11.07.23_City Council_Scrutiny Business Report

10 Scrutiny Business Report

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Agenda Item 10_11.07.23_City Council_Scrutiny Business Report

Cllr Chairman
Cllr Chairman
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Hunt
Cllr J Hunt
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr K Jenkins
Cllr K Jenkins
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Hunt
Cllr J Hunt
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Bridle
Cllr M Bridle
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Bridle
Cllr M Bridle
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr A Yip
Cllr A Yip
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr E Mackey
Cllr E Mackey
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Brown
Cllr M Brown
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Marsham
Cllr L Marsham
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr E Mackey
Cllr E Mackey
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Deakin
Cllr J Deakin
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Alden
Cllr R Alden
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr Chairman
Cllr Chairman
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor

10 Scrutiny Business Report

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Agenda Item 10_11.07.23_City Council_Scrutiny Business Report

10 Scrutiny Business Report

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Agenda Item 10_11.07.23_City Council_Scrutiny Business Report

11 Motions for Debate from Individual Members

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Agenda Item 11_11.07.23_CC Motions

11 Motions for Debate from Individual Members

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Agenda Item 11_11.07.23_CC Motions

Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Thompson
Cllr S Thompson
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Tennant
Cllr J Tennant
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr D Alden
Cllr D Alden
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr A Yip
Cllr A Yip
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Jan
Cllr M Jan
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Trickett
Cllr L Trickett
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr M Bennett
Cllr M Bennett
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Marsham
Cllr L Marsham
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr G Moore
Cllr G Moore
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Clements
Cllr L Clements
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Thompson
Cllr S Thompson
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Alden
Cllr R Alden
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr E Mackey
Cllr E Mackey
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Harmer
Cllr R Harmer
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr P Tilsley
Cllr P Tilsley
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Cotton
Cllr J Cotton
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr S Thompson
Cllr S Thompson
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr J Pritchard
Cllr J Pritchard
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Grant
Cllr R Grant
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr R Alden
Cllr R Alden
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
Cllr L Clements
Cllr L Clements
Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
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Disclaimer: This transcript was automatically generated, so it may contain errors. Please view the webcast to confirm whether the content is accurate.

Lord Mayor - 0:00:20

Good afternoon.

1 Notice of Recording

and well, contrary to the bring a city council meeting.

May I remind members,

if their mobile phones, please turn them on silent.

sort your phone ring to the meeting.

you'll be asked to make a 24 donation to the Lord Mayor's Charity.

as usual,

let me remind you that today's meeting

will be webcast for live.

or subsequent broadcast via the link on the agenda.

so, members, you are reminded that a recording of the BEP cost would be kept indefinitely.

can I plead cracked that whenever you wish to speak this afternoon?

please ensure that you press your markram button

once, so that you can be added to the Speaker's request list.

members of the press or public made code and take photographs, except where there are confidential or exempt items.

May I also remind members

that you do not enjoy a parliamentary privilege in listen to debate in the Chamber, and Members should be careful in what they say during all debate this afternoon.

members, the meeting will adjourn for a break at approximately.

16 25 to 16 55.

2 Declarations of Interests

finally, I remind members that they multiply all relevant pecuniary and other resist for interests. rising from any business to be discussed at this meeting.

if a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared.

a member must not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not remain in the room unless they have been given a dispensation.

if other restaurants

jet or declared a member may speak on the matter only if members of the public are allowed to speak

at the meeting, but otherwise must not take part in any discussion or vote

on the matter and want to remain in the room unless they have been granted a dispensation.

equally sensitive interest

members do not have to disclose the met nature of the interest job that they have an interest,

does anyone have any interest to declare?

yes, controls of.

Cllr R Goodwin - 0:03:31

Lord Mayor - 0:03:37

Cllr W Zaffar - 0:03:40

who paid for a trip to? to Bosnia that I attended, thank you, Lord Mayor.

thank God things offer.

Lord Mayor - 0:03:45

got off to a good one.

just to declare an interest in the elements of the motion debate at

Cllr R Goodwin - 0:03:52

warm spaces, I'll excuse myself from the meeting, thank you,

thank you rather.

Lord Mayor - 0:03:57

Gary Jenkins,

Cllr K Jenkins - 0:04:01

thank you, Lord Mayor, I'd like to declare a pecuniary interest in that I'm employed by Unite the union and I'll leave the debate, I'll leave the Chamber for the debate on equal pay, thank you.

thank you for your contributions, Gotham Muhammad Batman.

Lord Mayor - 0:04:15

Cllr M Bennett - 0:04:19

thank you, Lord Mayor, I have a pecuniary interest in relation to item 11 B, which I disclose the Monitoring Officer and or the withdrawal from the meeting at that point, thank you.

0Councillor,

Lord Mayor - 0:04:31

sir, send forth,

Cllr S Forsyth - 0:04:34

thank you, I have an interest or non-pecuniary interest to declare in respect of the debate on equal pay, my birth mother is one of the claimants in respect of that claim and I will leave the Chamber when that matter is being discussed. Thank you gotta

think of the term foresight

Lord Mayor - 0:04:51

I move.

sorry,

Gotham, I was say.

thank you.

and you're not anyone else.

OK. or God, fuel Islam.

Cllr Z Islam - 0:05:28

thank you. I beg actually to go into Belfast, so I'd be revisited with some time, thank you.

I might have his members denied, but I have been given this

Lord Mayor - 0:05:39

expectation.

it is not.

got not one.

Cllr G S Atwal - 0:05:53

10 10 Q Lord Mayor, I have been interested in general Jr and please.

Lord Mayor - 0:06:01

controversial, could you repeat that mark for Curley to switch the microphone on?

the Member is not due.

members of our communities,

thank you, because as well.

3 Minutes

I move that the minutes of the City Council meeting held on the 30th June 2023, having been circulated to each member of the Council, be taken as read and confirmed and signed

it that seconded.

greed?

thank you much.

lord mayor's announcements.

4 Lord Mayor's Announcements

it's my pleasure.

make an argument that one-armed lie ahead. to congratulate those mentioned in the king's birthday, honours list this year for services to Birmingham or who live in Birmingham.

worried, CB

and Bentley.

awarded and Oby e,

professor of in downturn

Kamara, Sammy

Stephen Glyn Hughes's

and Reverend Dr Richard Jones or worth.

and I may be.

Dawn Gonis on large.

Dr Desmond Jaddoo

and at Baba Rahman.

and the British Empire medal.

Joy, Bennett.

their case, Johanne.

Jeffrey Cole,

Joan Desmond's faith and

Emma Omalu's

I'm told you will join me in congratulating all these marvellous demons.

titans.

5 Petitions

I move

that the piece is presented before the meeting be received

and referred to the relevant Chief Officer to examine and report as appropriate, appropriate.

that seconded,

agreed.

could I ask those of you?

who want to present places to press your peak bottle

so that you will be shown on the list on a screen?

I will now invite members who want to pre-empt receipts this afternoon to do so.

please can you clearly state the details over the prison

we director or director at the prison relates to and amr I remind you that this is not an opportunity to make a speech.

could I ask you to show that your name is on the front page of the petition,

please present your prison and a man and a member of the Committee Services team will take lectures from you.

on my list,

Ewan Mackey.

Cllr E Mackey - 0:09:52

thanks very much Lord Mayor, I have a petition from the residents of Sutton, Ruffley Ward, who would like to see improvements to the facilities that were the hell park, I would like us to go to the parks department, thank

you, thank you and necklace go her debut pays.

Lord Mayor - 0:10:07

Cllr D Pears - 0:10:12

thank you, Lord Mayor, I have a petition from restaurants and those that visit the boot in pub.

against a planning application 2 0 2 3 0 4 3 5 5 p i for mobile 5 g mast, thank

you because you think.

gone to RoboCup.

Lord Mayor - 0:10:32

thank you, Lord Mayor, I have two petitions.

Cllr R Pocock - 0:10:37

The first is on behalf of residents of Foulston Road Sutton VC, ward, they're concerned about the poorest is from residents of Pendragon Road asking for through pre tree pruning on their road and I move this goes to the Cabinet Member for Highways. The second is from residents of my ward

calling for increased action against dangerous driving on the Walsall Road, in particular for the installation of average speed cameras following the widening of the road for more bus lanes and again I move this goes to the Cabinet Member for Transport

thank God Les. no, no don't want the next one, Councillor Ahmed.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I have received a petition from resident from bustle heap, ease and bus ahead west objecting to any further

Lord Mayor - 0:11:23

Cllr M Jan - 0:11:23

engagement we'll get regarding a parish council, this goes to the

Cllr T Huxtable - 0:11:27

Cllr M Jan - 0:11:27

relevant, Margaret thank you,

thank on Harman next month Councillor Harris,

but

I have a petition on behalf of the residents of Charlbury Crescent.

they're objecting to the change of use of a family house by the addictions charity, Aquarius, to house young people with alcohol, drug and gambling issues. Thank you

think of as many going for a month or so.

Thank you, Lord Mayor. I have three petitions. First is on behalf of the residents of Bevan, 2 Road, in Aston, who are asking the council to prune the trees in Aston Park. The second is on behalf of the residents who attend the mosque, and Roland Rudd, who want the council to take action to prevent cars from blocking the drop kerb at the entrance of the mosque, and my third petition is

from the residents of Grange Road calling the council to stop conversion of terraced family homes into HMOs. Can these can this be sent to the relevant department? Thank you very much, Lord Mayor,

thank all her mum, father saying

got her Hewlett slam,

thank you, Lord Mayor, I have a petition from the defeated of Stainsby a been relieved, all the other objecting any HMO petition. some written by the owner of the property because there are so many children living in and out of the road, so they are actually objecting any such application to planning you can thank you,

thank you go Haslam

are there any more places ply your re your hand

Huish, have you any hope places

No, but please update has been made available electronically.

Lord Mayor - 0:13:05

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:05

I move that the police's update to be noted.

Cllr I Knowles - 0:13:08

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:08

and all creases for which a satisfactory response as been received be discharge either seconded,

are agreed.

the next autumn Eid to deal with all questions,

Lord Mayor - 0:13:28

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:28

questions from members of the public to any cabinet member

or ward forum chair.

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:32

we now have questions from the members of the public, the addictive time, for this argument, 20 minutes.

there are five quality today,

the first question is for the Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Liz Clements, from it, a wince Catrin, who intended actually meeting wins,

could argue to put the question, please.

thank you, Lord Mayor, my question is for the Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Majid Mahmood in Selly Park, some strips of greenspace have recently been allowed to grow wild, naturally allowing

Lord Mayor - 0:14:21

Cllr J Hunt - 0:14:24

for growth greater by biodiversity. We have also seen no May trialled in certain wards to encourage more insect friendly flowers, particularly to help pollinators. Can the Cabinet Member please tell me what plans this Council has to roll out projects like these around the whole city and have they considered targeting land that hadn't previously been meadows with wildflowers to allow for the figures to return back to what they were recorded at in the 1930 s?

can remember reply.

Lord Mayor - 0:14:57

My Lord Mayor, firstly, may I take this option, thank Ms Shiner for

Cllr S Ahmed - 0:15:00

the question, so it's pleasing to see that people have taken a keen interest in the environment in our city, so thank you, Lord Mayor, no more May was piloted in four wards across the city this year. The aim afterwards was to review all of the implications and refined

Lord Mayor - 0:15:14

initiatives in future years. Learning from what was achieved in the

Cllr D Harries - 0:15:18

words of Acocks Green Brompton Hodgehill, Moseley and North Edgbaston ward, for instance, catching up with grass cutting and dealing with the rising is part of. The review has caused extra pressure on services such as street cleaning, so it's only right and proper that we look at both the positive and negative impacts before agreeing what

Lord Mayor - 0:15:34

Cllr Mumtaz Hussain - 0:15:37

we do next, Lord Mayor. So officers are currently evaluating this year's pilot and will be developing an offer for next year that will specify more strips of land and areas of parkland that might have the potential to develop into more long-term meadows. Exact details of the approaches to be taken future will be announced in due course. Lord Mayor, in the meantime, I've also e-mailed the elected members from the four pilot wards of Acocks when Brompton, Höger, Mersey, North Edgbaston, to attend to feed back meeting so that we can understand what went well, what challenges we face, the issues in the pile as created, what we should be considering in the future, I myself, Lord

Lord Mayor - 0:16:11

Mayor, very much in favour of establishing more wildflower wildlife

Cllr Z Islam - 0:16:15

meadows across the city, thank you, Lord Mayor,

think I remember.

the Nick Griffin leads for the Cabinet Member for social justice, community safety and equalities, Dr Nicky Brennan from Mr. John Gilmore, who is in 10 at today's meeting, John could I ask you to pull the crap, please?

Lord Mayor - 0:16:35

thank you, Lord Mayor.

6 Question Time

my question for the cabinet member for communities, equalities and social justice. a lack of funding to all city cemeteries is leaving them looking neglected and disgraceful, meaning those who have contributed to the city and our country are no longer being given the dignity and the respect they truly deserve. This is no longer acceptable in 2023 and things must change. Why has there been such a significant lack of financial investment and a severe reduction in funding to many cemeteries across Birmingham? This has been the case for many years before the Covid pandemic, because it is not upstairs say the reality is funeral services and cremations are extremely expensive and in Birmingham one of the highest in the UK what will you commit to doing in the next six months to rectify the situation, thank you.

I call upon Councillor Nikki Brown reply.

Public Gallery - 0:17:53

very passionate about this, as we all should be, as it is a sensitive subject and we should all be valuing all loved ones after they have passed away from your City Council, is investing in cemeteries across the city in recent months and has been significant number of large investment projects funded across the city cemeteries to resurface roads, improve and install drainage cabs and taps. and across all cemeteries and crematoria, in addition, there are also four large capital funded projects currently in progress with multimillion pound combined budgets, these are the Yardley Crematorium, the Yardley Crematoria Co cremator replacement and chapel refurbishment, extensions to Kings Norton cemetery, repair of Holy Trinity Church

Lord Mayor - 0:18:38

wall and the repair of Warstone Lane Cemetery wall.

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:18:42

the city is continuing to invest in the provision of new burial grounds. Lack burial ground land across the city, whereas some other authorities are experiencing a shortage of burial land and reusing old graves. Birmingham city council also did not increase burial crew cremation fees this year, and this continues to keep our fees below many of our neighbouring West Midland, local authority as well as nationally, and we certainly on amongst the authorities with the highest fees going forward. We continue to mine all of our cemeteries and crematorium grinds, and we are currently developing a future operating model to ensure we deliver the best for our citizens of Birmingham. As I am very new in post as well, I will also be committing to meeting with all of the friends groups across the city that work to keep our cemeteries looking lovely and looking forward to meeting them, thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you Mr. Gilmore for your question,

thank you come from Bremen, but make sure these for the current member for finance and resources, Councillor Brigid Jones, from to look at and who the attendees to the meeting Luke, could argue to put,

my body, the

metal Öcalan, has arrived or is not entirely today, so we'll on to him in writing.

Lord Mayor - 0:20:04

lot the final questions to the Leader of the Council, Councillor John Cotton. from it, and nor Nelson who even 10 minutes after the meeting, no one could argue the put the question please.

Public Gallery - 0:20:23

OK, thank you for taking my question.

this is to the council leader.

given the council's recent admissions of gross incompetence.

misconduct and negligence regarding the Erykah EA, API system implementation and the staggering unpaid equal pay bill,

what specific measures are being taken to ensure accountability? for these failures,

can you provide details on any internal investigations or disciplinary actions that have been initiated?

additionally, what steps will the Council take to rebuild trust with residents who have been affected by these failures, especially in the light of the potential potential community tax hike next year?

Lord Mayor - 0:21:33

thank you for claiming that Sinn

I call upon

Cllr N Brennan - 0:21:37

the Council Leader Councillor John Curtin reply.

thank you, Lord

Mayor, and thank you very much, Mr. Dobson, for your question.

I've been clear from day one, taking over as leader that I will take, whatever action is needed to address the substantial challenges facing this Council and take the measures necessary to grip the situation.

This includes putting in place financial controls and taking immediate steps to strengthen internal governance.

also need to be open and transparent throughout this process. That is why we are undertaking an internal management review to ascertain the root causes of the failures to implement Oracle we also commissioning a governance review in collaboration with the Department of levelling up housing and communities, to focus upon a series of governance issues, including the Oracle, implementation and the situation with regard to equal pay. This is also an independent process.

Following the findings of a governance review, we have committed to a judge-led independent inquiry to ensure that there is clarity and accountability over the causes of Birmingham's equal pay challenges.

I am also determined that this Council will act upon whatever findings and recommendations these inquiries propose, I think that is absolutely essential to ensuring public confidence in the Council.

we will also continue to work closely with our partners and our communities to address the financial challenges in the months ahead, supported of course by the strategic expert advisers who will be put in place to to work with us there is much work to be done and that there's no doubt but I'm confident that by working together by being honest and transparent in our dealings about these challenges we can certainly rise and meet these. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

thank and confirm the on cutting

Lord Mayor - 0:23:25

the next Archimedes' craftiness on countless to committee chair Lead Member of a joint ward or ward forum J.

the net returns from any cohesion committee lead member of Mills drawing authority or one or more form to no shop remain cutters, are allowed the time for the second up to 10 minutes, at always could I please credit that you do not start your question or reply until the red light periods on your microphone who swore that he'd switched on.

could I please ask that you before he quit and you give the name as well as the designation of the continent to whom the Queen you dressed?

Public Gallery - 0:24:12

all my lift is gone for mockable scorning.

Lord Mayor - 0:24:14

thank you, Lord Mayor, a question for the Chair of Transport Scrutiny

Public Gallery - 0:24:19

Committee Councillor Lee Marsham,

last month, the Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street hit public transport users without bus fare bombshell, with some fares rising by as much as 26% his broken promise will hit the pockets of tens of thousands for whom the bus is a vital lifeline and often the only choice of transport.

One of my North Edgbaston residents contacted me in shock that a day saver will rise from 4 pounds to 4 pounds 50 calling it daylight robbery when people are already struggling with the cost of living.

Will the Lead Member update the Chamber on any plans his Committee has to scrutinise this disastrous decision,

go he won't reply?

thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you, Councillor Bone Scunny for your question

as a bus user myself. I am deeply disappointed that the Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street and private bus companies have jointly

Lord Mayor - 0:25:19

agreed to increase prices during a cost of living crisis, especially when the role of public transport is so important in tackling the

Cllr J Cotton - 0:25:27

climate emergency and reducing congestion on our roads. The council passed a motion in June to encourage Andy Street to franchise our buses, which has failed to do to date. Franchising would give us more control over third and routes.

The role of sustainability and transport, overview and scrutiny committee is to hold the Council to account and that partners which include Andy Street and private bus operators

I can confirm that buses on offer are on the proposed agenda, the current municipal year, and it's for committee members to decide on how and when we delve into the subject, but I imagine but prices will be part of that debate.

thank God he wants him.

more commonly is going to be Rebecca.

thank you, Lord Mayor, my question is to the lead member of the transport delivery Committee Councillor Mary lock,

Andy Street has just announced a delay to the opening of the Camphill line, likely by at least a year

I'm sure Councillor Lock is as disappointed as I am by this as our woods border on what will be the pineapple station eventually.

as councillors, we were given no warning of this, we found out by the press for residents, this is devastating and they're coming to us for answers, as the reasons are not being believed.

could Councillor Lock, please consider asking the transport delivery committee to write to Andy Street and ask that he goes before her committee for scrutiny and comes up with some answers for this, thank you,

Lord Mayor - 0:27:08

think how can a worker got him a lucky reply?

thank you, Councillor bar assigned to you, Lord Mayor, and thank you, Councillor Barker for your question

for information TD transport delivery Committee, after a long review is now that transport delivery, Overview and Scrutiny Committee

withdrew with regards to the Camphill long delay I agree. Information should have gone to elected members whose ward

go along the Camphill line, many residents along those lines have waited decades for Lee for the line to reopen as Lead Member, we need to scrutinise this and other projects and, where necessary. to invite the mayor to answer questions on this and other on Northern, I choose OK, thank you.

Cllr M Bernasconi - 0:28:01

thank you Oklahoma luck.

McCoy whose 1 comma

GetMo.

thank you, Lord Mayor, my questions to the Chair of the Planning Committee, Councillor Martin Brookes, last Thursday committee voted to approve a planning application, despite the fact there was an objection from the council's conservation officer at concerns raised from historic England. as the Chair will be aware, Kismayo committee members have to give great weight to heritage aspects as part of the decision making, and the planning balance is the Chair satisfied that all planning committee members fully understand that, and what steps will you be taking to ensure that the heritage assets in this city both listed and non designated are protected moving forward? Thank you, Lord Mayor, and call for more.

Lord Mayor - 0:28:47

Graham Norton Brooks will reply.

Cllr L Marsham - 0:28:50

thank you, Lord Mayor, and

as Councillor Moore knows, I actually shared his concerns.

the last Planning Committee regarding that particular planning application.

but, as you know, Members have to take all kinds of issues into account when arriving at a decision, and one of those areas that they have to take account is the need for housing accommodation in our city, we don't even have a

a five-year supply of housing, and that's one of the reasons why

in terms of considering house planning applications we have to use the tutored balance in terms of looking at accommodation. I believe that members, irrespective of how they voted in on that particular planning decision, took full account of the circumstances in that report,

some some took one view, some took another but non-win, necessarily

Lord Mayor - 0:29:54

the wrong view,

but I'd hope that you know we we continue to

Cllr D Barker - 0:30:01

have Mandy a substantial amount of mandatory training, I know that heritage issues have been flagged up very strongly within that training, and I'd hope that they continue to do so, thanks

thank Graham Martin Brookes.

the next entry for autographing from councillors other than cabinet members to a cabinet member one supplementary question, the Lord, the time for the secretary is 20 minutes.

I have got the lx gyp

of regret.

thank you, Lord Mayor. My question is to the cabinet member for finance and resources, Councillor Brigid Jones, the task and finish working arrangements within the waste collection services were acknowledged as an equal pay risk in 2011 and removed, as a result,

Lord Mayor - 0:30:53

during the pandemic, they were apparently reintroduced on a temporary basis, at which point we queried if this was an equal pay risk more

Cllr M Locke - 0:30:59

concerning early reports in the Birmingham Mail now suggest that they be continuing beyond this as cabinet member for finance and previously as Deputy Leader has she, we assured assurance that a task and finish has stopped and, if so, on what dates? Thank you, Lord Mayor,

think?

don't reply.

I can assure Councillor, yet the councils were asking all of the appropriate questions in relation to this matter throughout the last couple of years and the in terms of practices going forward, we are receiving assurances from the directorate about what is occurring, thank you.

the then supplementary question concluded.

Lord Mayor - 0:31:48

thank you, Lord Mayor, does the Cabinet Member believe that the bin

Cllr G Moore - 0:31:56

strike deal signed off in 2017 18, which created the new W or Z row, created an equal pay risk, and if it did, what is she doing as Cabinet Member to resolve it, thank you.

going on to reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor, extensive legal advice was taken in the run-up to the end of that dispute and 18, and we were assured that this would not create such a risk in terms of matters going forward, we are working on that with officers.

we've got who owns

the company through parking.

thank you, Lord Mayor, my question is to Councillor Mahmood.

in its 2019 white paper working together in Birmingham's neighbourhoods, this council made a commitment to work hard to make

Lord Mayor - 0:32:41

Birmingham a locally city, it added our overall measures of success,

Cllr M Brooks - 0:32:45

include residents feeling they are more in control of their services and their local area,

however, in the four years since this document was published, residents in Sutton, Coldfield have seen no evidence of this Council delivering on its promises,

so why is this Council continuing to work against the principles of its white paper by rejecting proposals for alternative governance models of Sutton Park which would not only deliver on this council's localism commitments but would also help fund the infrastructure improvements which Councillor Mahmood has acknowledged are desperately needed?

in remembered, reply.

in the interests of more Members been asked questions during the council meeting, I did give a robust response to his colleague, David Pierce, around the similar question, the last Council meeting, to suggest he what is the livestreaming of that meeting when he gets down when the not be happy to take any more questions

then you can remember Conor point is the gonna supplementary.

sorry.

OK, sorry. The white paper concluded that local councils have the potential to raise additional additional public money within their

Lord Mayor - 0:33:59

local area to support local needs. On page 55, it praised the impact of Warley Woods Community Trust, which took over the running of Hollywood's part from Birmingham in 2004.

The trust has now successfully been managing this, the People's Park, on behalf of the local community, for almost 20 years. In this time, it has raised 6.8 million pounds for the site and enlisted the support

Cllr A Yip - 0:34:20

over two of over 270 volunteers every year.

So why have you therefore concluded that the trust model for the Sutton Park would not add further strength or financial resources to the park, despite the evidence of other parks detailed in the independent all you see report which had received and even in your own white paper, and given this current this Council's current financial crisis, while you're taking these alternative funding proposals more seriously,

co-opted member reply,

yeah, thank you, Lord Mayor, we are, we are taking alternative funding seriously, we have written to

all stakeholders and partners around certain Park and including some of the elected members represent certain about Robert's conversations with Councillor roll pop Rob Pocock and Councillor Cathy Scott, who

Lord Mayor - 0:35:10

Cllr B Jones - 0:35:13

represent a certain Ward VZ incident coalfield which also comprised of more than 50% of the land that belongs to Sutton Park, were more than happy to look at all options in terms of raising revenue because we

Lord Mayor - 0:35:24

have been let down by the Conservative government to the tune of a billion pounds over the last decade and that money does need to be

Cllr A Yip - 0:35:32

found in our parks have been hit hard in terms of austerity, what we have done in order to assist the friends group in parks we have given a grant to Birmingham open spaces forum and they carried out a robust application on behalf of friends groups in bringing in leveraging extra funds for the park for parks across across the city. today,

Lord Mayor - 0:35:51

nearly half a million pounds has been raised through the Birmingham

Cllr B Jones - 0:35:54

open spaces forum, and that's something that the friends group, a certain part, could tap into and. I made clear to all elected members also that there is Community chest funds that are still available to members, but they could also tap into in order to leverage in more

Lord Mayor - 0:36:09

funding for our parks. Lord Mayor has, as you are aware, we have 631

Cllr R Parkin - 0:36:12

parks and green open space in the city, I think 2,400 2,400 hectares of green space in our parks.

On that basis, we are one of the, we are the largest Council, we have the most green spaces in the city. We do need more funding, and I've suggested to Councillor Parker and Councillor Pears on numerous occasions in full Council and outside of the Chamber. What we really need is a coordinated cross-party approach so that we can leverage in more funding from the Tory government that we can have our fair share in this city on behalf of the people, so we can bring back the nicer stuff in our parks Sutton Park itself. We have lots of stakeholders working with this around Wildlife Trust, etc and if you look at TripAdvisor's I mentioned the last Council meeting, I did offer Councillor parking not needs to watch that again.

Lord Mayor - 0:37:03

I think there's 95% shows a high satisfaction rate in terms of Sutton

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:37:06

Park and that speaks for itself. It speaks volumes because the parks are there for the people and the people are happy with with the way we are managing the parks, despite the difficult challenges we face as a

Lord Mayor - 0:37:20

city council due to the lack of finance from central government, we will continue to do whatever we can in order to ensure that Sutton Park and all of the other 633 parks and green open spaces are fit for purpose in the city. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

Cllr R Parkin - 0:37:31

thank you. Remember,

remake Homeless', got Lee Mossop

thank you, Lord Mayor, my question is for the Environment Cabinet Member Councillor Majid Mahmood in June, working for local Majeed's Loxton Park, in echoes had its first ever community prayer, with hundreds in attendance, given a success, can we look to use the park again to make aid in neutrals bigger and better next year?

cabinet Member to reply.

congratulate him on his appointment as the Chair of Transport and Sustainability, Overview and Scrutiny Committee. I very much look forward to working with Councillor Leigh Marsh him in the coming year around sustainability issues that affect the city a lot, and I am delighted to hear of the of the success of the recent commute eid Prayer event. That was how Loxton Park I understand that was more than

Lord Mayor - 0:38:35

a thousand people in attendance and that compliments the other 10

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:38:38

parks that we approved in the city for the Eid, pray on the Wednesday and for parks on the Thursday. I'm not going to get into the moon side to debate as to why there was to defer Eades on the day, but can save that for another meeting and debate, but, Lord Mayor, that does show how our parks and spaces can be enjoyed and utilised by all of our communities for a wide range of activities and our officers in parks already to work with event organisers to look at and ensure that similar enhance events can be said safely in future in a way that protects the fabric of the open spaces in question. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

thank you for your remember.

remarkably, you have a supplementary question.

thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you, Councillor Mahmood, staying on neutrals, his parks this Friday to local schools, neutrals, Primary School and St Clement's Church of England Academy, will be visiting the council house for a tour of the building and to input on future plans for their local parks will the Cabinet Member commit to reading their ideas and write back to them?

Cameron would reply.

what's on a really engaging tool for school pupils' around this wonderful and historic building, not sure that it will inspire some of them to consider following us into the chamber in the years ahead, Lord Mayor, I will, through 631 parks and open spaces, are one of the greatest assets of the city and integral to the future of a bold, greener city.

they bring massive benefits for our health and wellbeing for everyone, regardless of the age location or background. That's why it's important to hear the views of the peoples of nitrous, Primary and St Clement's Academy. Open spaces. Are there open spaces? What may I will, of course, consider the ideas and write back to them, so they can understand more about how our democratic process, work and fortune. Why do commitments are that I won't be able to attend on on the visit to the Council meeting or to the Council Chamber by more than happy to discuss with Councillor Marsh if he would like to have a visit to the school? So we can speak to the children at the school to educate them about recycling more suitably trained and how they can also encourage more recycling in their house, and given that NI children does have a low recycle, I think it would be really of much benefit to both myself and Councillor Marsh to carry out a visit to the school and also bring in we're looking

generation at shot that's been that was launched by Liam Byrne for schools and had your constituency. I think we could also have a

Lord Mayor - 0:41:16

discussion around, especially through the scrutiny, work, to expand that into the Ladywood constituency and all constituencies across the

Cllr L Marsham - 0:41:23

city. Lord Mayor, just on that, I am having a conversation. We ties energy policy if they would sponsor generation shot to inwards and schools where we have, within their sphere of influence, which is around Tyseley so that we'll be covering Hall Green, a Gillian Yardley constituency, and again, I'm not asking Members here if you're not of an organisation who would be happy to sponsor BCC in launching the generation it shot across the city. That would be really really helpful if they can have a conversation with me after after this

Lord Mayor - 0:41:53

meeting. In the meantime, Lord Mayor, again thank you to Councillor

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:41:57

Marsham for supporting the three mosques in neutrals who wanted to hold the Eid prayer or lost like to place on record my thanks to the officers. It was a late application and they do. Their utmost to try to accommodate all requests that come through. As long as the event is safe, we would have no issue in holding events in our parks. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

who can remember Megrahi from convert Debbie Clancy,

thank you, Lord Mayor.

yet, sorry, sorry, Lord Mayor, my question is to the Cabinet member for finance and resources, Councillor Brigid Jones,

the Cabinet Member is the Port folio Holder for risk management at the time will, I am sure, have paid particular close attention to the risk register that accompanied the financial plan she and her colleagues put forward to Full Council in February.

that risk register gave a risk rating of 0% to the likelihood of

Lord Mayor - 0:42:58

further successful equal pay claims, did the Cabinet Member, at any

Cllr L Marsham - 0:43:04

point prior to February, receive any information from officers that would have indicated to her that the risk of successful claims was actually higher than that 0%?

concludes reply.

Lord Mayor - 0:43:25

thank you, Lord Mayor. all budgets that are taken to council are

Cllr M Bernasconi - 0:43:27

signed off as legal and compliant by the section 1 5 1 officer, and that budget was.

thank you comma 0

Lord Mayor - 0:43:37

going for clarity, you have a supplementary got.

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:43:40

Lord Mayor, it is clear now that the information presented in that risk register was severely misleading and has put this Council into an even more perilous position with the Cabinet Member like to take this opportunity to apologise to councillors and the public for as Deputy Leader at that time allowing a report which was seemingly so flawed to form the basis of the most important annual decision more Councillors in this Chamber have to make

on and reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor,

I believe we have, as an administration, apologised for the disruption caused by this and the Oracle incident, and obviously I repeat that with regards to the paperwork that came forward to Council that was signed off by the session, one by one officer at the time as being a legally compliant budget and Councillors took advice from officers on what to do with regards to that and received assurances that things were in the right place, thank you look very hard to aunt

Mex Groves from got a new petard.

thank you, Lord Mayor,

my question is to the Cabinet Member for the Environment in light of the serious flooding that occurred across the city over the weekend, I can confirm how he is going to bring climate adaptation and resilience work, as well as the existing climate change mitigation work into the climates council's work on climate change, thank you, Lord Mayor,

thank you can remember the reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor. Flood flooding is within the responsibility of my colleague, Councillor Liz Clement, in the city, but obviously we work together because the around the climate change aspect, which does fall within my area of responsibility

around the flooding, I mean it was quite horrific what happened over the weekend in terms of the amount of buildings that were flooded. I took some footage myself from the Alan Mark Road, which is historic. There's some historic flooding that takes place need to declare an interest. One of the properties is actually owned by my uncle, my mum's older brother,

Lord Mayor - 0:46:01

and that's not been resolved. It's been going on for a number of years

Cllr D Clancy - 0:46:06

and had a conversation this morning with a resident from the Pippins Ward, who told me about the flooding that he's experienced because of a river, a book at the rear of his property, and he also mentioned around climate change that, because of climate change, this is going to continue, so we do need to put in.

We knew we do need to put in some resources. It has cost tried to combat that taking place and and something that I would be working through the flood risk management board that is operate within BCC, and I will be having a robust conversations with them in terms of setting up a strategy going forward. I

think I remember going to pretend you have a supplementary question.

thank you, Lord Mayor, yes, yes, I do, I'm so

I'd argue with the cabinet member that as we're talking about climate

Lord Mayor - 0:47:01

change and the, as he rightly pointed out from the communication with

Cllr B Jones - 0:47:04

residents, that climate change is making these sorts of events worse and more frequent and more likely, what was once something that would be one in 100 years is now happening, seemingly every four years in in

Lord Mayor - 0:47:15

Birmingham. If I think back to the last time we had something like this which was because May 20 9 2018 and 2019 sort of era, I'm so

Cllr D Clancy - 0:47:27

so that's why I specifically asked him and not his Cabinet colleague, because what my question was around the work around. Overall, the council's work on climate change adaptation and resilience to not just flooding, but hotter weather and changes

other changes in the climate as well, and so it's not just a specific highways and drains issue on which I was, as he says, is the cabinet of transport, but actually the overall Council response to the need to adapt and be more resilient to a changing climate. So can you just

Lord Mayor - 0:47:58

confirm that is has? It was at this weekend's events that has made him

Cllr B Jones - 0:48:02

realise that that might be a thing, or was he already thinking about this beforehand? Thank you, Lord Mayor,

come round to reply.

climate change has been affecting this city, this country and the entire world for a number of years now, there's been number of warnings given by number of personalities and countries across the world, it's affected countries like Pakistan that had a riffing flood which killed thousands of people and not because of the fault of Pakistan because of the behaviour of other countries in terms of not dealing with the issues that the impact on climate change roadmap, I

Lord Mayor - 0:48:35

am committed to working with all relevant colleagues both within the

Cllr J Pritchard - 0:48:39

city as they called as partners who like Environment Agency, and see how we can address this challenge going forward, given the extreme weather has Councillor Pritchard has said, is an increasingly frequent occurrence in this city and this country, thank you, Lord Mayor,

thank a number.

nori movement, refinement, sex, London, oral preference is for questions from governors

other than Cabinet Members, the Leader or Deputy Leader, one supplementary question is allowed the time for this actually 20

Lord Mayor - 0:49:08

minutes, cooler, OK, any member wishing to of Gretton please, for Jewish people.

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:49:12

Lord Mayor - 0:49:14

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:49:16

I have question from Councillor Rob Jordan.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

I have a question for the Leader of the Council, Councillor John Cotton, on the 7th of July to lead at a council told the BBC he was surprised to have equal pay figures brought to his attention. Yet when Labour took control of the council in 2012, the current leader was the then Cabinet Member, with specific responsibility for, and I quote, ensuring compliance with all legal duties. Since 2019, his cabinet roles included responsibility for, and again I quote, from the constitution, holding to account of irrelevant cabinet members and officers, the delivery of those functions that impact on equalities and inclusion of a number of years. He's also sat on the Council's equal pay committee. Then, of course, for the last 12 months, he's also had responsibility for HR, not to mention a collective responsibility and briefings being a cabinet cabinet member for eight of the last 11 years, given the leader's claims, he did not know there was a significant problem of equal pay, can the Leader to this Chamber where he failed to do his job laid out in the constitution to keep track of equal pay liability and risk

the reply?

Lord Mayor - 0:50:24

when being advised by officers as to the specific scale of our

Cllr J Pritchard - 0:50:33

potential liability would be somewhat understandable. What is important is that we are taking responsibility for resolving this issue and that we have been open and transparent about the scale of the problem. That was my commitment that I gave when I came in as leader, which is why I was ensured that those figures were shared as soon as possible with Members of this Council and with the city. We will now take forward the measures that we need to take to address this situation. That is what I am focused upon doing, and that is what my administration will do.

Thank leader to request him or her on

thank you, Lord Mayor,

as cabinet member and now leader, sat in meetings why race, the need to reissue new contracts to all staff to help eliminate equal pay risks, as a unions have been highlighting publicly in recent weeks, given these warnings over a number of years, why did the Leader failed to tackle this issue then as Cabinet Member and ensure new contracts were issued and it was his Cabinet role to make sure this responsibility was carried out by officers and members?

leave it to reply.

the discussions in our union, colleagues and others are ongoing around the pro these processes and will be bringing forward those proposals in due course.

thankfully, the

met secretly from godmother Rihanna.

Lord Mayor - 0:51:52

My question is to the Leader of the Council, Councillor John Cotton.

Cllr M Mahmood - 0:51:56

we are told that the root cause of the equal pay disaster is that we don't have robust job evaluation process this morning I was told that we won't have one in place until the 1st of April 2025,

we've an ongoing monthly

liability of up to 14 million pounds, why is it going to take another 21 months to get one in place?

leave you to reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor Members, will be familiar with previous job evaluation processes, these are essentially complex processes that need to be followed through and followed through in the appropriate

Lord Mayor - 0:52:37

manner. therefore, we have to ensure that we have got robust job evaluations in place, that is why there is some time that needs to be taken in in pursuing that process, but what we have to get to is a situation that ensures that there is fit fairness and equity across the organisation

and Coluna

Councillor Roger Norman's supplementary question.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

just incredible answers, but anyway, when we do get this

Cllr R Alden - 0:53:09

process in place, it will inevitably given the admissions are already being made, throw up at least one, tensely more, but at least one group of employees who are being paid above others without justification from the evaluation

does he undertake will you undertake to robustly and promptly tackle all such situations that are identified as soon as there are identified and not wait until 2025? Thank you, Lord Mayor,

Neil, to reply.

I think it's inherent in I robust job evaluation process that that indeed takes place.

thank you, leader.

net revenue from quantity, Julio Pritchard

thank you, Lord Mayor, and my questions to the Leader, and in some of his answers to the written questions it appears that

he's told us about

he was told about the equal pay liability on around the 15th of June,

Lord Mayor - 0:54:11

and other cabinet members might have had a few days earlier.

Cllr J Cotton - 0:54:14

but can he explain that, if it was then why it took almost then two weeks for it to be kind of announced publicly and for opposition members to be told about it, and while there was no mention of this at the Cabinet meeting on the Tuesday 27th

of June, thank you do not

need to reply.

Thank you, Lord Mayor. I think it was important on receipt of that information, that we undertook the further due diligence that was needed to be absolutely clear about the scale of potential liability.

Lord Mayor - 0:54:43

That is the reason for the time lag between myself, being advised as leader members of the Cabinet being advised that information then

Cllr R Alden - 0:54:47

being shared with the Council. However, what I am clear on is that we needed to be open and transparent about that and share that information with Members of this Council. As soon as it was, we were in a position to be able to do so

gone, are you going to put our supplementary question?

thank you, Lord Mayor.

in recent comments to BBC w the Labour national Labour leader Keir

Lord Mayor - 0:55:13

Starmer, and I quote, we've got a new leader now and there's a new

Cllr J Cotton - 0:55:18

leader in there seems to be implying that the change of leadership in relation to the council is in relation to equal pay claims

Lord Mayor - 0:55:25

if this is the case then

did kiss on what the national party know about the council equal pay

Cllr R Harmer - 0:55:35

issues before. the cabinet and and if not wise, the National Labour party leader trying to imply that the change of council leadership that is imposed was to do with equal pay, thank you for

the reply.

I have to say, Lord Mayor, I think that's a slight misreading of the comments that the leader of the Labour party gave, however I'm very grateful for the support of Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour leadership thinking leader.

the next great-niece from corner, I move the same.

thank you, Lord Mayor, or go to question 4 to the Leader of the

Lord Mayor - 0:56:07

Council, Councillor John Cuttin.

Cllr J Cotton - 0:56:10

last last month saw the publication of Birmingham Pakistani report, a very detailed piece of work. that outlines the challenges and opportunities faced by this city's largest ethnic minority group,

will the Leader join me, encouraging country derating the report, authors on the groundbreaking and important piece of work?

lied to reply.

Lord Mayor - 0:56:40

Cllr R Harmer - 0:56:44

thank you, Lord Mayor, the Birmingham Pakistani report is definitely a groundbreaking and a timely publication, and I was proud to speak at the the launch events here in this Chamber a few weeks ago and I know that there were other Members from across the Chamber who joined us for that. I particularly want to pay tribute to the report authors and to thank them for engaging with stakeholders across the city in a very constructive manner. I think it's testament to all their hard work that Pakistani communities in and other cities are now looking to produce similar reports.

As I said at the launch, the report represents a presents a real

Lord Mayor - 0:57:22

opportunity to work with and for this city's largest ethnic minority

Cllr J Cotton - 0:57:25

group. In the 2021 census there were 195,000. Pakistanis living here

Lord Mayor - 0:57:31

in Birmingham. That's almost one in five people in our city, which means that we have the largest Pakistani population of any local authority in this country

Cllr J Pritchard - 0:57:38

and the cost that community plays an active part in every aspect of Birmingham's life. That includes our culture, our sport, education, the health service, business and, of course, the city's politics. So I think it's absolutely vital that we reflect on the findings of this weighty piece of work and work on it as we move together as a city, and I very much hope that the fact that myself, along with my cabinet members who were present for that launch, underlines our collective commitment to Birmingham's Pakistani community. Thank you. Thank Nina,

government is saying you have a supplementary.

Lord Mayor - 0:58:13

Cllr J Cotton - 0:58:17

the reply.

representative

comments also asking for food to group about their findings and the next steps. The Council is well placed, I think, to respond positively to this report works already underway through our everyone's battle,

Lord Mayor - 0:58:42

everyone's business initiative, to ensure that the council, at every level, reflects the communities that it serves. We're also working

Cllr J Pritchard - 0:58:49

closely with Solihull council and the Combined Authority on a levelling up plan for East Birmingham.

We've also developed a Pakistani community health profile, which our public Health colleagues are working on to highlight and address the health inequalities affecting the Pakistani community.

As we work to tackle the city's challenges. The Birmingham Pakistani report can help us to ensure that Birmingham's future success means success for all of our communities and absolutely promise you that I and most importantly, I think this whole council are wholly committed to that journey. Thank you, Lord Mayor

Deputy Leader,

next on. My list is gonna bruise lines

Lord Mayor - 0:59:27

thank you, Lord Mayor.

Cllr J Cotton - 0:59:31

question, obviously, to the leader, in November 2022, you attended the resources scrutiny to update them on the high chart elements of your portfolio.

which is now being true for transferred with you, to your new

Lord Mayor - 0:59:44

appointed post as leader now at that Scrutiny meeting, you told the

Cllr Mahmood Hussain - 0:59:48

Committee that the oracle would be soon moving into the optimise phase of delivery,

what questions did you ask officers to issue yourself?

have the accurate accuracy of the information you were presenting, thank you, Lord

Lucan reply.

myself and other Members. Lord Mayor continue to ask questions around the implementation of the oracle process as it was ICS system, as you would expect us to do so. However, it became clear, following further

Lord Mayor - 1:00:24

disclosures and back in back in April, that there were serious

Cllr J Cotton - 1:00:28

problems with how that system had been adopted. We have put in place the governance arrangements to ensure that that that those issues are addressed. Indeed, I took a report to Cabinet last week to put in place resources for the stabilisation of that system and will continue to focus on ensuring that it is stabilised and optimised. We have also commissioned an independent review to ensure that the issues around the implementation of the Oracle system are fully explored and addressed.

Thankfully, there are some really cracking. Can Rutland

Leigh, since becoming leader, have concentrated heavily on hold officers to account for the failings of the Oracle implementation. Yet as a member of the cabinet throughout the Oracle programme

and with specific responsibility for the headshot element, as well as the use of consultants,

you'll be aware that we have been rising questions and concerns from the onset handing. You if you had chosen to listen the questions you should have been asking of officers and of consultants to reassure yourself and fulfil your own leadership duties.

Do you accept any personal or collective responsibility for the failure, or will you continue to blame? and pass the buck to officers.

the reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I think any Member of this Council, Cabinet, member or backbencher has a right to ask and challenge officers over operational matters, that is indeed what we're elected here to do, we have commissioned independent review to understand the full scale of

Lord Mayor - 1:02:02

what's happened around the implementation of Oracle I shall await the

Cllr Mahmood Hussain - 1:02:06

findings and recommendations in that report.

Lord Mayor - 1:02:10

thankfully, for the NEC returns from the Saleh Mahmoud.

Cllr J Cotton - 1:02:18

thank you, Lord Mayor, my question is for the Leader of the Council, Councillor John Cotton, the recent news of the council's potential equal pay liabilities is concerning for all of us, I would like to ask the Leader if he could please update the Council on what action he has taken to ensure that this council has the right expertise to navigate and challenge this issue

read reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor, as I said, in answer to an earlier question from my first day in this office, I've made it clear that the council faces some huge challenges with the potential equal pay liabilities

Lord Mayor - 1:03:04

being central to those challenges. In order to help us navigate these, the Council will strengthen its strategic capability and capacity by

Cllr B Lines - 1:03:13

appointing three strategic expert advisers to support the council's directors and cabinet. These advisers will be senior leaders with a substantial track record of delivering successful outcomes in a public body and supporting our work around financial resilience, industrial relations and good governance, together with culture change, service improvements and digital and strategic IT. Implementation and the activities of these three streams will feed into an overarching strategic delivery board that will meet monthly, I think, by increasing the level of expertise available to the Council and by strengthening our governance processes, we can work together to overcome the challenges that we face. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

Lord Mayor - 1:03:51

subliminal cracking and contribute to the move

Cllr J Cotton - 1:03:55

thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you leader, can the Leader reassure Members that they will be fully briefed as this issue develops in the weeks ahead?

so that we can remain aware of the issue facing the Council and how they are being resolved, thank you, thank

you reply.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I can absolutely give that assurance as leader, I have been clear that we'll be honest and open and transparent with members, and that's why I asked the chief executive of the council to arrange briefing sessions for opposition members as well as the members of the Labour Group as this situation began to unfold or continue to ensure that Members are updated as we tackle this issue in the months ahead. Thank you.

Thank you leader,

Lord Mayor - 1:04:39

the former governor will be from good company, Ewan Mackey.

thank you very much, Lord Mayor, my question is to Sharon Thompson

Cllr B Lines - 1:04:48

Deputy Leader of the Council,

with the council housing complaints, team reporting, as 61 input percent increase in complaints many to do with mould, do you agree with me that the situation is continuing to deteriorate?

Deputy Leader to reply,

thank you for your question, Councillor McVey. I think this I think anybody would agree that this huge challenges across housing and there's been an increase across the country in terms of customer complaints in those particular areas. I think this I've met with officers over the last few weeks in relation to complaints across the whole of the council, and not just in regards to the housing section

Lord Mayor - 1:05:31

and looked at where we need to look at the performance of those and also the complaints that are coming through in relation to how we can

Cllr J Cotton - 1:05:35

bring them all together. So we will continue to be undertaking that work

thank you Deputy, the supplementary question, because they will not be.

Lord Mayor - 1:05:52

thank you very much, Lord Mayor, I do indeed with the oracle IT system initially budgeted at 20 million pounds and now said to be costing 100 million pounds and the equal pay claim of.

Cllr B Mahmood - 1:06:01

after years of collective cabinet heads, including yours being buried in the sand now to cost 760 million pounds, what do you say, as the cabinet member who presided over the 61% increase in complaints, to worried residents who worried the council will continue to lose its focus on quality repairs and complaints will rise again?

Deputy Leader to reply,

to very much for your supplementary question. I think, as many colleagues in the Chamber in terms of cabinet have said already, we

Lord Mayor - 1:06:33

absolutely across the chain that asks the pertinent question to

Cllr J Cotton - 1:06:36

officers in relation to not just our vehicle but other things across the council in terms of housing repairs, we recognise that, damp and mould and other things in terms of repairs or receive this issue, we will continue. The Cabinet Member for that will continue to work with officers and obviously there's a review going taking place and we are working in line with what has come out in terms of the ombudsman said that work is still essential and the Cabinet Member for that area will be looking at that. In line with the HRA

thank you, Deputy Leader,

we move on to the next autumn,

is born, opponents by the council or have any operate in term of terms of nominations could not be grouped to try to

get me.

Councillor Kath Scott is taken off the police and crime panel and replace with Councillor Shabiha, Bano

Lord Mayor - 1:07:34

Councillor Ricky, as is will be the substitute for Councillor Barlow,

Cllr B Mahmood - 1:07:37

the substitute for Councillor Forsyth's will be Councillor Ray Goodwin.

can I also ask that

Councillor Julie Birmingham is taken off the trust and charities committee and put on the Licensing and public Protection Committee, and that Councillor Zafar Iqbal is taken off the Licensing and public Protection Committee and put on the trust and charges committee and

Lord Mayor - 1:08:00

finally taken I ask that I am replaced as chair of the Housing

Cllr J Cotton - 1:08:03

Consultative Committee by Councillor Sam foresight,

thank you, Lord Mayor.

no, he's gone

mad.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I wonder 9 spent to make Councillor Mudie Amgen

Lord Mayor - 1:08:21

to replace Councillor Deborah Harris on Education, children and Young people Scrutiny, thank you, Lord Mayor.

Cllr E Mackey - 1:08:27

are there any other, you know either agreed,

thank you much.

we move on to agenda item

ceremonies for Memorial Day

Lord Mayor - 1:08:48

and a meeting of the Council businessman committee held on 26 June,

Cllr S Thompson - 1:08:50

a decision was taken to spend suspend standing orders for this item,

this will be, this will enable the proposed year and second, is the motion a maximum of seven minutes each to speak on what is an extremely important subject.

I move that the standing orders be suspended for this item.

either seconded.

I agreed.

each group had nominated a Speaker and others have called them in turn to address.

Lord Mayor - 1:09:28

draft the council,

Cllr E Mackey - 1:09:32

the time allocated for this item is 40 minutes

I call upon Councillor Martin Brookes to introduce the motion and to move the recommendations called Martin Brookes.

thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you to the leaders of all the groups represents on the city council who have given support to this all-party motion today.

as a city, we've supported the work of remembering Srebrenica RIP remembering Srebrenica over some years

Lord Mayor - 1:10:08

and, as today's meeting falls on Srebrenica Memorial Day. marking that

Cllr S Thompson - 1:10:10

day in 1995. when Bosnian Serb forces overrun and captured the town of Srebrenica.

I do have all the horrors of the war in Bosnia

are worrying, which tens of thousands of women were raped and over a million people lost their homes, we should reflect

on the unique horror of what took place around that day

in the worst atrocity on European soil since the second world war

and what both the international criminal tribunal for the former

Lord Mayor - 1:10:49

Yugoslavia and the international court of justice determined to be an act of genocide.

7 Appointments by the Council

an atrocity. in which 8,000 over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, mostly men and

Cllr D Hughes - 1:11:05

boys. we're systematically separated from their families and murdered in cold blood with their bodies dumped in mass graves.

murdered because of their faith.

murdered because of their ethnicity.

murdered, despite sheltering under the protection of the United Nations in an area designated by the United Nations in 1993 as a safe area.

the United Nations commander at the time had said to them,

you are now under the protection of the UN forces, I will never abandon you.

yet in 1995 Serb forces took away those men and boys to execute them,

they were removed in the presence of UN troops, without those troops

Lord Mayor - 1:11:54

ever firing a single shot.

Cllr B Baz - 1:11:59

and for many families, 28 years later,

the loss and misery.

is unending

earlier today in Srebrenica

or the Potter Charrea memorial and cemetery.

Lord Mayor - 1:12:13

the remains of a further 30 victims of the genocide will are laid to rest.

one of those victims was a boy of 15 who was identified only by a single bone.

8 Srebrenica Memorial Day

the families of the victims and the survivors of X experienced the kind of pain that none of us can imagine, I guess, and that pain continues,

not least given the ever present genocide, revisionism and denial,

people visiting the pots of chary graveyard are subjected to the sight of graffiti around the streets of Srebrenica denying that genocide

and they have to contend with genocide denial coming from this leading politicians in the region,

Milorad Dodik, the president of the Serb entity in Bosnia Herzegovina, he described the Serb separately through Srebrenica massacre as a fabricated myth,

and in 2017 he introduced legislation which effectively banned the teaching of that genocide in the schools of Repubblica subscribe, which is a Serb entity within Bosnia Herzegovina.

Cllr M Brooks - 1:13:26

outside Bosnia, we can be proud that our country has been at the forefront in ensuring that the victims of Srebrenica are remembered.

the genocide, denial is challenged and that lessons are learned of what can happen if we fail to guard against intolerance and hatred.

much of this work is done by remembering Srebrenica, a Birmingham based national charity funded by the UK government, and working with all cross-party support.

the theme for 2003 sorry 2023 is together, we are one,

this highlights that the conditions for genocide

a built where there's a climate and culture which allows hatred and extremism to breed.

resulting in the fracturing of communities where hatred and extremism is allowed to flourish,

what starts as inflammatory rhetoric? can escalate to attacks, persecution and even extermination, as happened in Bosnia Herzegovina.

many people in my parents' generation who lived through the Second World War, and so the horrors of the Holocaust, pledged never again

yet just 50 years after the end of that war.

we witnessed the evil of Srebrenica.

let us, as one City Council, make a collective pledge. that will work in our communities, in our schools, in our workplaces, to raise awareness of that genocide that took place in Srebrenica and the unchecked hatred and intolerance that led to it, thank you, Lord Mayor.

thank you, Graham, Norton work.

according to current law, all who second on behalf of the Conservative Group.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I rise to second this cross-party motion on this most significant day, marking the 28th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia, and I thank Councillor books for making the stand-alone item happen today. Lord Mayor, I like to focus my contribution on the second resolution within the motion, where we pledge to use the lessons from Shep and ESA to combat all forms of prejudice, discrimination in the city that targets another because of their religion, ethnicity, gender sexuality or any other characteristic.

in war, they are, sadly many things that are worse than hell and the Shep Muniesa massacre tragically reflects this as Councillor Book says a unique cover. On the 11th of July 1995 28 years ago. To this day, Bosnian Serb units captured the town of Shibin Esa in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Muslim refugees had been evacuated into this UN, declared safe zone away from advancing forces, tens of spouts, tens of thousands hiding besieged fearing death, disease, starving as supplies ran low,

even as the city fell, the invaders declared don't be afraid, no one will harm you, even as they separated out men and boys from the crowd they were taken away, taken away to be shot, thousands works acquitted and then pushed into mass graves with boulders. reports suggest that some were buried alive, while some adults were forced to watch their children be killed,

the soil is soaked with blood recounted a survivor,

in less than two weeks their forces systematically murdered wooden 8,000 people, they did not stop the slaughter for 10 days the worst act of killing on European soil since the end of World War II.

this all started 28 years ago, to this day it was allowed to happen, because individuals, leaders, nations, the United Nations, failed to stand up and act, it was done and driven because of one group's sheer hatred of another,

again and again we declared never again and yet as a society. we see this is clearly not the case, I have stood in asylum memorials of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Kigali genocide, memorial in Rwanda and, like so many others, have been unable to comprehend the horror and pain that men, women and children have had to go through in the final moments and also what drove other human beings to enact such suffering and pain upon others.

such atrocities or actions that may seem far removed from my day-to-day experiences seem irrelevant to a lives here in Birmingham, but we must never forget, we must always remember

the remembering Srebrenica, its own theme to 2023, focuses on the fact that conditions of genocide are built on a climate that allows hatred and extremism to grow unchecked, resulting in the dividing of communities.

rhetoric. A them and us attitude. Acts and words which seats to other groups being is negatively different. Why? Collective targeted language on another group, which creates division, separation polarises groups. It is in these small seats from which immense suffering eventually flows the 10 steps of genocide.

That is why this motion today, so important. It calls on us ourselves,

Lord Mayor - 1:18:57

as elected members, to embody to encourage, through our own words and actions, to lead organisations and others holding everyone, to account, to use our positions and every opportunity that God gives us to foster an environment in our city that constantly helps to

Cllr A Yip - 1:19:15

emphasise the similarities between us all, always strive to find that common ground instead of focusing on any one single facet of their identity. this motion forces us to consider what we can, what we must do through our own actions and words and our own leadership as a Council,

we and everyone individually here, have that role in advising against hatred, division in all its forms in every moment, to try and create a society that embraces our common humanity. As former MP Jo Cox said, we form a divided and have more in common with each other and that which divides us.

No one person wakes up deciding to dislike a group of people. It comes off him, small steps where some reject others, based on their own differences, building this collective social consciousness of adopting

in the presence of the horror and evil that has occurred in our world history, our group welcomes the sentiment behind the motion,

we must never stand idly by, we must always learn from the lessons of the past. we must also confront our own prejudices and that of others,

however recent pledges are easy and I look forward to seeing where these May words are followed up with actions, real integrity in holding others to account when they're advocating division, it is the very least that we can do to honour their memory to do what we can to try and make sure that these atrocities, indeed never again. thank you, Lord Mayor.

we confirm.

I call upon Councillor Roger Harmer to second on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group.

put the homework.

gone old

thank you, Lord Mayor.

thousands of men executed and varied mass graves, hundreds of men buried alive, men and women mutilated and slaughtered children killed before their mother's eyes, a grandfather forced to eat the liver of his own grandson these are truly scenes from hell written on the darkest pages of human history.

that was how the Srebrenica genocide was described by international criminal judge for Adriano, it was the most appalling genocide since the Second World War, and for most of us here it happened in our lifetime, yet it does not get the acknowledgement that it should, especially when you consider that on the anniversary every year, the latest remains to be unearthed are given a proper burial and families tend to mourn them,

I followed the conflict on the news of my children were infants, I remember the shock of seeing war unfold and the feeling of anxiety and deep sorrow for the pupils caught up in it.

Bosnian Serb soldiers expelled over 20,000, civilians from their communities, burning their homes to the ground and raping women and children, they called it ethnic cleansing, a phrase which makes us shudder in 2023.

why do so many people not know what happened here in the west perhaps is still a shame attached to it, because the United Nations established to prevent this kind of type of atrocity, did not do enough to prevent it,

the UN had form bleak proclaim that Srebrenica was a place of safety.

after the atrocity 1999, the then UN secretary general Kofi Annan said, through error, misjudgment and an inability to recognise the scope of the evil confronting us. We failed to do our part to help save the people of Shriver Neckar from the Bosnian Serb campaign of mass murder

in 2013 I visited the brass neck cota and muster where the skort scars of war were visible in the bullet holes on buildings and the graffiti on walls. I saw the scenes of former conflict with my own eyes and ears and even as a tourist, almost 20 years later, I got clear sense that the tensions that created it had not gone away and the still not gone away

now another decade has passed and we're experiencing war once again in Europe, hosting Ukrainian family, exposed to me the daily anxiety of being a war refugee, the fear of losing loved ones and the grief of knowing that the world you once felt safe in will never be the same again. The atrocities in Ukraine are happening now.

One of my guests is the same age as me and like me, she's a grandma, she doesn't speak English, I could only hope and cry with her and I saw clips sent by her husband of rocket damage near their flat. I could only try my best to give her her daughter and grandson some sort of normal life here in the UK, and I wasn't alone. The response to the horror of the war in Ukraine from millions of ordinary citizens has been incredible.

We at least we know that as a country we are doing what we can to help.

I'm proud to the Birmingham is a City of Sanctuary and wearing T-shirt from Kings Heath action for refugees. It says on it altogether Brum. This is what we do here. We're a city that welcomes and cares for people fleeing persecution and violence, and we do what we can to help make their lives just that bit better. Yet just last week we learned that MP Robert generally order the painting over of cartoons in a children's asylum centre, so they wouldn't be so welcoming it made me feel sick because words matter and, more than anything words from

Lord Mayor - 1:24:29

people in positions of power matter. The repeated mantra of stop the boats, desperate futile attempts to send asylum seekers to anywhere else, setting communities against each other to deflect from the failure to protect both and the dehumanising of human beings. This is

Cllr I Knowles - 1:24:46

how the seeds of hate, or so

there's a prayer on the side of Greystones, Trevor Necker, and the message speaks to humanity everywhere, we shouldn't forget it,

in the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate. we pray to Almighty God may grievance become hope, mere revenge become justice, my mother's tears become prayers, that's Rebecca never happens again to no one, and nowhere.

thank you, Lord Mayor

thank you for holding.

next.

please contact your petard on behalf of the Green Group.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

and thank you also Councillor Brooks for bringing this.

a motion and making this happen today.

Lord Mayor, I attended with yourself and the exhibition earlier and found it both harrowing and obsolete for provoking and some of those images about what happened.

our really really shocking and

terrible horrible to even think about,

and the lessons learned reference from Srebrenica are still very much needed in in 2023, we must all be mindful to counter hatred and intolerance.

as much as the genocide in Bosnia shows, can flourish if left unchallenged and lead to the most dreadful of consequences.

the 11 pledges that remembering Srebrenica asks us to honour and victims of genocide, including challenging dehumanising language. including, and particularly politicians, can have a real responsibility to make sure that that doesn't

do humanity, language doesn't happen and doesn't help sow the seeds to the sort of atrocities that we saw.

Birmingham is a City of Sanctuary.

and something that we should be really proud of.

and we should applaud those who put their time.

and effort into ensuring that the city keeps that pledge and fights intelligent intolerance, and welcomes

those seeking sanctuary our fantastic as such work is it's not enough, as a Council should proudly stand up and be critical of language that demonises and demonises people including immigrants and casting him as the legal holder an invasion or suggesting that people's lives or not equal worth to us. we're all aware of the incredible benefits that taking people in all different racism religions has had for our city, including many fleeing persecution in Bosnia in the 1990 s, hatred of other people, of other races, religions or any other characteristics is not a natural thing it is taught, so we must be bold in catering, scapegoating and stereotyping with positive stories about our multicultural city and the benefits we also the diversity we enjoy.

remembering Srebrenica also asked to ask us to challenge discrimination in our schools and workplaces, promote equal opportunities for all, and I challenge us all to do this and be proactive in engaging and including those from different disenfranchised and marginalised communities. This is how we can combat radicalism by making people feel part of the success of the city and the benefit that they being part of it.

Birmingham must be bold in embracing the need to learn lessons from the past. Countering hatred and intolerance, inclusion,

inclusion, fairness and positivity. A great example can, from this can be seen Birmingham

Race impact groups, race equality, manifesto, recommended the motions of which I recommend the council at some point in future adopts.

for

the rich events such as Ebenezer are, at the beginning of the end, the end of a long period of seeds being sown of horrible hatred and intolerance, so make sure, Lord Mayor, the best way we can remember is make sure there are seeds of hatred intolerance don't find you here or anywhere else thank you, Lord Mayor,

think of the bizarre, do any Member of it is B, please, you're

Lord Mayor - 1:29:02

practicable now and already have contributing jobs or money.

Cllr J Pritchard - 1:29:12

yeah

thank you, Lord Mayor,

I want to start off by commending Councillor Martin Brookes and also paying tribute to

all groups on this Council in the midst of some very, very challenging circumstances for Birmingham city council we've set time aside

in in this very important Council meeting

to commemorate

28 years since this genocide in 7 this year. I also want to take this opportunity, Lord Mayor, to commend

the work of the Birmingham charity, remember 7 issa, who do some outstanding work, not just in Birmingham but right across the country and beyond, led by their chair Dr Wu Kazmi, who is a an activist here in this region I also want to pay tribute to the government for the investment that the government continues to make in this very, very important piece of work.

Lord Mayor, as we've heard, 28 years ago,

thousands of women were raped

over a million people were displaced, tens of thousands of people were killed in or during a short period of time, 8,000 men and boys were massacre to death because of their religion, ethnicity and gender.

I, as I said earlier in this meeting, had the honour of visiting this region in 2016,

I was a child at secondary school when this happened,

as somebody who always took an interest in politics and world affairs I did watch on television were happy when I read about it but nothing Lord Mayor could prepare me for what I was to witness on this trip many years later.

as somebody who suffered Islamophobia, racism and harassment in all sorts of forms,

as a community of origin and being an outspoken. critique of human rights violations, either side of the line of control and Bushmead, I thought I'd seen it all, but nothing could prepare me for what I was to witness on this trip.

Lord Mayor, there's two particular.

visits that stand out for me.

standing at the some rue, the Serenissima genocide, memorial.

in front of hundreds of graves and remember, the remains of many hundreds of boys and men were never found, but standing there with my arms, my hands are like this saying, an Islamic prayer, a prayer that I I say many other Muslims say

every other day when we're paying our respects to someone as passed away but this prayer was different.

I stood the Lord Mayor

and I began to think about why these people lost their lives, why these boys lost their life, why these men?

we were so brutally murdered.

while Muslims were so brutally murdered in the genocide.

and I couldn't eat, I couldn't, and I still can't understand how, so soon after the Holocaust

that we were facing this genocide here in our continent and this wasn't Lord Mayor 28 years ago is in my lifetime the lifetime of many others, the vast majority of people in this Chamber

and the second and possibly the most difficult episode and that visit was meeting the mothers of so many Shia

Lord Mayor - 1:32:32

mothers who lost their parents, their fathers,

their husband, their brothers,

their sons and nephews

or yet so bravely and courageously still campaign today

not just

on this on this genocide but to raise the importance of living side by side together.

we may have our differences, we are people of faith. some people have no faith, we will have all sorts of differences,

Cllr W Zaffar - 1:33:05

but we have, as the late great Jo Cox said, were more in common than that differs, and these hugely passionate women are second to none, Lord Mayor, today in that region, Muslims, Jews and Christians live side by side, but you will take many many more decades for them to move on from what without doubt is one of the saddest days not just on this continent but in the history of society on earth. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

thank you.

Graham Paul Tilsley.

Lord Mayor, in view of the very moving speeches that have been made today. could I move that we stand for a moment's silence to remember all the beatings? Turkey.

thank you.

consequently, if you want to know. okay, next, we go home on a leafy, got her moms.

this cross-party motion

and thank the Members of the Cup of the council, business management team Group leaders and Councillor Martin Brookes for bringing this to Chamber today. what may we can be absolutely United across the Chamber in expressing our gratitude for the Birmingham based charity, remembering served Niska for the tireless working, ensuring that this atrocity is not forgotten and that we use the lessons from Schreiber Niska to combat all forms of prejudice and discrimination in the city. Lord Mayor, before today's meeting began, I took some time to look at the artwork and materials which have been collated in the glass corridor. This immensely powerful exhibit is a stark reminder of the trustees that took place just 28 years ago. Over 8,000 men and boys were murdered due to the Islamic faith

or admire distrust. It is not ancient history, it was an act of not, and it was not an act of a long, forgotten century, but rather it was committed in living memory and most of the wicked victims would still be alive today if it weren't for the Trustees that took place

Lord Mayor, we must use the lessons of spreading the scare to tackle hate and intolerance, and we are all grateful to remembering Srebrenica for their work in our city and across our country for doing this. Lord Mayor, thanks to this remarkable charity, over 180,000 young people have been educated about the horrors of SRB Niska novel 1,450 community champions helped to shape share the charity's messages across the country. Lord Mayor, Birmingham's diversity is its greatest strength and we must use this diversity to build a future free from hate and prejudice, where people of all backgrounds are respected and where the lessons of the events of 28 years ago are none too old. Thank you, Lord Mayor. I

got them on

Lord Mayor - 1:37:12

cool over Councillor Martin Books' reply.

Cllr P Tilsley - 1:37:22

spoken so.

softly in this in this debate.

Co councillor Alex GIP talked about the need to drive to find common ground, not division

that's absolutely right, and one of the myths about Bosnia

is that the war started there because of.

ancient hatreds that existed between different communities,

that is not the case.

those communities lift together.

for literally hundreds of years, as neighbours, friends, workmates and

what did cause the crisis in Bosnia was the rhetoric that extremist politicians used, and that's what we always need to guard against

Councillor, as he knows, talked about 10 current tensions in Bosnia

and that's also true.

one of the

one of the reasons the war ended was the the dates and peace agreement

which

was put forward by the international community

that peace agreement divided Bosnia on ethnic grounds, and I'm sure that while it wasn't the intention of the international community that that would remain

how Bosnia was left, that is the situation because often, unfortunately, the international community, often loses interest and moves on to crises in other areas, and what we're left with are substantial problems in in in Srebrenica, in Bosnia and growing

Lord Mayor - 1:39:01

rhetoric from extremist politicians exploiting

Cllr M Mahmood - 1:39:04

the popular myths, etc

in summing up, I just wanna pay with lots of people have made tributes to Kew properly made tributes to remembering Srebrenica, as as an organisation which has made sure that we were focused on what we need to do in in the UK. to combat tensions and hatred, but I also want to pay tribute to the Bosnia and Herzegovina UK network, who are also based in Birmingham and have provided vital support to the 10,000 Bosnian refugees who came to the UK, some of those people came directly from the concentration camps, others came because they had to flee their homes, many came with injuries that couldn't be

couldn't be dealt with in Bosnia.

and that that Bosnia UK network that's not only supported its own community but has now been, it is now at the forefront in terms of providing support to other refugees arriving in this city after fleeing war, in particular, those coming from Syria and those coming from the Ukraine.

I wanted to just plug the fact that tomorrow there is a meeting in hosted by the City Council

on remembering Srebrenica Srebrenica,

at 2.00 in Committee rooms 3 and 4, and at that

meeting there will also be an opportunity for people to see the what is being described as the really harrowing images that, Robert McNeill, a forensic technician who was working for the UN, sorting out the remains of people

Lord Mayor - 1:40:54

from the Srebrenica genocide, he made those paintings and they will be on display at that meeting tomorrow, as well as other things

just sleep finally to say, and I think we've all said this in one way or another we've all got a special responsibility.

Cllr M Brooks - 1:41:08

as elected representatives, to facilitate social cohesion across this city, and I thought that we've learned the lessons from Srebrenica as to how important that social cohesion is and and and our role in in playing that, thank you very much.

thank you, Councillor Martin Brookes,

this motion agreed,

thank you very much.

we move on to next autumn

the

committee report.

we will note the report of the city's litter and monitoring officer, the time for this item is 10 minutes I call upon Councillor John Curran to move the recommendations.

Lord Mayor, this is the quarterly report that sets out decisions taken by Cabinet that were either not on the Forward Plan or decisions that are authorised for immediate implementation. I exempt from the usual Scrutiny, call-in process. This is a say report into Council this Council on a quarterly basis. This report sets out the detail of the one decision, which was the energy bill, support scheme, alternative funding and the alternative fuel payment scheme, alternative funding. That was not on the Forward Plan, also exempt from call-in, and that was the only such decision between the period, the 7th of March and the 15th of June a move, the report, Lord Mayor,

seconded.

do any Members wish to speak?

watch that.

to reply.

God leave.

agreed, thank you.

we want to.

next autumn.

the choice we have is either an early break or we go to the next Yonatan or 10 Scrutiny bills, for what we like early break all.

the Necati is a school report for 15 minutes, you have you that

finally then we want to get out in time, we will know we're receiver for of composer Albert Bore. J, of coordinating Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the time for this awkward fitness,

I call upon Councillor honorable to move the recommendations.

federal

I was hoping the decision would have gone the other way, but there we are.

and I hope that in presenting this Scrutiny business report to the City Council.

I might be able to convey a specific message

to the members and officers,

it is this.

we must all recognise that, and I quote.

creating a strong organisational structure that recognises the

Lord Mayor - 1:45:14

critical role of an independent scrutiny in the government's process

is essential to adding value and creating efficient and effective services.

scrutiny should be well-planned and timely.

those were quotes from an overview and scrutiny framework document.

adopted by the city council. in April 2021,

unfortunately,

and I do say, unfortunately,

Scrutiny has not always delivered on these goals.

9 Decisions Not on the Forward Plan and Those Authorised for Immediate Implementation

for some years it's pursued very few issues that have contributed significantly to the thinking and actions of the cabinet

and the chief executives senior management team.

Cllr J Cotton - 1:46:08

this is precisely why

Scrutiny members have brought forward a number of suggestions reported today.

that will improve the way in which scrutiny committees function.

scrutiny members must be able to provide a positive answer to the question,

Did we make a difference?

whilst cabinet members and the chief executive senior management team must be able to respond to the same question

Lord Mayor - 1:46:43

with the view that scrutinise engagement has contributed to a better understanding or a better way forward. On a specific issue.

as stated in today's report of the City Council.

engagement with cabinet members has been reshaped

with the aim that overview and scrutiny committees will be both influencing executive decisions and reviewing the impact of executive decisions.

in my view, this is about bringing the voice of non-executive members back into the heart of the day-to-day business of this Council.

scrutiny committees are being encouraged to adopt more flexible and effective approaches to the work of the of scrutiny

that go beyond the traditional formal committee meetings.

this might involve smaller task and finish group task and finish groups that could respond in a timely way to emerging topics or two issues suggested by cabinet members.

10 Scrutiny Business Report

task and finish groups that do not need to reflect political group proportionality or may include members from beyond the host overview and scrutiny committee.

I sincerely hope that these changes will be give back respect to the scrutiny function.

Will we succeed?

yes, but only if members contribute to the contribute the time us of them.

and make the effort to develop and carry out scrutiny, work programmes.

Cllr Chairman - 1:48:28

and only if cabinet members and officers assist by meaningfully recognising the potential added value of the scrutiny function.

I am of the view that coordinating or in this committee has demonstrated already that we can succeed with this approach.

in December 2022

council asked Scrutiny to look at the homes for Ukraine's programme.

a report from the cabinet member for social justice, community safety and equalities was considered by coordinating openness in January.

a small task and finish group was set up to review the programme.

and reported back in April after investigative sessions with officers, Ukrainian guests and their hosts and the external provider contracted to deliver the programme.

that report has gone to CAB, the cabinet member and to the chief executive, who had been asked to the September meeting of the coordinating owners committee. to provide responses to the recommendations on the lessons learned through the review,

has scrutiny made a difference,

I believe it has

no matter. The Scrutiny business report also provides a summary of the activities across the whole overview and scrutiny programme since February 2023

and the immediate priorities for 23 24.

I know that a number of scrutiny chairs wish to speak about their own committee activities, and I hope that they will be called, thank you, indeed, Lord Mayor.

thank you her on her go.

I call on the next speaker we got a John Hunt.

for either report seconded.

the report a secondary.

no.

sorry,

Gareth.

then on a daikon, please.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

Lord Mayor Scrutiny has an important role to play in the governance of this council and, as Councillor Boss outlined over the course of the last year, a lot of work has been undertaken to identify how scrutiny can add more value and be more effective.

Scrutiny doesn't have just one function, it has many, but if you Google, and there are other web browsers available for a definition, it will usually be something like it provides a constructive, critical friend challenge. It amplifies the voice concerns of the public and that it should be led by independent people.

But what does this actually mean? Lord Mayor,

being a critical friend, is a tough balancing act and one that we all learned a lot from over the past year. On my committee, it has been a steep learning curve, but I absolutely believe that scrutiny must be forensic and challenging, but that it must also seek to support decision makers to do their work better.

we all have a collective responsibility to support high quality decision making and scrutiny as an integral part of the governance framework that makes that happen.

Lord Mayor Scrutiny isn't about opposition for opposition's sake, but in democratic environments it is inherently inherently political,

being a critical friend involves understanding what decision makers are trying to achieve and then helping them get there being a critical friend is a two way relationship. That's important

decision makers must also be friends of scrutiny. They must be open to scrutiny and they must create a culture which enables effective scrutiny to take place.

amplifying the voice of our citizens is a hard job for scrutiny, but it is essential that these voices are heard in a way that allows them to influence decision makers when they design and deliver services, the new way of scrutiny, workload, working outlined by Councillor Ball, opens up new ways for us to improve the way that we listen to and work alongside our citizens. it will help us to reshape the way that we work so that we face outwards, and we look at issues that are important to local people in a way that makes sense. Those on scrutiny must be independently minded, but that is not the same as saying that they should be apolitical scrutiny is intensely political, we are politicians and have a unique perspective to bring

by setting our own work programmes. We can decide on what we feel is important and we can look at things from perspectives that might not be overtly apparent to cabinet members or senior officers. Lord Mayor, if scrutiny doesn't lead to any changes, then what is the point of undertaking that function? The examples of the new approaches given by Councillor Ball show very well how we believe that shaping a new way of working for scrutiny will lead to better decision making, better

Lord Mayor - 1:53:57

service performance and better policymaking with scrutiny committees, designing and delivering work that adds real value and that truly

Cllr J Hunt - 1:54:05

counts, thank you, Lord Mayor.

Jeremy members who wish to speak, please press your margarine button once if you wish to speak on my Blyth, is gone for John Hunt.

Lord Mayor - 1:54:22

thank you, Lord Mayor, and thank you, Councillor Ball for your report

Cllr K Jenkins - 1:54:24

and I rise to support your report and in particular your comments about the future role of scrutiny and and tightening its engagement with the Executive, I do so having returned to Scrutiny Committee

last month after seven year break from sitting on scrutiny committees and doing that seven years and as Members will be aware instead I attended cabinet meetings and joined a small group of opposition councillors attempting to provide a challenge. to the Cabinet and to its decision-making, and one of the key things that really became obvious to me in in recent years and which I think wasn't so at the outset of my time attending cabinet and prior to that is a complete absence of any scrutiny input into decision making. You'd see a report come before you think this is controversial. This controversy at this rate is significant and huge policy issues. I mentioned one in a minute and then you'd say, whereas the Scrutiny input

referenced a Scrutiny Chair, but what did the scrutiny committee think about it? Did they look at it, did they get a chance, no evidence or information at all, and I think Councillor Ball will recall when he was Leader of the Council, I'm fairly certain that he frequently summoned scrutiny chairs to attend cabinet to tell him what they thought about proposals and so forth that hasn't happened a great deal recently, except during call-ins, and of course, one of the recent call-ins has a very good example of this, and that was the Tyseley calling because at that report came to Cabinet and those of us in opposition looked at it and thought there are huge policy issues in this decision. There are huge policy issues and the way this is coming forward that a lot of detailed questions about this report as well, whereas the scrutiny input and it turned out the scrutiny committee had not seen the detail of the report. It had a PowerPoint presentation of, as I understand it, prior to it coming to Cabinet and occurs. It went back to them on a call-in request and the Scrutiny Committee called in and it had to go back to Cabinet for decision

and if anybody here thinks it's been done in the best way, no doubt the cabinet members do, but that that continued to be huge issues and questions around that particular aspect of Council policy,

and this can be avoided,

particularly if there's cross-party concerns and questions which they clearly were in that instance if if the proposals are worked up, incorporation of scrutiny on the committee I've joined economy and skills and I've joined it because it's where I started on the council and leading a task force on regeneration and skills, not joining that committee, I'm delighted to see it exists,

but we asked our first meeting last in June to have a look at the our future city plan, so tomorrow we've got on the agenda, the answer to the question Can members, at this meeting tomorrow

have a consideration of the our city, our future plan, an answer is basically

no, but the officers will be there, so I'm sure we'll have a chance to ask questions really, and those of us

who take the time will go away and have read the plan already, but the report, the response to that question simply says, members are being invited to consultations around the city on this plan,

and I know this was discussed at the last Council meeting under the Leader's report, but it's a plan which hasn't even been to Cabinet. It's a major major document for the city. It's got lots of great

Lord Mayor - 1:57:52

ideas, it's also got lots of questions around it. Scrutiny should be in there deep

prior to this, as I understand again, it was a PowerPoint presentation

Cllr J Hunt - 1:58:04

on the consultation process, not on the detail of the plan, so and in fact apparently Planning Committee has seen it, but the Scrutiny Committees haven't, so tomorrow is going to be interesting, Lord Mayor, but

Sir Albert,

more food for thought as to how that relationship develops, thank you, thank you go home document online.

next to my brother.

sorry.

yes, thank you, Lord Mayor, I'd just like to also welcome the approach that's been set out in this scrutiny. Business report and scrutiny should be about all the things that colleagues have been talking about critical friend challenge,

particularly, I think, focusing on concerns of the public

and certainly driving improvements to our public services and adding value is absolutely what it should be all about, and I think we as Councillors are absolutely uniquely placed. We've got our contact with residents in all parts of this city and our experience of this place, the council

that means that we're in a position to identify the issues that really need addressing, so it definitely should not be officers in this place setting out our scrutiny agendas, it should be us, we need more of that, I welcome the setting up of the neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee,

I know that's a bit predictable for me, but the previous housing and neighbourhoods committee's remit was too big and that, but that former committee actually did some great work

on, for example, improving the way we deal with fly-tipping scourge of our lives in the city,

I'd like to ask the question to all of you, have you seen the latest episode of grime watch, the video is on the Council's website if you haven't seen it watch it.

that's come about, because the former Scrutiny Committee interviewed two councils about what they were doing to tackle fly-tipping we interview Barking and Dagenham in London, and Nottingham.

and interestingly, I was once advised by a former Leader of this Council that we could learn nothing from smaller places like this Birmingham was so different, yes, well.

so we've now got this version of Crimewatch, which I actually, I watched it recently. I think it's really very effective, so watch it if you haven't

and now the neighborhood's openness is going to look a bit further at fly-tipping enforcement, because we feel our hope that colleagues in here would agree. We need to up the ante on this, and at our last meeting we called for an overview of all the initiatives that to be fair, Councillor Mahmood has put in place. We have got waste enforcement officers increased so we're told from 8 to 23 we've got 20 extra mobile cameras for fly-tipping hotspots and we've got six neighbourhood enforcement officers for wards with the highest fly-tipping rates, and obviously probably we've all experienced a new love, your environment, so we've got a lot of initiatives, but our question is to what effect. So we are asking for an analysis of the impact of all these measures because that's missing,

for example, we've got loads of information, all of us about what is being dumped,

so take the love your environment lists that sometimes were sent,

Lord Mayor - 2:02:10

we've called for more analysis of what's being dumped, who's doing it,

Cllr M Bridle - 2:02:16

what's the motivation and overlay that on the geography of the city,

Lord Mayor - 2:02:21

the inner city, the outer estates, you know what's going on if we

Cllr M Bridle - 2:02:24

could understand that better we could then get some methods in place for deterring and actual changing of behaviour because that was needed so we want to build, we want to see the city building a deterrence, fly-tipping plan,

and the only thing that's gonna stop this happening is, if we get that deterrence plan in place, so scrutiny with powder cocaine and adding value.

I can go zip.

thank you, Lord Mayor. I welcome the continued efforts of Sir Albritton, increasing the efficiency inbox scrutiny groups and straightening out his membership, especially in the past when we just had one cabinet member aligned to one scrutiny when in the past we had up to four cabinet members reporting to just one scrutiny. These, of course, welcome changes. However. However, I wish to reiterate our group's continued calls for cross-party portion nation of the scrutiny chairs Scrutiny. We all agree provides a vital role as a check and balance within scrutiny within Council to offer a vital, impartial and non-political view into decisions and the direction of the city. A stronger and more effective scrutiny, which is genuinely free from the political martyrs', like so many other cities in Britain, can only be good for the city and residents that a genuine critical friend fleet of a good challenge would be only good.

They should be. They councillors should not flow or shy away from this, and instead should welcome this oversight we can only wonder how many of the City issues could have been prevented if scrutiny was even more genuinely independence, we continue to push for this opportunity to taken up, thank you, Lord Mayor,

I can go home and clear

go for Mick Brown.

I thank you, Lord Mayor, I am pleased to speak in support of this report because Welby

while the role of scrutiny continues to exist catchily on yeah yeah.

to drive improvement in public services, it is equally important that the provision of local services is joined up an effective process. to achieve this, the role of scrutiny must adapt, as we press for the cultural change that recognises the role Scrutiny plays in creating effective and efficient overseas.

This is perhaps best illustrated in points 4.2 and 4.3 of report, which not only illustrate the reasons why scrutiny needs to change but puts forward three clear practical changes that can be implemented in this municipal year.

Lord Mayor on HOSC committee, we are fortunate to link into one cabinet member and with a programme of briefing sessions we can make effective use of the cabinet members time in terms of attending scrutiny, while ensuring that the Committee is fully aware of items in the Forward Plan.

Lord Mayor, this gives the Committee the opportunity to add value by influencing decisions before they are formally taken, for example, were able to add value by commenting on the contract extension of substance misuse services before it went to Cabinet.

we have also developed the work programme to add value by setting out a programme of reviews for the many organisations which serve our communities at the time their contracts are due for any renegotiation rather than on the previous ad hoc basis,

in conclusion, Lord Mayor, I believe the new ways of working is rolled out it will enable scrutiny to innovate and operate in a flexible and efficient way as he continues to make a difference in the way services are both designed and delivered. Thank you,

thank Graham McCarron, Mexico's Julio Pittard.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

I like to focus on three aspects of the scrutiny of business support, firstly, looking at the Commonwealth Games scrutiny inquiry into and to the legacy, and with the changes scrutiny committees, which, mostly, I would say, Lord Mayor, it makes sense considering the sheer volume as has been said and breadth of that some of the committee's cover,

we've got to make sure those recommendations that Scrutiny inquiry made.

Lord Mayor - 2:06:35

other were looking to come with games or lost.

as there's a risk that work, they're looking at the legacy just stops

Cllr A Yip - 2:06:42

this and a further one would not be ironic if, if the legacy of looking at legacy is, is there's nothing,

so we've got to make sure that that that's delivered, I know Scrutiny kick me. I'm on has got one of them at least, but making sure that it doesn't get lost. Secondly, looking back at the Scrutiny Committee's work of last few months, as outlined in this report,

the striking thing in light light of recent announcements around equal pay liabilities and the council's financial position,

it is interesting to note that those issues don't really feature that much

now. A lot of this put down to

the fact that Scrutiny and particularly resources weren't given the information in particularly around the extent of the problem, as we've already heard today,

and that underlines really the point that Scrutiny Committee do its job if officers and the council executive

don't try to hide information and hide problems and share as much information as possible, you can only scrutinise what's. in the public, deny domain what is being shared, so I think it's in terms of making scrutiny work more effectively, one of the things that I think

Lord Mayor - 2:07:51

would really help is that greater transparency and sharing of issues and problems.

Cllr E Mackey - 2:07:56

before they the balloon become even bigger

Lord Mayor - 2:08:00

and thirdly, Lord Mayor, I'd like to look at

Cllr M Brown - 2:08:03

the focus on that decision has already been mentioned around the waste incinerator contract

and the decision by the transport and sustainability committee to call in that cabinet decision and following request by myself Councillor Grant

Councillor Harper and Councillor McVey. for that that call-in,

and it was a good piece of Scrutiny work, I have to applaud that Scrutiny Committee for re looking into that really hold the Cabinet Member to account re, holding a decision to account

and actually calling something in as opposed to just sending a letter if they felt there was a problem with, as has have you said yourself before Councillor Bill,

if there is actually something wrong, then.

they shouldn't be just sending a letter, they should actually

make the decision to call in, and in this case, that happened and long may that continue when it does meet those criteria for call-in, as this clearly did.

however, the frustrating thing of that call-in is that Cabinet just made the decision again, I'm and if you're watch that cabinet meeting, Lord Mayor.

there was barely any real presentation about that call-in much. There was the report yet which was detailed, but there wasn't much discussion and presentation from the Chair and I accept that it was a new cabinet chair and new committee chair

for the Scrutiny Committee, but there wasn't really much from Scrutiny Committee at that meeting and the decision is just made again and there wasn't really I don't think any engagement with what that scrutiny committee had found and they just made a decision again, and

Lord Mayor - 2:09:42

so what I would say is that if Street is going to work, the administration executive is going to listen and it's got to really

Cllr J Pritchard - 2:09:48

take seriously if a scrutiny committee decides to call something in

to actually listen seriously to that.

and also

to actually engage properly and and for screen to work, to have an influence, it works both ways, it needs both screens in its job, but it also needs executives to actually come in good faith and listen and

actually value that contribution. Thank

you, Lord Mayor, you could come up with are next going to Lee Mason.

thank you, Lord Mayor, and before I begin, I just want to thank you as a former Scrutiny Chair last year, your

work last year and how you continue in that in your role as first citizen of Birmingham Lord Mayor scrutiny matters as it is vital to achieve the best outcomes for our residents and our city.

As his Vice Chair of sustainability and Transport Overview and Scrutiny Committee, I welcome the new ways working to ensure effective overview and scrutiny.

Members of sustainability and transport. Overview and scrutiny also endorsed a new approach

as Chair, I am lucky that all the Members who sit on the committee have expertise, experience and enthusiasm, the sustainability in transport, and I look forward to working with the more at our first meeting, we agreed in principle, to focus on four items. the upcoming highways PFA decision, active travel schemes, road safety and our route to achieving Net Zero as a council tomorrow will be confirming the terms of reference on our first task and finish group using the flexibility we now have to look at issues and feed back.

now, together, as a cross-party committee, I know we can, we will do our best to hold account and add value where we can, and I look forward to update in the Chamber and what we have done over the coming year, thank you, Lord Mayor, because

you want some murky continuing murky.

thank you very much, Lord Mayor. the Birmingham Marilyn 2018 declared this Council was. addicted to secrecy and for scrutiny to work. As ever many people have said today, it needs to be a critical friend and for it to be critical friend, that information is to be out in public. You know, as of this, the lights shining on it so that people can see what's happening and can respond accordingly.

When we called in the so the number of us called in the Tyseley incinerator decision a, there was a number of of bits of information. We were told that existed that we couldn't be shown

they used to be a time when, as Councillors, we could be shown things in blue paper, so basically we could be shown it in private,

I don't agree with that, I think most things should be in public but to be told that officers have things they can't tell Councillors anyway I think is goes ahead to the whole point of scrutiny because how can we advise people or be a critical friend if there's information we don't even know in December 20 18

councillor Martin Jenkins and myself called in the equal pay strategy,

we were told that that meeting

could not be in public, it had to be in private session, and not only did it be in private session, it was unable to be held on the website behind password, which is normal strategy, so it's not even on the website.

sorry, Councillor Jenkinson, I lost that call in 5 2. I think you can guess who the two was. It was myself and Councillor Jenkins and we guess what we were arguing. We were arguing that the the equal pay strategy would lead us open to challenge later in the later on in the course of the council, and here we are with a 760 million pound bill, and so I would suggest that going forward with scrutiny we should go back to the old days where everything is in public, you can see what's going on and you know what's happening, and it shouldn't just be five people plus Councillor Jenkins and I who went on in that, who knows what went on in that one. Thank you very much, Lord Mackay,

Nick on Jack and Deacon.

Lord Mayor - 2:13:55

thank you, Lord Mayor.

Cllr L Marsham - 2:13:58

First of all, I want to actually took about a point that Councillor Mackey made around

what information is shared with councillors

in this Chamber. I have the unique experiences and perhaps some of us do in this Chamber of having been a councillor on another authority, and I recently found myself wondering why in this Council so much information can never be shared with members, but I now have similarities in similar types of information where the legal advice was completely different on some of those issues

in North Warwickshire Borough Council where I was a councillor previously, so I do agree with Councillor Mackie and I do have some concerns around

the information that is allowed to be shared with members

overall, not necessarily person to just scrutiny,

I thought it prudent the I speak. this item today, given I am the chair of finance and resources scrutiny and what a year to be elected as Chair of Finance Scrutiny

members who attended or watched Scrutiny meeting recently, we looked at our work programme, will know that we had an extensive discussion around the items to be in our work programme and some members, including members such as Councillor Roden, as leader of the opposition and Councillor Hanna and other members of the proposed task, and finish group around Oracle now that all wanted to have that

Lord Mayor - 2:15:23

Cllr E Mackey - 2:15:25

cross-party and that unique way of looking of local

to be

the forefront of Ascaris any work programme, but it was decided in our Scrutiny meeting that the attention

for a large part of our work programme needed to move to

budget recovery

and the equal pay issues that have come up. But that's not to say that we won't be looking at Oracle, and I propose in the meeting that

we split our agendas on a regular basis between Oracle, our standing items and also

the issue of equal pay and budget recovery, because I think those two issues, equal pay and budget recovery and overcome the issues that matter at the moment the most to people outside there and also and to us as Councillors, if we're to able to provide the services that people deserve.

I think that Members across this Chamber have a variety of questions around those two issues and I think transparency and accountability is really really important, not only for the sake of knowing

what went on and why and who knew what, but because we need to make sure that this doesn't happen again and that a similar issues don't happen again because we sometimes get into a situation where one and I think it's fair to say that at this point and I think the management inquiry that is going to be happening is is very key to perhaps uncovering some of these issues but it would appear to be that there is a culture of working within this Council that perhaps is impediment to transparency and accountability and my Scrutiny Committee as chair

we'll be looking at that culture of working quite closely and hoping to input as much as we can into developing that culture of working into something completely different.

I think when we talk about the flexibility of scrutiny, it's vital that members are afforded the opportunity to decide what they scrutinise, it's not for Cabinet to decide what what we scrutinise, it's not for officers to decide what we scrutinise, so I think the the issue of information transference also needs to be at the forefront of officers in cabinet because we can't have situations where perhaps

Lord Mayor - 2:17:34

cabinet reports or or other issues on on shared with committee members

Cllr J Deakin - 2:17:37

or committee chairs because if Cabinet, really and officers want to work in the way in which has been proposed, which is to value scrutiny and to use scrutiny, we need to make sure that they are doing those things and we need to hold them to account on how they approach and deal with us as well. Thank you, thank

you and good luck to Councillor Rob Holden

thank you, Lord Mayor, and I rise to speak in quite a similar vein to many other speakers happen, particularly to highlight the need for the administration to start taking Scrutiny seriously in this organisation. If the value that can be extracted from it is actually going to be extracted good on my hand here that Colin pro forma on the 4th of December 2018 that Councillor Jenkins and myself submitted Councillor Matthews on the Scrutiny Committee, the had that Scrutiny call-in, it was about the equal pay strategy update and it was lost. As Councillor Mackey said, 5 to only the Conservative members on the committee voted to call in, and the reasons Councillor Jenkins and I ticked on included, there was a substantial lack of clarity, material inaccuracy and insufficient information provided in a report and at the decision appears to give rise to significant legal, financial or propriety issues. Those warnings were there back in 2018 Scrutiny had the opportunity to give them

to the administration. Scrutiny rejected the opportunity, and the administration refused to listen to it. One of the big issues. about that meeting. was the actually all of it was held in private,

so there was no public papers from it if you look onto the Council website now seamless, even if you are a Councillor, who's got a log in, you can access the paperwork that meeting that is not an acceptable way of doing screening but it's not a one off because if you look at the bin strike deal that Cabinet signed if you were to log on to the council system even as a councillor not even remember the public you can access those papers,

if you look at other things, have happened over the last six years, time and again, there's been issues where it's hidden away, not even porn, seems so that Members of this Council can properly scrutinise decisions taken by the administration and indeed all the paperwork from pre 2015, whether it's public or private is all locked away behind a password, so even public papers and pre 2015 onto accessible to the public on this Council's computer system.

So that's a real concern and when we hear about the things and Councillor Deakin talked about some of the work he's doing, and I welcome the an olive branch for want of a better word throughout to the other groups to expand the Oracle working group. But if that work is gonna be substantial and meaningful, it has to have proper engagement from the administration. It has to have papers released, not hidden away. You cannot have reports coming to scrutiny committees where either they are moved into private without proper due process or they are not even given to members. Many also had earlier that during the cooling officers give the answer or cabinet members, I'm not sure who was gifting all to elected members that some of these answers exist, but we can't tell you that is not a way to operate. That is not a way to do business and, frankly, is it any wonder

when that is how scrutiny and overview work is treated in this city? That administration finds itself in disaster after disaster where the public excuses, given that they didn't know what was happening, everyone else in the council is trying to warn the administration. Take this, as your final warning, stop being open, stopping actually transparent and heed the warnings that everyone else, councillors, the unions, the press, the members of the public, are giving the administration and start listening.

think of the order.

nor court over Kosovo's reply.

Mayor.

it's not my custom to reply to every single member who's commented, and that is the way I will take matters forward

Lord Mayor - 2:21:40

in replying to the debate,

Cllr R Alden - 2:21:45

I do want to to pick up one or two issues because I think there's something fairly fundamental in some of what has been said by some members.

this Council should be rather more open and transparent than it has been for many, many years, including under a Conservative administration,

and maybe what we need to do is

task the leader

of the controlling group, the leader of perhaps the other groups on the Council and the Chief Executive

to have that discussion.

about how this Council could be more open and transparent,

it might be a useful.

meeting for the Chair of coordinating scrutiny to sit in on,

yes, I might have a a particular view on the matters, but I

perhaps when I come to coordinating openness on Friday, one of the members might remind me of what it is I've just said from this rostrum and therefore coordinating owners' might take matters into their own hands on on Friday morning.

if we don't take some action, then some of that lack of openness, lack of transparency and non engagement in decision making will, unfortunately continue.

you can always

I have to say, Lord Mayor, you can always rely on Councillor Alex Yip getting to the heart of a particular problem

with some contention in what it is perhaps he is saying and he was his contribution was short was very appropriate because he talked about

the need for there to be a cross-party arrangement in relation to the leadership of the scrutiny committees while I have supported Alex I have supported that in the past. I did try

when I was Leader to bring it forward, but unfortunately I couldn't persuade the Labour group to go with me and I think the same has happened within the Conservative Group when the Conservatives and Lib Dems were last in opposition,

they couldn't persuade their own members that Labour should have scrutiny chairs

because Labour hadn't allowed Conservatives to have scrutiny chairs in the preceding administration. now I'm not against,

different political groups leading on scrutiny matters,

I think there has to be a recognition that Scrutiny is independent of the controlling Executive if you like, and therefore it should operate much more like a parliamentary select committee process where parliament recognises that that leadership role should be shared out between the political groups.

we are now trying to move forward on task and finish groups, and I made it absolutely clear in coordinated committee when I was, we were talking across the political divide with members on coordinating that there ought to be an opportunity here for opposition group members to

Lord Mayor - 2:25:03

come forward and lead a particular task and finish exercise. and perhaps if we can establish that, then there might be a great deal more trust amongst

Cllr Chairman - 2:25:14

Scrutiny members and perhaps with the Executive, on that sharing of roles and responsibilities,

Alex

it was a a particular recipient of that because we asked Alex yep to lead for coordinating O and S on the matter of domestic abuse. and he brought that matter back for discussion at the coordinating owners' meeting, so we are moving in that direction, albeit perhaps too slowly, for some

just something also about members scrutiny members setting their own work programmes. that should be the case, but work programmes need to be put together with an eye to what the Executive is doing with an eye to what the senior managers the senior management team is doing, and therefore we need to be in discussion

as scrutinise Scrutiny Committees with the Executive and with the senior management team in order to better shape those work programmes taking account of what the Executive and the senior management team are saying as to what issues might be important and and in what, in whatever timescale that might be.

so I hope that it's not simply a case of Scrutiny setting its own work programme without reference to line whether it's on that basis, Lord Mayor, I will ask Council to note the report

you that agreed.

thank you.

the council will now be take a break.

we've got members over there the constant be adjourned until 10 pounds 5.

thank you, that is seconded,

it agreed.

we now move to agenda item 11

motions for debate

from individual members, the time for this item is 90 minutes cut are also OK that when you

but yet the motion you clearly state. I move the motion as set out in today's papers.

I call upon Councillor Susan Thompson.

to move the motion which has given notice.

thank you.

thank you, Lord Mayor, Lord Mayor, I rise to move this motion as set out in my name in accordance to the papers, the cost of living crisis has been really bad across the whole city and across the country and has affected many citizens around the world and in the face of the cost of living crisis, Birmingham City Council responded quickly by working with faith and community groups set up over 200 warm welcome spaces across the city and are supported food banks to ensure that they was running.

a sufficient supply of food, the actions of hundreds hundreds of volunteers in running the warm welcome spaces across the city shows the true spirit of Birmingham, and we on this side extend our thanks and gratitude to each and every single one of them there's been over 5 million pounds of Council support allocated to the cost of living programme

and from October 2022 that are now 249 warm welcome spaces registered across the city and that's with over 16,000 people visited war, malcolm's events every week in our libraries,

so far, 107 warm welcome spaces have been awarded funding through the council's warm welcome grant, and the council set up an emergency food aid fund, which has supported 116 food banks and that was allocated a grant of 800 pounds per food bank,

these awards range from micro grants of up to 500 to buy kettles toasters crockery, things like that and then 10,000 pounds grants for furniture and other things towards energy and other costs, and that means at least 13,000 people visit them every week.

Lord Mayor,

Lord Mayor - 2:30:25

in addition to that, the Council, together with the Third Sector external partners, have assisted over a thousand households to claim 1.7 million pounds in new benefits, and I think that's been widely

10 Scrutiny Business Report

11 Motions for Debate from Individual Members

the widely thankful for that, and we hope that we can do much more to support families in need to get the money that they are deserving of and afforded. The cost of living programme has provided homes, we pre-payment meters with additional energy top-ups and, as we've seen in April 2022, the invasion of Iraq impacted significantly on the ward on the world, only just emerged from a pandemic. As a result, the energy price cap jumped to 2,500 pounds a year and that meant that the average family had to pay three times more in the energy, so therefore the cost of living emergency has particularly affected that's been affected because of the city high unemployment rates, but we know that we've been supporting those families and people across the coup across the city as much as possible. The concentration of poverty is also in key ethnic ethnic groups, especially the Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage families, so we might ensure that those families are also supported and addressing inequalities across the city

Lord Mayor - 2:31:39

and the top. The limit for child benefit and universal credit affects families with children who have been born after April 2017, and there is also multiple disadvantage.

multiple disadvantage, including for those with disabilities and which again affects chances of employment and household costs, so that the support has been given by this Council across the city has been well more welcomed and it's it's well needed, but it's also recognising that this has been done in partnership with our partners, Third Sector and particularly faith, institution and cultural institutions

and also from food pantries as well as those in charities and this

Cllr S Thompson - 2:32:21

network creates a high level of best practice and innovation. the proofread provision stranded also supported holiday activities and food for children during the Christmas school holidays, which was much needed and this match-day fee funding to produce 30,000 meals for children and their families, and 14 youth centres were unable to buy new cooking equipment to produce 75,000 meals. We seen work that's been helped, particularly in Erdington and Northfield, and that was arrangements where we put in place to make additional advice available at to neighbourhood, walking customer advance centres. Lord Mayor, I list these things just to acknowledge the work that has been put in, and also the things that have been the communities that have benefited from them by centres have extended their opening tenses of extended opening times to weekends so that they can accommodate many people across the city and there's been great.

We continue to do great work with the national partners to introduce an online emergency and fuel poverty training programmes which again will be much needed and help people to support themselves as they're moving forward with everything else. That's going on, so those things are also welcomed, and I particularly would like to mention the collaboration with the Red Cross, and other stakeholders are those that have been supporting in terms of distribution across the city.

all of this has been able to make sure that those including councillors that are working in their wards every day and the citizens of Birmingham are making sure that people know of these initiatives that are taking place across the city and the City Observatory has developed a ward level financial dashboard and is a central to essential to mapping provision across the city particularly to identify gaps so Lord Mayor and as I said earlier on we really do welcome the work that's taking place and it's much needed across the city as we see the effects of this Tory cost of living crisis that is hitting across the country. and we will continue to support people in their times of need when it comes to the cost of living crisis, thank you, Lord Mayor.

thank you.

Councillor

or Coca-Cola who do return to tackle the motion.

thank you, Lord Mayor,

I remember dark in a wet night at the height of the Covid pandemic, locking up the doors of the food bank, I was running from Nuffield Baptist church when a mum showed up for two young children

what constantly apologising, she begged us to give food just to shoulder

we lock the doors and we gave food food to half or three of them

but that image of a mum. not caring if she asked but puss pushed to desperation for her childhood, children is burned into my mind,

my time at the food bank is one of the key reasons I stood council

because I wanted things to change.

this motion today.

it sets out to thank some incredible people across our city.

I am particularly I want to thank St Gabriel's church and the FoodCycle Association in County Church, we, the Castle Community Church Stonehouse gang St Mary's Church, Selly Oak, we, the Castle Library and others for the efforts setting up and running 1 spaces over the past winter

and to ask the bombshell for the their support.

when faced with their neighbours in need, they chose not to hide or blame, others would deny the problem there if you sit, by when the neighbours were going cold and hungry, they stood up and they acted

when Councillor Parks and I sat in those love wheelie meetings setting up the first warm welcome network in our city. we're fooled pride of our community,

they represent the best of city,

they are not alone, hundreds of organisations across the city to caption.

we should thank them all from the bottom of our hearts. as a council we have supported them as we have supported community groups and food banks since we took control of this Council in 2012, a Conservative that governments have unleashed the horror of austerity on our communities.

On this side of the Chamber we've few refused to leave a single pass in our communities behind and continue to fight for all of our residents. Even at this, concerted government unleash cost of living crisis as pushing more and more of our residents choose between heating and eating, or in some cases neither

is considered government who are pushing people into defaulting on their mortgages, with extreme economic experiment. Accepted governments that have faced impairments that have worked through to their continued failure to address the soaring cost of childcare

is council has funded one welcome spaces supported food banks, extended, opening out advice centres with customers living advice hours. Vice community groups help repeat the homes, but food on the plates for children. why this government has attacked our budget year after year, this Labour Council has put people first,

I'm deeply proud of the way most people in this city, and many people in our country have reacted to the growing hardships faced by our by our neighbours in this cost of living crisis but shameful that they have had to.

the letter gratitude this motion asks us to write, at the very least we can do. we need fundamental change in this country, but until then this Labour Council was stand up for all of our residents and will not stop, I second the motion in my name.

thank you for your return.

or her one remembered, which will be debated with the motion.

I call a ricotta Deidre Alden to move the first amendment, be

thank you, Lord Mayor, and I move the amendments set down in my name. May I start by echoing Councillor Thompson and thanking, on behalf of my group, all the volunteers who have helped with warm spaces and food

Lord Mayor - 2:38:16

banks in the city. Their dedication is appreciated.

Cllr J Tennant - 2:38:24

What to the motion? How simple it is to power at Tory cost of living crisis endlessly, without actually acknowledging why some prices have gone up and who is responsible is just one example. There's currently a war in Ukraine, and most people are only too well aware that this is one reason why many food prices have risen, since Ukraine was a key supplier to the world of wheat, maize and barley, and was producing one third of the world's sunflower oil before the war. you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that when Ukraine's production of key crops was interrupted, prices would rise, and that was going to happen. Whether Rishi, Sunak Keir Starmer, or the man in the moon was prime minister. Those price rises were a Putin cut cost of living crisis, not a Tory one, but when prices have risen for food, heating, etc the Tory government has acted quickly, hands up. Everyone who got help with their heating bills this winter

are denying it because, of course, the help came from the Tory government and not the Labour council. The Labour Council, meanwhile, brags about the help it has given locally in the face of a cost of living crisis. But Labour councillors forget to mention one very important thing, much of what they classes. A local response is being funded by shock horror. The Tory government, across four tranches of household support fund, including the latest 12 months settlement, received the 23 24 the Tory government has given Birmingham City Council 64 million which is being used to pay for the work that Labour talk about in their motion, far from being the wicked government portrayed by Labour, the Conservative government is handing out money to try and negate the consequences of the current situation, and Birmingham Labour are trying to take the credit, but let's be fair to them alongside the 64 million from the Tory government the Labour council has put in some money to delay the council has now how much will I'll tell you it was 5 million. so the scheme's Labour councillors are brag about, have been funded by 64 million from the Tory government and 5 million from the Labour council, and how did Labour pay their 5 million contribution? It was funded from an underspend in 21 22 which it now transpires was a full specimen anyway, given the liabilities and overspends which have since emerged. Meanwhile, this Labour Council, if it hadn't been so financially inadequate, think how much money they would have had available to spend to help struggling promise. Take the introduction of oracle the having to pay 100 million, to sort that out contrast that 5 million to help struggling promise and 100 million to put right a mess of the Labour council's own making. And there's more half a billion on an athletes' village which didn't house a single athlete and has just had his valuation reduced by 30% by the bank's 100 million overspent on the Paradise development. One third of the budget on Centenary Square 1.2 million, to fix a fountain, and millions more to repay the same square, twice in 18 months, 17 million on consultants to tell the council what's wrong, I could tell them for free Labour's in charge and then we get to the biggest of the lot. 76 million potential equal

Lord Mayor - 2:41:41

pay liabilities. This is the one Councillor Kuttner showed TV viewers this weekend came as a surprise to him really he may not have been the

Cllr D Alden - 2:41:52

leader, but he's been in the cabinet for years. For part of that time, HR came under his portfolio, the opposition, the auditors and the unions all warned the council about this potential problem, but the Labour cabinet of which Councillor cotton was a member didn't act.

Several of his council colleagues most definitely knew about it because prior to the 2022 elections they tweeted support for the union's position on equal pay. That beggars belief, doesn't it? Labour cabinet members tweeted support for people affected, by a problem they, as cabinet members, needed to sort out, and still they didn't do anything to fix it. If the Labour council haven't presided over such a mess for the last few years, just think how much more money they would now have to be able to hand to struggling families in Birmingham. As the amendment says, the cost of just two things caused by the Labour council would equate to being able to give every household in Birmingham an average payment of 3,450 pounds that would have helped to get the cost of living crisis. Wouldn't it but instead Birmingham has got to spend that money on putting right its own failures and so far from helping hard a promise, Labour will have to slash council expenditure to balance its books despite resolving in their motion to keep supporting residents. They are not going to have any cash to do so unless they get it from the Tory government. Of course, in Labour, Birmingham services in Labour, Birmingham services will be cut fees and charges increased and probably council tax will go up a lot to all to pay for the financial mess which the Labour Group has got this city into that will hurt people in this city. It will hurt them a lot. People will struggle to manage and I call that a Labour cost of living crisis, not a Tory one. Lord Mayor, I move my amendment

the ODI organ.

I caught up and caught, well, you come second or third amendment.

thank you, Lord Mayor. I rise to second the amendment in the papers in in my name today. Whilst when we're facing a significant self cause financial implosion, the likes of none of which we've seen before, primarily because by this Labour administration, I am opposed by the politicising, but also respectfully, the largely pointless navel gazing motion we have before us here today now. Firstly, asserting that it is a toy created crisis is preposterous and shows this administration yet again seeking deflect from the will architects of the City's financial crisis. There has been a two year global pandemic affecting the world's supply chain markets and economies. There has been a barbaric invasion of the world's fourth largest corn and fifth-largest wheat exporter. There's been semiconductor shortages in Asia, Russian sanctions affecting trade war, affecting gas, energy in oil supply and prices. So to target just one factor and to single out an entire political group collectively at that is incredibly simplistic and may pitiful political grandstanding when we need real leaders of people. The ability to get this Council out of a colossal financial crisis.

This Council has set foot settled equal pay to the sum of 1.2 billion pounds 11 years ago. Since then, it has categorically been this Labour administration that has not dealt with and has ignored warnings from GIMB union and many others. It is their inaction and wilful mismanagement that has created this new liability of 760 million pounds which has somehow suddenly been discovered at this devastating moment in our city's history. Do we have offers from the leader on how to fix this a motion of to debate this? We have nothing of the sort. We have instead a motion from them calling on themselves to write to organisations who have supported the warm welcome. Space and food banks. Now, of course, these organisations of worthy of our gratitude and suppose, of course, they are providing a huge help to thousands of families but he hardly takes the full weight of Full Council motion, proposed seconded, debated and voted for the leader to write a bunch of letters. Perhaps it is no wonder they can't get anything done. These organisations can hardly turn to this precious letter for support when their funding is being stripped because of their financial incompetence. Their buildings are being sold because of their dangerous negligence staff made redundant and support withdrawn because they have failed to deal with a serious matter for the inside 11 whole years that they have been in charge. The Leader has committed to openness, transparency and honesty, but has done none of these openness when you say that interviews with the Birmingham Mail and Estée was his thanks to all Kew, or was it thanks to a financial review? Did he know in 2021 0 22 was only two weeks ago transparency why? We see surprise that the news when last year, when since last year he has himself personally been in charge of the Council's HR it is simply implausible that our new leader, who is in charge it was in the cabinet since 2018, did not know when written questions F 14 today, they admit

quotes the Cabinet Advisory Group was advised of the potential of claims back in January 2022. He has sat in equal pay meetings for years, and yet he claims he simply did not know, so did he know, as cabinet member, why wasn't anything done for years? These are the issues that we need to be debating today, not talking about anything else, but a 760 million pound elephant, that is in the Chamber, Lord Mayor. We are staring at the precipice of a financial crisis that will

Lord Mayor - 2:47:42

affect every single resident in the city for years to come. We need openness, transparency and honesty. We need action, answers and

Cllr A Yip - 2:47:51

genuine accountability. We need to be rid of this Labour administration, whose financial mismanagement and wilful negligence has caused our city's imminent financial implosion. Instead, we have before us a request to send out letters. Perhaps this is a apt illustration of how seriously this administration and sample the equal pay crisis. Thank you, Lord Mayor.

got a maroon jam.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

when we read this motion last week, I think we were all a little surprised the one Malcolm centres was set up on LA October last year, some nine months ago, it seems astonishing to think that Labour administration are only just thinking about thanking those organisations who have helped people through the winter we're not energy bills were rocketing.

these spaces were places for people to go to keep warm without having to spend money on heating.

It is now the middle of summer and Labour are talking about warm, welcome spaces when most people are thinking about trying to keep cool, it's more than a little tone. Deaf not only is it strange to be thanking them, while after the set-up it's peculiar to use a motion slot to seek approval to write a letter of thanks. This doesn't need a debate Labour, it just needs doing and quite frankly, we are surprised that you've not already done so.

More importantly, this doesn't give due respect to the process of setting motions. Motion should be an opportunity to make changes for the good of our city. It should. It should be a space for us to thrash out complicated issues and improve the lives of Birmingham residents. This week Birmingham residents are worried about the future of the services provided to them by their local council because of the incredible overspend on Oracle and him and the impending financial catastrophe of equal pay k pay k claims, I ask you Labour do you truly think that your residents will thank you for bringing this motion when you could have done something on improving housing, transport, fly-tipping, house, children, education, road safety or any any number of valuable initiatives that our residents have asked you to work on.

back in February, we were asked the Cabinet Member to set out how the performance of the warm welcome programme is being measured.

we asked data that definition created normal usage of the facility with football of those coming for a warm welcome.

the response explained that there are now 199 spaces around the city with a further 30 in the pipeline, and I quote.

at this time we have not yet split normal usage from direct football at the warm spaces, but are now putting in place resources to do so.

We were reassured later in that document that measures of success would be put in place, and I quote,

a paper on the proposed methodology is currently being drafted. Now this initiative was one that the Council ploughed a lot of money into everyone. Welcome space, got a grant of 500 pounds just applying, which means that over 100,000 was spent just on setting up these spaces. Further funds were available, and whilst I'm sure there went into meaning projects and initiatives, the truth is we may never know whether people really used these spaces on behalf of my group, I can confirm that we, we are supporting the motion today on the basis of thanking the the centres and the people that run them is important. In truth, it should have been done months ago. Many community associations are run on the kindness of local people, and so we encouraged the council to thank people, but Labour. Please take note that you really must do better if you are going to spend public money measuring effectiveness, if you need to ask for approval to write a thank you letter, then you really are in the wrong job. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

Lord Mayor - 2:52:01

think of them in England, next is he's going to Julia Pritchard.

Cllr M Jan - 2:52:10

thank you, Lord Mayor.

and

it was also is to say that we support the motion, but again, light has already been said,

is it was it really needed to be to be brought, it's a damning indictment of our economists aside, things like food banks and warm welcomes, or even needed at all.

the motion talks a lot about the work the Council has done to support one welcomes and while there has been some support, as has been mentioned, we should know the anguish of note, the use of council services such as the fantastic libraries and cafe expanding those to include a warm welcome service and

really need to remember that the warm welcome network is yet again another example of Birmingham communities in Birmingham residents coming together to support their fellow citizens.

it's those resident communities that have stepped up and all too often made it happen, and provided that support done, the fundraising done the volunteer hours and supported their fellow citizens.

when you consider all the one-way welcomes across the city the council funding that is there doesn't isn't really gonna go very far, it's good, so the so many hubs that it's it's really going to be spread quite thin

and speaking to those community groups who run those spaces there's definitely feeling that the council could have done more and could do more to support them.

as well as funding things like more support for providing first aid and food hygiene chain training.

finding volunteers is one of the biggest challenges for a lot of our community groups and providing this support.

like 20 pounds.

OK then.

if Greeks don't have enough volunteers, Lord Mayor

does a return to volunteer burnout, and that adds to the risks for the residents who have come to rely on most services and who need the warm welcome spaces and the support that those

volunteers and residents are providing.

a lot of the

issues that people come with when they come to all welcome spaces are housing issues, and, as the biggest landlord in the city is often booming city council that has caused those housing issues and its problems were reversed at a council property that some time the people who are dealing with those warm welcome spaces I have to help the residents deal with and navigate.

so in some and on some issues, the Council actually adds to the workload and to the

support that

keep these community groups need to give and support residents needs to receive,

and let's not, as well as already been mentioned, forget the financial mismanagement of the council, which now threatens the support of the council, can provide,

the council needs to ensure that those who need it most don't suffer because of this financial crisis nor the groups who've been working so hard to provide the crucial support to our residents.

the motion calls for action, but what action?

an assumption in this motion that if there's a Labour government it'll be better, but we hear nothing recently from Labour other than we're not spending any more money, and we're sticking to Tory spending plans, so how is with a Labour government be able to provide more support if it's not going to spend any more money than the Tories are

Lord Mayor - 2:55:52

promising themselves?

Ultimately, Lord Mayor, warm words are not enough for warm. Welcomes

Cllr J Pritchard - 2:56:00

what warm actions can this Council do to provide support the city's warm welcome spaces next winter? Thank you, Lord, thank you

Connor put out on that school. Cottingley HitRECord

thank you, Lord Mayor. I rise to support this motion and to also rise in support of the communities and citizens who make up this city, who've actually worked so hard day in day out to fill the gap that the Tory austerity programme as raged upon a city I spoke before over the Covid crisis that I was privileged as the then chair of the active wellbeing society to be part of the emergency food relief operation which the council supported, we saw hundreds of people freely, giving time freely, giving food to actually ensure during that crisis people didn't go hungry at that time we talked about the food crisis, we now talk about people and the energy crisis, and then we talk about the issues of children and what needs to happen and when you actually come back to it, what we're talking about is poverty that a Tory government that 10 years of austerity has pushed British families, British pensioners, to a point where they have not got enough money to live on shame on you.

when you have a society where individuals don't have choice and control over what they do with their lives, you risk the resilience of society, you risk the behaviours of individuals and when you take an all-out attack on public services and public servants, you risk the resilience of those public servants and their ability to respond correctly. So whilst I will not

forgive or excuse the errors that have led to some of the current crisis within equal pay, what I will say is the loss of resilience within local government and the capacity to cushion a move. Change has contributed to that and let us look, let us look at some of the choices that the Tories have made for just 6 billion

we could have put out another 20 pound on universal credit, the credit that so many care workers, so many classroom assistants, claim the very people who have again been wronged so often in this city and this country, the people you are purporting but never mentioning because you prefer to talk about political point scoring and weaponising an issue.

did I hear laughter did I hear laughter?

did

good Gary?

do I hear laughter when we are talking about women

graph come, order, please,

I'm sorry, your behaviour is absolutely disgraceful, we have to respect that women have been wronged in this city by the processes by the

Lord Mayor - 2:59:58

good.

coming from the community leaders, Trickett,

Cllr L Trickett - 3:00:06

thank you, Lord Mayor, the Tory bully boys that sit over there and some of our servants obviously prefer to forget that 6 billion pounds would, or may 20 per 20 pounds a week, difference to universal credit and instead what they chose to do is to give 110 10 billion pounds

that leaves triggered at the time

I had to stop because of that.

we are cooler going for.

metabolic.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

it says something very different, because all Labour really have left is their sense of self righteousness,

this motion, let's be honest, is a smokescreen what Labour are doing is using good organisations, good work, that's been done in the community and using.

the praising of that to conceal what actually happened, it's wonderful that these organisations did this work months ago, I'm surprised they hadn't been written two months ago, I'm surprised that we didn't discuss this months ago. Instead of now it's a lovely idea, but guys, the planes got into the mountain, we are in a total state of chaos and that chaos is entirely because this Labour administration has spent time fighting among themselves. Accusations of misogyny and racism

fighting over who gets to be leader, the cabin crew of the plane, if you will to go that, but that ripper of a proverbial plane, fighting with each other, wrestling for control and the plane has crashed. That's where we are the amount of money that this this this council, will owe. The impact it will have on services is huge. So, as I say, it's wonderful that you bring this motion to thank these organisations and to allow people like Councillor Trickett and I dare say there will be others to be incredibly self-righteous and, by the way, Councillor Trickett, you're no stranger to heckling yourself, you know

we didn't invent it, so, Lord Mayor, that's what the purpose of this motion is. Now what they've done is they've crawled around in the wreckage of their plane in a fan, the black box, and they found they found something they can hold up as a motion and say we've done this wonderful work, we provided this funding, we've helped these people and that's great the work. What he really means when you consider that the money, vast majority of it came from the government, what they're saying is that they use the money given to them by the government and used it for the purpose. It was intended now are actually to be fair on probably being churlish, because, given the track record of this Labour administration, that's actually quite an achievement, isn't it, but they can say they've spent some money correctly on the purpose it was intended to or not,

so I throw it away on consultants or some some other rubbish, so you know Welton that's fantastic, but it's not the person issue here. The person in issue is that this Council has some huge financial.

decisions to make, due to negligence incompetence, we have the story that people didn't know anything about it, the people who've been in cabinet all this time.

I mean, look at the cabinet, now, look at the Leader and the Deputy Leader, now they were there sitting there, and all these bad decisions were made. When Oracle equal pay, when the housing 23,000 people living in substandard accommodation, the special educational needs disaster, that's ongoing all the things that this Council does wrong, just badly. Those people have been sitting there the whole time, really they should probably all resign put to be honest with you as we had as we saw according to the Labour party nationally, there wasn't anyone suitable to be leader, and there wasn't anyone else suitable to be in the cabinet, so if they resigned, I'm not quite sure what we'd be left with at the moment, we've got the people least unsuitable in their group, the plugs, and they sitting there, plugging the gaps, plugging the gaps, gaps in political accountability until their group decide. They want to get rid of them and bring someone else in, and they have to find out how to plug this financial gap and what that will bring to us. It will cost the people of Birmingham in terms of quality of living, because the quality of living for those council tenants, for those parents of children in special educational needs for the people whose streets are full of rubbish and full of potholes, those people, their quality of life, is bad for those people who are

Lord Mayor - 3:04:17

going to lose their jobs for the council employees. No doubt will their quality of life will suffer and then the cost of living crisis that Labour will put on us through their Labour levy on the council

Cllr M Bennett - 3:04:25

tax. That's bound to come, that will shatter this city as well. Lord Mayor, the problem is Labour. The Labour administration need to face up and take responsibility for their actions and stop time trying to distract us with their sense of self righteousness. Thank you. to go from.

according to Lee Martin.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

I have two words, but if only conservatives Liz

Truss,

you talk about taking credit, or where are you taking credit for how she crashed the economy,

Lord Mayor,

people in mutuals continue to suffer and the cost of living crisis and need our support, and how I'm proud, but a lot that we had to set up warm banks and to give grants to food banks to keep people warm and fed the fat we had to do this in the 21st century should bring shame on this Conservative government, our actions, there's incredible efforts of staff and volunteers and groups across niches and as City are to be commended, and I want to personally praise them for their continued efforts. in neutrals we have won spaces are eloquent praise and empowerment dance company free at last and neutrals part due to demand needless outreach centre, I've had to set up a food pantry,

their share Midlands who are based in mutuals but work across our city and the whole of the Midlands, including at neutrals pot distributed 453,000 kilograms of food in June that equals more than 1 million meals last month,

let that sinking,

in August, I'll be spending the day with their share Midlands to lend a hand and to thank them for their continued work.

was asked to the nearest food bank, who operate out of St Matthew's church and Salvation sense. Army centre in neutrals spend over 3,000 pounds a month on top of their regular donations, to keep up with the need

to make matters worse. They recently had two break-ins, which resulted in petty cash and equipment being stolen.

There is all is to be admired, and they continue to serve as the all of those I've named

I fully support the calls for the leader of our city to write to all those individuals who continue to make a difference during the cost of living crisis and expressed gratitude that this Council, thank you, Lord Mayor.

do you know who the Muslim?

speak on it because Gareth more.

thank you, Lord Mayor, and first of all I'd start off by declaring I'm a trustee of Birmingham LGBT, which is a warm space and I will first of all I would like to echo this. Some of the comments that have been made, particularly by Sharon Thompson, took around franking all those volunteers who've been helping with the warm spaces and all those venues have opened their doors to help people during this difficult time and particularly would like to pay tribute to those in in Erdington Ward. We got Erdington Abbey, Erdington bowls, club St Barnabas, church, the Sixways Baptist Church, John Taylor, Hospice and Oikos and any one of forgotten, but I'm very grateful for them opening the doors to support people and obviously also the Birmingham LGBT Centre for its support for those who from the LGBT community were struggling during this time and Senate. I think anyone can deny that we are going through. The rising cost of living is tough for everyone, and there are some who are better placed to weather the storm. Than others, and it's only right that we put support in place to help those, and whilst I agree with the sentiments of the Labour motion today and vote, it's been pointed out, why are we doing this now and not sooner it's as if they want to gloss over something else? and this is where it comes to the disingenuous nature of this, because I'm very new happy to thank those volunteers and those organisations for the fantastic work that they do, and long may that continue,

but the fact is, this motion

makes no reference to the support that the governments

put in place to

help those people during this difficult time. There's no mention of the energy bill support scheme, which gave every one of 400 pounds grant to help with their energy bills.

There's no mention

of the cost of living payments which has been given to help the most

Lord Mayor - 3:08:28

vulnerable in society, of which they had 650 pounds last year, and there's going to be 900 pounds paid this

year, there's no mention of the

disability cost of living payments. That's been made.

Cllr L Marsham - 3:08:37

The mention

of the pensioner custody payments have been made.

The government is taking action

to support people during this difficult time, but

Labour don't mention that they don't want to talk about that, they wanted to say thank you to all those volunteers,

and we're gonna blame the governments,

and that's where this motion is also

disingenuous, because for some reason it's a Tory cost of

living crisis. When that

is not true, I mean, I think Councillor Thomson got a confused, I think it's the invasion of Ukraine, not to Iraq, that has led to the situation we're in, but you know most of Europe and the rest of the world has been plunged into an economic crisis with rising inflation,

Germany's in recession, that's not Liz Truss. This trust hasn't done that, but as the global stage, Putin's illegal war of Ukraine and the inflation and energy impacts that that has had and is disingenuous to say

that it's a Tory

cost of living crisis, especially when you put up council tax, if you're that concerned about the people in society struggling to make ends meet while he put up council tax every year, including now, if you get concerned about the cost of, living. You would not put up council tax, and you would have frozen it, like we said, you

should do,

the fact

is, Lord Mayor, there is a crisis in this city, it's

a Labour incompetence

crisis that's happening

we've seen it with Oracle, receiving equal pay bats what they don't want to talk about, so that is why they brought this today because they

wanted to hide

away the fact of their own incompetence, because this issue has been going on since 2012. They've been in charge of this Council since 2012. There is no one else

to blame, but themselves,

and it's particularly concerning, and we seem to have the situation where the leader was surprised, that we have an equal pay crisis and has been touched on multiple times. The opposition and backbench councillors knew the trade unions knew the public knew and the media knew everyone seemed to accept the cabinet. The very people who should know and as we've heard multiple times again, have been told they've been sat in meetings have been private meetings discussing this, yet for some reason they did not know now. I don't know whether that's ignorance or incompetence, but we do really need some transparency in this Council to face facts and actually take action to address these issues, because it is services that our residents rely on the most vulnerable people in this city that you want to frank the volunteers they were helping, who are going to suffer the most as a result of the

Lord Mayor - 3:10:41

incompetence of the Labour leadership and Councillor cotton's, not even listening to me, which is particularly concerning, so I do hope, Lord Mayor, that we do have some trouncing moving forward, and I do

Cllr G Moore - 3:10:50

hope we have a situation where Owen a just point out of these letters, classed as non essential, spend, just want to end on that note. Thank you, Lord Mayor,

claimants.

thanks, Lord Mayor, I have to say in this debate we have really plumbed some debts, because this is a motion to thank voluntary organisations and residents that are helping their fellow citizens through a time of cost of living crisis and people who are facing destitution and several people on the benches opposite have got up and called this a waste of time, and you're telling us that we don't listen to residents and what you're you've got up and said no that discussing the the the the extreme needs of residents during this cost of living crisis is a waste of time. While I, I think I've had a lot in this Chamber over the six years, I've been here, but this is now one of the worst things I've heard and your barracking of a woman councillor, talking about how the Tory government has driven Birmingham residents on universal credit and in receipt of in-work benefits to the edge of the edge of destitution. I found new particularly awful

and I just think now that women may struggle to make their voices heard in any sort of public space and when they're talking about an important issue that in

affects our residents, they deserve respect. As my colleague Nicky Brennan and pointed out, say, like many of us, I've worked in closely with the B 30 food bank in my own ward of bumbling Cotteridge and with the group that's come together during the the cost of living crisis to support residents that's been unsupported and really organised by Baumber, Village Trust and I'd like to thank BVT for that, but all that and the churches and residents have been involved in that notably Cotteridge Church, which already plays in a really important role as a community centre and in in in be 30 one or two during this period has also functioned as a as a warm space.

there are a huge number of of residents and volunteers involved, and I think we should absolutely be celebrating them and thanking them for their efforts, because the social fabric of this country has been so stripped out by the Tory government that we are absolutely relying on the voluntary efforts of our citizens

now Councillor Martin has already referenced and former prime minister Truss and, if you mentioned our hench henchmen and cause equal saying, but people who are having to face near the massive increase in their mortgage payments and rents, and because of the disastrous budget implemented by those two and we've also took, and we've also had references to how this is a

an international issue,

with costs rising, and I'd like to point out that yes, everywhere has had to contend with the impacts of the the war in Ukraine and Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine everywhere had to contend with a pandemic, but only the UK has had to deal with the impact of Brexit, and I think it's very obvious that that Brexit has been a motor for inflation, particularly on food prices, and we have got a situation in this country where most people have now got because of

wage freezes and benefit cuts, they've got so little disposable income that they can barely afford food. That's why they are dependent on food banks, and that's when they go to the shops and see that prices on on basic products are going up in some cases by 19%, that they know that they've got a government nationally who is not on their side because people who aren't in the public sector whose wages have been limited, where are they supposed to go to get extra money. They've got limited income, very limited, disposable income, and they simply cannot cope with this increase in their living costs and over the winter these warm spaces have given people a place to go and a dignified place to go with activities and social contacts and all of that, and it is a real

tribute to the volunteers and residents that we got across the city who organise these spaces. So I just think that

we should have a bit of an humility and respect for our residents and of the people who've organised this huge effort over the winter, and I

Lord Mayor - 3:14:44

hope in future that when we discuss something like this we don't have to sit here and listen to this frankly contemptuous contributions on

Cllr L Clements - 3:14:51

the benches opposite and and actually some of the some of Hollywood Democrat colleagues as well, so I think the the project of thanking these groups is absolutely necessary and I am glad that the Deputy Leader is has suggested it in this motion. Thank you.

the trouble.

the UN has begun this one good we go from where it's going.

you're not going

God, I call upon Councillor Selwyn Thompson to reply.

thank you,

thank you, Lord Mayor, well where do we start?

did you, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I did mention that the the war in Ukraine has not aided things in terms of coming out of a pandemic. So that was said, but the spirit of the motion that we put forward was about supporting and thanking, obviously those across the city who had been doing some incredible work when it comes to supporting our communities when it comes to the cost of living crisis. But it seems the opposition are only interested in turning that suggestion into political point-scoring and something that we're going to be discussing in the next next area. I think it's you know we, we have said repeatedly over the last few weeks that we will make sure that robust plans are to put in place. We will make sure that there is accountability and that we will make sure that we're open and transparent with not just the Chamber but the City, and that is what we have been doing over those last few weeks, so we are prepared to take those forms of responsibility, but it just really blows my mind that, given that the shadow Cabinet Minister for Finance, tweets out, that you know he does, he doesn't understand why, Liz Truss resigned

would would we then think that you would actually taking responsibility and no one about taking responsibility for your own government or those things that you're talking about? You know the welfare system, we're talking about the cutting of local housing allowance or cuts to credit credit, universal credit.

You know all of those things 13 years of austerity, all of those things breaking down, not just local government, but the fabric of society have all aided and contributed towards things, taking out the resilience in order that stops us. That's trying to resolve some of these issues. So I think there's some responsibility over that side. I don't think it's pointless celebrating or even thanking people. I don't think it is now glazing either.

I'm not going to go through everyone's comments and I will thank some of the comments from over colleagues like Lisa Trickett and also lies lies behind me. It was unfortunate that when they talk about the way that when women stand up and speak in the Chamber UBO rolling your eyes and puffing and puffing, like it, was irrelevant. This is important to the citizens of this city. We're not evading responsibility and other issues that are going on in this in in terms of the Council, but we have to be clear that we must continue to support the communities when it comes to those suffering through the cost of living crisis. It's not over yet and at the end of the day we're gonna be coming into the winter, it's OK unless we're coming into a winter, and it's going to be even more. We need to make sure that that support is there, so we will be making sure that there's robust plans in and more support that going forward when it comes to supporting those communities, and we thank them as we continue to do so. It's just like a set. It's unfortunate that you seem to forget all of the things that have contributed to some of these, as if they evade all responsibility from your own government and that he was unable to actually speak to them and ask them to support local communities, yourselves as well. So at the end of the day you know we're proud to actually put this motion forward, were proud of the work that we do and to support them. It's not a case of tapping ourselves on the back. It's about thanking those in the communities and we will continue to go out into our communities as Labour councillors and activists, as we do, and support those communities in making sure that we can get the best off for them.

I think we can confirm.

Lord Mayor - 3:18:54

we will now vote on the first amendment proposed by Councillor Deidre Alden and seconded by Councillor eligible to vote in favour.

those against.

Cllr S Thompson - 3:19:12

any abstentions.

that's carried.

not much that had lost

a lot

I got carried away.

relative

and

you know, move on to the second motion.

we all talk about you.

Page 55

sorry, we will know.

55, viewer no vote on the motion.

those in favour.

those against.

this must be carried.

we don't want to the second motion.

could I also ask that, when you present the motion that you clearly state that the I move the motion and sat on today's papers, I call over because the Robert Olen to move the motion which he has given notice?

kilometre, and given I was speaking on this one, I didn't want to take up time in a previous item, but just to be clear in case there's any doubt on the Labour side.

myself would be certainly very happy to co-sign that letter with the Leader of the Council, thanking all those groups, and I have no doubt the leader the Lib Dems would as well.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I rise to move our motion.

a simple motion asking for transparency, but it's OK because I'm not afraid of you, heckling me, unlike really, you work for the people.

we've had some really illuminating. answers to questions both written and oral, today

we've had claims the cabinet only found out about the equal pay situation between the 8th of June and the 25th of June, depending on which answer you look at for which cabinet member.

we've seen the monitor also being blamed by cabinet member for the cancelling of equal pay meetings,

we've been told all appropriate questions were asked over several year period, the leader claimed he only found out on the 15th of June and he demanded action, but later on in all questions said he'd knew about challenges equal pay on day one and started taking action day one was in May for those counting, refusal to answer if they were challenged, the claim in the budget their own budget, that it was a 0% risk of more equal pay risks, despite that budget allocating 270 million, which, for those paying attention, was actually twice the figure previously publicly thought by the cabinet, so presumably the Cabinet already knew it was twice because it was in the budget

what they thought it would be comical.

and the reason this motion is so important is very simply calling for a regular debate in Council and and I have made an offer to Labour Group, and I understand it might be accepted in which case I welcome that as a compromise, instead of having every meeting, it would be costly, but it would be of at least an hour, so there was a proper debate, I think we can. We can accept that on this side, but it is important to understand the background because, but those who have only seen the BBC News will ITV or GB News or Midlands today or any of the other, in fact, it's pretty much every news organisation in the country winning the stories here in Birmingham. You would think that the council only knew about these issues in the last few weeks.

I'd like to read to you from GMC's website the 11th of November 2021,

Lord Mayor - 3:22:39

so significant new information emerged surrounding problems with the council's job evaluation scheme. That's took him up to mostly Council. We could perhaps try the Local government Chronicle on the 11th of November. 2021 Birmingham City Council could face new equal pay claims. A union has warned GIMB is encouraging its 7,000 members at Birmingham not to sign any equal pay settlement offered to them by the council. saying significant new information has arisen regarding problems with the Council's job evaluation scheme.

Goes on to say increasingly clear that Birmingham City Council is facing another equal pay crisis. We could try Unison, and the 25th January 2022. This is their third generation parity payment guidance, and it says section 34, you may have an equal pay claim. The council have admitted an employment tribunal case that they cannot rely on the school to submit a grade 3 and 4 roles in refuse, and they would not share any job evaluation, evidence that was being formally requested by the court.

we could try the Birmingham Mail and the 18th of July 2022 in that it says the city's equal pay problems were a distinct feature of this year's local election campaigns according to GIMB, with Labour councillors across the city pledging to settle the dispute, Jane B alleged that the council had sought to stall the union from pursuing claims through illegal roadblocks.

the 8th September 2022 Birmingham Allergan says in November, and that would be November 2021. The union said they were could be a fresh wave of claims. After significant new information emerged about the council, evaluated roles an employment tribunal revealed. Key roles may have been evaluated incorrectly in terms of parity,

or perhaps yet the Baucus 2022. That's from the BBC. This time and the

Cllr R Alden - 3:24:21

BBC said, the council said they had been liaising with new union members since November last November 2021 and have agreed a new evaluation approach that one we had earlier wouldn't be sold until 2 2020. 25 April, a spokesman for the council as a spokesman for the council is quoted as saying it's engaged with the MP on matters of equal pay since November. That's November 2021 and have already agreed a new approach to job evaluation

we're meant to believe, as a chamber, as a city as residents in this city, as taxpayers in the city, that in November 2021, in January 2022 September 2022, in August 2022 in July 2022, even when people were tweeting from the cabinet their support for equal pay claims in April 2022 that not one member of this cabinet remember eight of them are the same as they were before the election

bothered to ask an officer

also an equal pay risk

but we really meant to believe but that Cabinet was so incompetent that upon reading headline after headline of equal pay issues not one of them, forced to ask an officer, was there an equal pay issue?

we surely don't believe the cabinet is that incompetent

and if they're not that incompetent, then they must be misleading the Council

because if they really didn't question a single officer in this organisation, over the last three years of newspaper stories, union headlines union e-mails saying that there was more equal pay issues than they truly are incompetent and not worthy of being cabinet members representing a city of 1.1 million people.

Lord Mayor, we on this side won them.

the unions want them again and again

there were press stories running for years

and the Basel situation of their own cabinet members tweeting support for GM claims that there was an equal pay issue in this city.

and yet we're meant to believe that none of them knew what was happening,

it's too fanciful to be believable, that's why it's so vital that its motion is agreed today,

because 101 Councillors round this Chamber 1.1 million people in our city they deserve the truth.

they deserve to get the whole truth, not mistruths, not cutting out of information, but actual facts on what people knew when what the Council is doing to solve it, because, as Councillor Hammad touched on earlier, we cannot possibly wait as a city until another 200 million have been run up in potentially called Pabo, which at the moment is the suggestion from the leadership but bear in mind two years ago a council spokesman said they'd already agreed a new job evaluation scheme.

so why saving 2 million added over 200 million added over the last two years, Birmingham residents shouldn't have to wait another day for that administration to fix our own mess, police support, the motion, I think.

I caught up with go home, your own Ricky to second.

thank you very much, Lord Ma, rise before you to die T. Second, the motion in the name of himself and Councillor Councillor Auden Members in this Chamber should not be finding out about a 760 million pound pay liability and a 20 million IT project that actually gonna cost 100 million in the press, especially when you consider the questions we ask every month in this Chamber

in 2018 the Birmingham Mail, both the Birmingham City Council is addicted to secrecy. The 2nd of February 2021. I ask the Leader of this Council around the rules concerning declarations of interest being given in public the constitution and the Nolan principles, so they should be given in public.

My supplementary question, centred on why he Jess Phillips and three other colleagues only declared membership of the Unite union when selling land to the Unite union in private session. the answer was that this was done under advice, but clearly, if we have an open and transparent council following a and understanding practice, this should be done in public. in January 22, I asked the then Deputy Leader if she felt the council had done enough under her watch to meet its obligations and its promises with regard to openness and transparency in my supplementary. question I went to point out that councillors have been required to sound known disability discrimination agreements. Backbenchers have been blocked from calling adequate

a debate at Full Council, even though it is their democratic right, and Audit Committee has been denied access to papers, the result of a councillor requested, investigation was denied to councillors, a freedom of information request had missed five statutory deadlines, yet nothing has changed. We are still the last to find out, even when we ask a straight question in this Chamber. in June 2022, I asked Bridget Jones, Deputy Leader of the Council, and responsible for the risk around Oracle about delays around Oracle and emergency payments being made to supplies. The answer, firstly, was a lack of understanding from the then Deputy Leader that her responsibility was for risk, and she went on to say that there was only a small number of problems with Oracle that were expected with a new system like this, but the system was under constant and intense cabinet scrutiny oversight, so they all knew because they were all intensely scrutinising Oracle, so we can't believe that they didn't know anything about it.

in February 23 April 23 full council questions were asked around the oracle mainly on the budget and business plan showing that 1.7 to 9 million investment of capital receipts into Oracle was promising savings of 1 million and also showing a 1.5 million annual and an increase in spending

the question once we went on to ask when would with these savers savings be delivered, why have the costs increased and when would it be working properly and can we be assured there would be no more drawdowns, bearing in mind this is April 23 in this Chamber? the answers we were given are quite amazing, we were told that Oracle would deliver a 2 million pounds worth of savings this year, 2 million pounds of the savings this year, given by that party, a 1.5 million extra cost was for increased functionality and to be expected for and implement implementation like this.

0an extra door downs on cost would only be on what was good value for

Lord Mayor - 3:31:24

the city.

Only weeks later we were told that Oracle was looking to increase its

Cllr E Mackey - 3:31:30

its cost from its original budget of 20 million to 100 million what happened in those few weeks? Clearly we need discussions and the truth in this Chamber, so we know what's going on thanks very much.

I have three amendments which

will be debated with the with the motion I call upon Councillor Roger Harmer to move the first men,

thank you, Lord Mayor,

I move the amendment in my name and the name of Councillor Paul Tilsley.

This amendment supports and builds on the notion

motors of motion

by Councillors Alden and Mackie,

it adds to their call for regular updates on the equal pay liability with a specific call for any amendments to this year's budget. resulting from the equal pay crisis to require the approval of Full Council

the case for this is straightforward,

the severe cuts that the mismanagement of equal pay will lead to.

we'll have such an impact on our budget and such an impact on the communities we serve, it must surely be debated here, given that we must debate an annual budget each year, it surely makes sense that changes that radical are also subject to the same scrutiny and debate by Full Council.

there will be choices to make, they will be better choices that are of this administration's own making,

but the very fact that they will have such a severe impact right across Birmingham makes scrutiny of those choices by Full Council vital

coming so quickly on the oracle fiasco. The equal pay disaster is truly staggering.

It is clear that the current administration is responsible. There is a status of limitations for equal pay claims of six years, and Labour have now been in charge for over 11

those of us who feared that the resolution of the most recent bin strikes was a fudge will wonder whether Labour bought short term, industrial peace at the cost of near bankruptcy for the City Council, and a savaging of the services that the most vulnerable in our city rely on

may be the cause lies in another Department but clearly something happened in the last six years to create new inequalities that have had such disastrous results.

I think residents viewing this debate will be shocked to learn that the clock is still running on the Bill to the tune of between five and 14 million pounds a month.

and it's likely to go on running, potentially until April 2025,

both the scale and the uncertainty of this range demonstrates

both boast, the scale of these figures and the reputational range are horrendous at the upper level we're talking of 20,000 pounds per hour being added to the bill, over 300 pounds a minute

that's the council's revenue from a Band D council tax bill blown every five minutes 24 hours a day.

to stop the clock we're told we must implement the robust job evaluation process

when you hear this, you are staggered that we don't have it

having paid out 1 billion pounds in equal pay claims 11 years ago.

you then wonder

why would take so long to implement it, bearing in mind the cost of rushing the job,

bearing in mind that that while the clock ticks and it's 100 pounds in size added, since I started that sentence and Councillor Cotton said we can't rush it, but maybe if we'd started years ago we wouldn't have to.

when the former Leader of the Council boasted about it being a golden

Lord Mayor - 3:35:31

decade for Birmingham, you now realise he was right, but only if you're an equal pay lawyer or an HR consultant for those we're elected to serve the gold has turned to dross bitter, takes tasting and painful,

Cllr R Harmer - 3:35:44

of course HS2 still coming and that will pull wealth up from London, but the risk is it will arrive in a city where we see the private opulence and public squalor that the famous Canadian economist J K Galbraith so feared for US cities back in the sixties

just a few years weeks ago in this very Chamber, some of us here listen to the launch of an independent report about the state of the Birmingham Pakistani community and the Leader referred to that in earlier comments.

It's expressed strong concern about their health and life expectancy

and focused on their poor levels of access to sporting and other physical activities

improving these could be an important way tackling their community's health and wellbeing issues what price for that now, and indeed the aspirations of all other communities across Birmingham,

those who gave into the unequal pay demands in recent years may have thought they were taking the easy or political wise route but the damage is felt across our city in terms of DAS dashed asset aspirations.

giving the given the impact that this will have, it's vital, there is detailed and active debate amongst members as to what spending should be retained.

the best way to ensure this happens is to ensure the new budget is debated by full Council rather than just cabinet. where input is much more limited, I move the amendment.

thank you for all your harm, McCullough records, not portentously to second Solomon first amendment.

thank you, Lord Mayor.

this approach is going to give me no pleasure at all.

but I want to start off by saying that the genesis of this equal pay crisis goes back to the leadership of John Clancy and his resignation in September

2017

and he resigned.

before the Labour Group could pass a vote of no confidence in him.

and I've got the the cutting hair

all coats also refined my.

I hope you will forgive me, Sir Albert Bore,

because he today has said that lessons have not been learned.

it it is, I have to say,

Lord Mayor

tragedy that

we are facing the situation we are.

our Mike another quote, as well from the man who has led the charge on the equal pay.

Stephen cross

and he blasted the Council for apparently allowing task and finish in bins and parks to continue.

Lord Mayor, there are, apart from the government,

through four sources of income.

this capital receipts that we can reuse, and we possibly can use some of those capital receipts to write the article disaster.

there's the public Works Loan Board,

who we did touch previously to meet the previous

equal pay

hole.

then there's revenue.

the net revenue is of the order of 750 million pounds and then we've got the reserves.

now, as far as the capital receipts are concerned.

the government's thinking that all equal pay claims had been settled

extinguished that opportunity in 2020, so that is a non goer.

we can't go to the public Works Loan Board because they have tightened up

their conditions.

after the climbs I've had.

that leaves income through council tax and business tax

and reserves.

not a very pleasant position to begin

what might seem worse,

Lord Mayor.

is that we haven't learned and we learned today.

from questions to the Leader

that it is going to take.

until 2025

for us to have a job evaluation.

and all the time.

the clock is ticking and we're running up more billions

in the jam, they are going to be looking more closely at what we're doing as far as our task and finish is concerned, with the bin men and with the parks department.

we really do have to get a grip because.

Lord Mayor - 3:41:05

we're all in it.

Cllr P Tilsley - 3:41:11

every decision that we make every cut that we might is going to affect

everybody in this city.

I can't get park benches, I can't get troughs filled with flowers the way cheap, I can't get any, nobody's got any budget, it's all frozen, it's affecting all of us now, and we need some response very, very quickly, thank you, Lord Mayor, thank you

Council for three.

I call open.

golfer John Cotton to move the second amendment.

thank you, Lord Mayor, I stand to move the amendments as circulated in my name and that Councillor Thomson with one minor change on paragraph 2,

the second paragraph paragraph 2, to insert after a lower debate the words of not less than one hour

as Councillor Mohammed alluded to early on, we had one conversation around that.

I've been absolutely clear from the first day that took up the role as leader that I would be open and transparent about the challenges facing this city council, indeed, that's why I took steps to ensure that members were made aware as soon as we

as soon as the information being

made clear around the specific scale of the potential liability that was important, that members clearly understood that and there can be no doubt that the challenge of equal pay is the largest challenge that this Council has faced and it will require some concerted efforts by all members to resolve it.

so that's why Lord Mayor, after making some important changes contained within this amendment, will be voting for this motion this afternoon.

I think it's important, firstly, to to give some context here

since being advised of the specific scale of the potential liability that the council faces on equal pay, the Deputy Leader and I have taken decisive action as set out in the text of our amendment.

we've commissioned independent governance review in collaboration with the Department for levelling up housing and communities, which will look specifically at equal pay, and issues of financial governance

would be commissioning an independently chaired. management review to ascertain the root causes of the failure to effectively implement oracle and we've set out plans to institutes, a judge-led inquiry, to determine the causes of the equal pay liability growth since 2012 I think it's vital that there is an independent process that provides clear answers to these questions.

we've now also set in place monetary spending restrictions, and especially relevance of this motion, we will be appointing three strategic external advisers to support the council's directors and cabinet.

a new strategic delivery board will be created to develop and deliver plans for improvement, and the strategic external advisers will be producing an independent report on a quarterly basis, with an update on progress and analysis on whether there is indeed adequate grip and pace in relation to the delivery of change that is now required.

and that Lord Mayor is the reason for the amendment that we put before the Chamber today,

we believe it's absolutely right that Members are offered the opportunity to ask questions and to debate this issue, and I think, by basing this around the independent reports that will receive each quarter we will enhance the quality and depth of those debates greatly.

I was really clear that it's not right that the council mocks its own homework on this issue, and I think by having this independent and expert advice each quarter, we can track the council's progress in this Chamber and ensure that there is that accountability.

Lord Mayor, the other thing that we're aware of is that any changes to the schedule for the City Council meeting is a constitutional matter, so if we were to approve the motion in front of us today, as it currently reads, we would need to make some significant changes to the upcoming schedule and that would actually reduce the opportunity. The Council has to scrutinise other important areas of council business and certainly wouldn't want to do that. So what we've added to this amendment is an acknowledgment that, in order for this motion to pass,

Lord Mayor - 3:45:24

we'll need council business management committee to consider revisions to the Council's Constitution in order to accommodate that.

On this side of the Chamber, Lord Mayor, we feel that bringing these

Cllr J Cotton - 3:45:33

independent quarterly reports to this Council for debate allows effective scrutiny and to track the progress that is being made in the months ahead. And let us remember that this is also in addition to the other independent oversight and inquiry processes and the work that colleagues in Overview and Scrutiny will rightly be undertaking on this issue. So every opportunity for members to to track progress and such challenging called call to accounts

can also just my clear, Lord Mayor, the Liberal Democrat amendments is something that we also accept and welcome, on the basis that, indeed, any budget amendments of this nature would need to come before this Chamber in any case, so we are very happy to support that also don't want to pre-empt what Councillor Pritchard might have to say, but certainly the overwhelming majority of the Green amendments is something that we on this side can again welcome and support.

just like silent men, concluding by reiterating the point which I started my remarks, I've made it clear that I will be open and transparent with all members about the challenges that we face and the actions that we are taking to overcome them, and I hope that all Members in this Chamber today will be able to support our amendment and the motion as amended so that we can all play our part in helping the Council to navigate these challenges that we face in the months ahead.

Thank you, Lord Mayor, thank you company on her cuddling.

I call him continental and Thompson, who second amendment.

thank you, thank you, Lord Mayor, and I rise to second.

the amendment came in in my name for this motion,

Lord made light, like John when we took up this these posts, we promised to be open and honest with the Chamber and the challenges that we face as a city and being honest with the council and that's what we intend to do.

it may be, we need to make sure that we go through this process now to make sure that we get to the point where we can end equal pay in its entirety, so it doesn't happen again, moving forward, and that's why it's important that we do take the measures that we are sort of a per proposing,

I think, as John has already alluded, it is right and we do believe it's it's important that the Council does not mark its own homework, and that's why it's important that the setting up of new independent forums of scrutiny is important.

one is, of course, that it's right that this full council

is another way of scrutinising the work that is taking place to address these challenges.

Now we talked about the appointment of external strategic advisers and that we will be receiving quarterly reports on the progress in tackling these issues, and I just want to make the point that that's covering financial resilience, industrial relationships, good governance, culture change service improvement in digital and strategic IT implementation, based on some of the challenges that we see we faced,

that we've seen come to light these reports can then form the basis of debate at Full Council, as members will have the information they need to challenge the council and politicians and race, their efforts and concerns and have public dialogue, as we all intend to do, because that is what we talk about and we talk about the spirit of open, honest and transparency

if we will if if if we to add to this

council as as John said we accept the that will have an awkward debate on this and that scrutiny is important, and we hope that option opposition

members appreciate that we are aiming to be open and transparent with the chamber, but also for the residents of the city. I think the key thing to remember in all of this that we are all of that spirit, that we need to make sure that we had these challenges face on, because if we need the city to deserve it and we think about the residents of the city and the people that work here at the council, so, Lord Mayor, I'm happy to second the amendment that the amendment that John's put forward

continue returning, Thomson or Khudobin go to the union petard move a third amendment.

gone preach are your colleagues offing him, so boo the ever we will hear you

carry on.

gentlemen, here I just

wanted to say how opposed.

hockey.

the

Lord Mayor - 3:50:37

Cllr S Thompson - 3:50:41

so I just want to start by saying that we support the Conservative amendment and the Makropulos motion sorry, and we think really is the minimum that should be happening and in this city and in this Council to debate the equal pay issue and to make sure that there's a scrutiny about what's going on. with this crisis and certainly and we know that there's been rumblings and has been headlines about it's still a problem, but certainly the extent of the problem and the extent of the

issues at last, gonna cause and has been hidden from councillors, it's not something that the

and to me that I feel this shows that too much power and knowledge is concentrated in too few Councillors.

and that's really for me when it comes down to the big problem of this crisis, surely is demonstrates why it's important to share power, to share knowledge, at least in I'm being transparent,

Lord Mayor - 3:53:25

and for this to happen it needs to require leadership from the top of this administration.

but the problem is too often

sharing knowledge and sharing power, isn't something that seems to come naturally to to the Labour party and that again? and seemed to have caused this crisis long-term, I'd say this strengthens the argument for a committee system as opposed to the centralised cabinet model, where everything is centralised in 10 cabinet members.

in the short term

minimum this administration should be doing is making sure that we all have opportunities for update and debate at the Council meetings, but we also approved in between meetings as well, I mean every political group actually gets updates and briefings between the Council meetings.

if there's a major announcement of a significant development,

because what's what's gone on so far, haven't got confidence, it's going to happen, hence why we've put that into our amendment.

when for February's budget, I asked for a breakdown of the spending by service area,

I was eventually told I couldn't get, it couldn't get a breakdown of the different spend across the different specific service areas and different frontline services

and but instead instead of a budget breakdown it seems we've ended up with a broken budget.

Cllr J Pritchard - 3:54:42

so keeping the majority of councillors in the dark is what Kettle got counsel into this mess, shining a light of transparency is what will get the council out of it, thank you, Lord Mayor,

thank you, gonna have your petard accorded, we're gonna rob Grant second and third amendment,

thank you, Lord Mayor, I rise to second this amendment, in my name,

Lord Mayor,

this crisis is going to have a massive impact on this city and what is so worrying gutting is it's that it's ordinary residents who will suffer,

but it shouldn't be,

Birmingham residents should not have to pay for this Labour administration's crisis, it's not fair on them.

it's not residents who have neglected to resolve the underlying issues on equal pay.

they have been running the Council, it's not fair on our residents that they should suffer

whatever decisions this administration now makes in terms of budgets, it needs to make sure that it protects the most vulnerable, prioritising communities that have been most left behind continue to support residents with the cost of living crisis protects as much as possible our library and youth services. make sure the council lives up to its commitment on climate change,

particularly in light of this weekend's flooding,

and does further neglect and doesn't further neglect its housing stock and tackles this awful housing conditions.

in our amendment. as well as making sure that the council actually lets councillors, know what's going on, we want to make sure we also

want to make sure the future budget decisions don't impact on the most vulnerable,

the leaders talked about a values framework that will inform budget decisions, so we're suggesting areas to look at that could inform that framework

and that would help make sure the support

we support the most in need ordinary Brummies and those communities that have been left behind.

the city council has another crowd crisis in the appalling conditions of its housing stock.

the residents are already suffering, vulnerable residents are already struggling, as we heard earlier, tackling cost of living crisis could have been done with more financial support, not less. Our library and youth perform vital functions in our communities and too many communities already feel too left behind.

So our amendment tries to make sure that in making those decisions the Council does not lose sight of this

and in future budget decisions make sure it protects the most vulnerable and doesn't leave anybody behind.

Thank you, Lord Mayor, thank you, gotta of grant that's. We have noted on echoed debate or Khudobin, because the robot ordered reply

thank you, Lord Mayor. and it does seem to be a degree of agreement there across the Chamber, which is welcome and Councillor, thank you for your contributions, particularly for the extra call you've added into it around, bring budget decisions that come back here for the council to approving us very sensible you'll see highlighted as well the issues there's been around the potential settlement on the bin strike that might be issues the service cuts that we're likely to see from this Labour administration. and to pay for their financial mess.

but also the really important point that the Bill is still increasing, and that's what seems to have been lost in all of the press that the council has done order statements from council spokespeople have failed to deal with the fundamental issue, but even if we found a way of paying the 760 million that didn't affect a single member of staff or a single resident, it's growing every single minute until something is done to stop that.

Councillor Tilsley, you, I'm quite picked up at the bin strike issues

Lord Mayor - 3:58:47

and the task and finish issues, and the fact that actually these issues, which which were known about 10 years ago, have been allowed

Cllr R Grant - 3:58:51

to creep back in, so actually the opposite of fixing it's happened it's got worse

and of course I should have recognised a Councillor Amr highlighted that 6 year storico issue that actually means people can't go back further than that, so every single person in this Chamber knows that every single pound of this money is from under this Labour administration. and of course, Councillor Tilsley also touched on that 2025 day and I think we should be clear

that's at the earliest,

it's not that we know it's going to happen then because that's what always happens in this Council that they get an outset and goes to great job done so you in three years and people roll back up and then goes I didn't happen

someone's got to make sure this happens. this administration have got to drive this and make sure it actually happens and being frank, that's something that has never happened in the last 11 years, so it is going to be a change of pace for the cabinet.

Councillor John Cohen, I very much welcome an EU agreement both around the one hour debate actually and managing about the Lib Dem amendment as well, and indeed that I think it is simply not agreeing amendment as well, so I must be welcomed and the point around quarterly reports building them around and when those independent reports from available perfectly happy to accept that that's sensible

amendment to it.

what I would say, though, is if we had lots of openness and transparency, and I think this message goes to all the cabinet with

anyone who's who's answered one of the written questions or made any public statements,

I would go home and read your notes, I would go home and read the briefings you've got and just make sure that you're absolutely comfortable with the answers that you've given to this Chamber that are on record now.

it might just be best if you haven't checked those notes and you feel there's something wrong, we come back and correct the record before ends up being, as so often happens, in this organisation, something gets leaked, correcting the record for you.

I welcome the announced actions, but we should also be clear, because there wasn't much recognition in there, that that's because the government and the auditors are telling you to have to do this, I think that's a fundamental thing, that's been missed here, the timeline of that announcement to the press don't think it went astray did it 10 minutes before the Audit Committee started 10 minutes before the auditors started speaking to tell people what the situation in the city was but that wasn't mentioned or told in any of that press.

Councillor Thompson, you are absolutely right to highlight the point. It needs to be closed off. That is the fundamental issue in all of this. The real question now is why hasn't it already been closed off? This is not a new issue,

account of which I'd write to recognise the impact on tenants, and thank you for your support, and obviously you also highlighted about

Lord Mayor - 4:01:25

Labour's failure and Councillor Gruen. You highlighted very similar things and the impact on services like flood defences, libraries, and I welcome that.

Cllr R Alden - 4:01:32

I will just leave in people's minds. I think it's a really important thing. People, pack up and leave

what that Council spokesman said to the BBC back in August 2022

the council has been engaging with GM p on matters of equal pay since November

and has already agreed a new approach to job evaluation.

the Council's agreed position. in August, 2022 was at some point between November 21 and 22, they'd resolved a job evaluation position, they'd gotten, it sorted agreed position with the union. but we all know that's not true,

and that's the problem, isn't it every time the council said I've got something agreed fundamentally, none of us in here can believe it,

and that is the real truth that needs resolving or tenants in a city residents in a city tax return city are going to be paying for a long time, so I welcome the support there is the motion and the amendments, but I leave you with this. Councillor Hammad pointed out that this bill is rising at 300 pounds a minute until it resolve

tenants and residents and taxpayers of this city cannot afford to wait another two years of Labour to get this fixed, get on it and fix it now.

think go for a broader.

we will now vote on the first amendment proposed by God's Roger Harmer and seconded by Councillor Paul Tilsley,

the all in favour.

those against.

expenses.

the courage.

we will no vote on the second amendment proposed by Councillor John Cotton and scan, seconded by cottage salon Thompson dog in favour.

those against.

any abstentions.

this is carried.

we will no vote on the third amendment proposed by Councillor Julian pitcher, Pritchard and seconded by Councillor Rob Grant, told in favour.

those against.

this is carry carried.

we were no vote on the motion as minded to vote in favour.

those against

any abstentions.

this motion, as amended, is carried.

this concludes the been software, the meeting

circa.

a colleague in the Chamber whose birthday is so I'd like to wish Jack Deakin happy birthday, and we'll see how many people can join in the singing happy birthday.

to you

party, where?

we were the two with you.

OK.

so this controlled the base of a 20 meeting.

as this is our last meeting before the summer recess, I wish you all our planning summer break and thank you for attending.

Meeting of the City Council - 11/07/2023 - Tuesday 11 July 2023, 2:00pm - Birmingham City Council Webcasting

Meeting of the City Council - 11/07/2023Tuesday, 11th July 2023 at 2:00pm

Agenda

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Votes

Lord Mayor - 0:00:20

Lord Mayor - 0:00:20

1 Notice of Recording

1 Notice of Recording

2 Declarations of Interests

2 Declarations of Interests

Cllr R Goodwin - 0:03:31

Cllr R Goodwin - 0:03:31

Lord Mayor - 0:03:37

Lord Mayor - 0:03:37

Cllr W Zaffar - 0:03:40

Cllr W Zaffar - 0:03:40

Lord Mayor - 0:03:45

Lord Mayor - 0:03:45

Cllr R Goodwin - 0:03:52

Cllr R Goodwin - 0:03:52

Lord Mayor - 0:03:57

Lord Mayor - 0:03:57

Cllr K Jenkins - 0:04:01

Cllr K Jenkins - 0:04:01

Lord Mayor - 0:04:15

Lord Mayor - 0:04:15

Cllr M Bennett - 0:04:19

Cllr M Bennett - 0:04:19

Lord Mayor - 0:04:31

Lord Mayor - 0:04:31

Cllr S Forsyth - 0:04:34

Cllr S Forsyth - 0:04:34

Lord Mayor - 0:04:51

Lord Mayor - 0:04:51

Cllr Z Islam - 0:05:28

Cllr Z Islam - 0:05:28

Lord Mayor - 0:05:39

Lord Mayor - 0:05:39

Cllr G S Atwal - 0:05:53

Cllr G S Atwal - 0:05:53

Lord Mayor - 0:06:01

Lord Mayor - 0:06:01

3 Minutes

3 Minutes

4 Lord Mayor's Announcements

4 Lord Mayor's Announcements

5 Petitions

5 Petitions

Cllr E Mackey - 0:09:52

Cllr E Mackey - 0:09:52

Lord Mayor - 0:10:07

Lord Mayor - 0:10:07

Cllr D Pears - 0:10:12

Cllr D Pears - 0:10:12

Lord Mayor - 0:10:32

Lord Mayor - 0:10:32

Cllr R Pocock - 0:10:37

Cllr R Pocock - 0:10:37

Lord Mayor - 0:11:23

Cllr M Jan - 0:11:23

Cllr T Huxtable - 0:11:27

Cllr M Jan - 0:11:27

Lord Mayor - 0:13:05

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:05

Cllr I Knowles - 0:13:08

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:08

Lord Mayor - 0:13:28

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:28

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:32

Cllr M Jan - 0:13:32

Lord Mayor - 0:14:21

Lord Mayor - 0:14:21

Meeting of the City Council - 11/07/2023
Tuesday, 11th July 2023 at 2:00pm