Updated 2:09pm 23 May 2013

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Neil Elkes

Neil Elkes

Neil Elkes: It's all rubbish on Birmingham's council TV

It may not have the quality of a Scandinavian cop show, boast the spectacle and excitement of Doctor Who or have the depth of a Stephen Poliakoff drama, but Birmingham City Council’s new internet broadcast service is certainly pulling in the viewers.Read

Birmingham City Council bosses 'fear racism claims'

Managers fear being accused of racism when dealing with ethnic minority staff at Birmingham City Council, the authority’s head of equalities has claimed.Read

Birmingham City Council’s equal pay claims bill rockets to £890m

The cost of equal pay claims has rocketed by £130 million – leaving Birmingham City Council facing a colossal £890 million bill.Read

Warwickshire CCC and Birmingham City Council drop sponsorship proposals

Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Birmingham City Council have officially scrapped proposals to rebrand its T20 team Birmingham Bears and rename the Edgbaston stadium as part of a ten-year sponsorship deal.Read

Council backtracks over Warwickshire cricket sponsorship proposal

Birmingham City Council has performed an embarrassing U-turn over news of a proposed sponsorship of Warwickshire CCC.Read

Birmingham Wholesale Markets to leave Digbeth, city council confirms

Birmingham's Wholesale Market traders say they are bitterly disappointed at being told they will have to leave the city centre within three years.Read

Cricket ground set for re-brand as City of Birmingham Edgbaston Stadium

Edgbaston cricket ground could be renamed the City of Birmingham Edgbaston Stadium in a £4 million bid to promote the city around the world.Read

Neil Elkes: Who decides if something is good value for money?

The phrase 'value for money' is one which keeps cropping up in the public sector lately as councils and other agencies try to prove that they are spending tax payers money wisely.Read

Motorsport leisure firms claim council is trying to force them off Wheels Park

Motorsport and bike racing firms say they are worried they could be forced off their home after council officials questioned its future.Read

West Midlands Conservative MEP steps down at next election

A WEST Midlands Euro-MP who has campaigned for the region’s motor industry is to stand down next year.Read

Amey charging council £2,000 for each tree planted in Birmingham

Council highways contractor Amey is charging £2,000 for each sapling planted on roadsides in Birmingham. Read

War of words as Birmingham City Council announces £102m cuts to services and 1,000 jobs lost

Birmingham city council leader Sir Albert Bore stressed his commitment to job creation and economic growth as he announced a budget of swingeing cuts.Read

Call for fair deal for Birmingham as spending cuts revealed

Sir Albert Bore has challenged the Coalition Government to ‘face up’ to the impact of spending cuts and give the city a fair deal during the first budget address of his new administration.Read

Protests at Birmingham's £102m budget cuts

Protests are expected today as Birmingham councillors vote on £102million of budget cuts which could lead to 1,000 redundancies.Read

Enterprise Zone will attract more business to Birmingham, says Osborne

Chancellor George Osborne was in Birmingham on Friday to launch the city’s new Enterprise Zone.Read

Birmingham's deputy Conservative leader outlines alternative council budget

Labour leader Sir Albert Bore is being too gloomy about Birmingham City Council’s budget situation, according to opposition parties.Read

Birmingham City Council under fire for £2m funding for job scheme

Birmingham’s Labour leadership has come under fire for taking £2 million from community projects to launch a fund to get 1,000 young people into work.Read

Students in legal bid to stop £120m city centre campus plan

Students have launched court action that could halt a £120 million campus move and seriously damage Birmingham’s £8 billion Eastside transformation project.Read

'End of local government' means pay as you go

Birmingham City Council faces a budget black hole of more than £600 million over the next five years. In an exclusive interview leader Sir Albert Bore tells Local Government Correspondent Neil Elkes the only option is making people pay moreRead

Labour targets Birmingham Yardley seat of Lib Dem MP John Hemming

Labour Party bosses are gunning for 15 key seats across the West Midlands at the next General Election, it has emerged.Read

Author Profile

A local news reporter in the Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield and south Staffordshire area since 1995, Neil Elkes is the local government correspondent covering the activities of Birmingham CIty Council - Europe's largest local authority. An avid reader and collector of comics Neil is writing a column on this for the Birmingham Mail website.