Updated 11:45pm 15 February 2012:

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Paul Dale

Paul Dale

Council service helps vulnerable people claim £10m benefits

More than £10 million has been paid out to vulnerable people across Birmingham who did not realise they were entitled to claim welfare benefits.Read

Sutton Coldfield, Acocks Green and Northfield businesses vote for BIDs

Birmingham is to get three more Business Improvement Districts, bringing to nine the number of revenue-raising schemes across the city.Read

Iron Angle: Birmingham coalition's big names show staying power

When the history of Birmingham’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is finally written, it will be instructive to spend time admiring the determination and sheer staying power of personalities at the heart of the partnership.Read

Tourism tax could help pay for Birmingham's Creative City

A tourism bed tax could be introduced in Birmingham to help fund a huge investment programme in the city’s cultural sector.Read

Police chief hits out at false Twitter and Facebook claims during Birmingham riots

Social media users have been sharply criticised by the Chief Constable of the West Midlands for making false claims about the Birmingham riots in August.Read

Nearly a quarter of Birmingham primary schools below required standard

Almost a quarter of Birmingham primary schools are in danger of failing to meet tough new performance standards.Read

Birmingham council staff prepare for move into new £38m office block

More than 3,000 staff at Birmingham City Council are preparing to move into a new £38 million office block in an effort to consolidate numerous bases all over the city.Read

Plan for private operators to run Birmingham municipal golf courses hits snag

Plans to lease Birmingham’s seven municipal golf courses to a private operator have hit a hiccup over who owns the land.Read

Opponents to elected mayor for Birmingham launch 'No' campaign

Opponents of an elected mayor for Birmingham launched their campaign this week, under the slogan ‘vote no to a power freak’.Read

Iron Angle: Birmingham's sale of the century - time for the Council House to go?

There is an obvious way of making some money that does not yet appear to have occurred to Birmingham City Council’s bean counters.Read

New Ofsted concerns over Birmingham's child social services

The chances of Birmingham’s much-criticised children’s social services department moving out of Government special measures appear remote after Ofsted experts found “too much inconsistent practice” during a snap inspection of the troubled unit.Read

Birmingham 'Big Society' group for homeless loses £16.6m funding

Claims the “Big Society” will come to the rescue of cash-strapped public services have been questioned after a project which helps keep 35,000 vulnerable people off Birmingham’s streets had its budget cut by £16.6 million.Read

MP John Hemming calls for wife to be spared jail for stealing cat from his lover's house

Birmingham MP John Hemming has broken his silence over the trial of his wife Christine – and revealed his hopes that she would avoid jail for stealing a kitten from the home of his mistress.Read

Huge cuts announced at Birmingham City Council

The financial crisis at Birmingham City Council has taken a turn for the worse, with the local authority scrabbling to find a further £65 million in savings.Read

Sion Simon makes chief executive redundancy pledge

Former Labour MP Sion Simon is promising to make city council chief executive Stephen Hughes redundant if he is elected mayor of Birmingham.Read

Labour will still knock down Birmingham’s Central Library

Hopes that Labour would save Birmingham’s Central Library from demolition if the party takes control of the city council next May have been dashed.Read

Birmingham's National Indoor Arena to get £20m makeover

A £20 million makeover has been promised for Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena.Read

Mike Whitby reveals plans for local lottery for Birmingham

Birmingham could get its own version of the National Lottery to help the city council escape from its financial woes.Read

Safer to lend money to Birmingham City Council than US, says Moody's

It is safer to lend money to Birmingham City Council than the United States government, according to a leading firm of financial analysts.Read

Iron Angle: Birmingham prepares for a change of direction

The left wing establishment among the officer corps at Birmingham City Council is becoming a little gung ho over the near certainty of Labour returning to power at next May’s civic election after an eight year absence.Read

Author Profile

Paul Dale has been writing about local government in the West Midlands for more than 20 years. The Post's public affairs editor, he is a previous political editor of the Coventry Evening Telegraph and Local Government Correspondent of the Oxford Mail.