Spending cuts could hit devolved services in Birmingham
“It’s pretty rich given that when Labour pushed forward devolution in 2003 we were accused by the Liberal Democrats of not going far enough or fast enough. Now, in a coalition with the Tories, the Liberal Democrats have demonstrated an ability to eat their own words.
“I find it deeply ironic that at a time when a Conservative prime minister is promoting the big society Birmingham City Council are moving to take away powers and responsibilities from local people. Birmingham doesn’t seem interested in empowering communities.”
Sir Albert described as “fanciful” a claim in the consultation paper that constituency committee meetings cost £1 million a year to run.
Elaine Elkington, the council’s strategic director of housing and constituencies, said: “There are a number of financial, service-based and policy issues and challenges that require urgent attention across the whole spectrum of the council’s activities, including its localisation policy.”
Ms Elkington said there would be a greater need in the current financial climate for “city-wide co-ordination and control of budgets and service delivery”.
It was envisaged that constituency committees, ward committees or area committees would retain a “strong influencing and accountability role” and could have powers to refer matters of concern to the main scrutiny committee for investigation.
Ms Elkington said a critical factor to consider was the rising cost of the constituency committees.
She added: “It has been estimated that the current constituency commitments for councillors, staff, partners, other stakeholders and members of the community is around 1,000 meetings per year. Moving to an area-based approach could reduce this and to a ward-based approach reduce this even further. It has been calculated that the average cost of a meeting is about £1,000 in staff time, room hire, publicity and refreshments.”
The consultation will run until November 1, and a final decision about the future of devolution is likely to be taken by the cabinet before Christmas.
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Sutton Coldfield's story
Many in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield feel they have got a raw deal since becoming just another part of the City Of Birmingham in 1974.
And having already taken steps towards devolution during the 1990s, it embraced the forming of constituency committees, budget setting and running its own services.
A key result came last year when a development framework for the town centre was drawn up.
The town’s Labour campaign manager Rob Pocock, worked closely with Sir Albert on the development of devolution seven years ago.
He is now horrified that the progress made then will be undone, and believes that Suttonians want more devolved power, not less.
He said: “After all these years of promising greater powers for Sutton, we now have the Conservative City Council taking back even the limited budgets that had been handed down to us. We are going back to the deep dark past and if this goes through, it will spell the end to all the fine hopes we have all had for greater local autonomy.”
Sutton Coldfield, in common with all ten constituencies, has been given a £10 million annual budget to run a range of services including park maintenance, street sweeping, leisure centres, libraries and pest control.
Not all politicians have been so enthusiastic with the constituencies written off as underfunded talking shops.
Coun Peter Douglas Osborn (Con, Weoley) said: “Watching paint dry has a whole new appeal after a constituency committee meeting.”
The theory is that Birmingham is too large to manage local services but the system is fraught with difficulties as the recent confusion over the closure of Hawthorn House Library, in Handsworth Wood proves.
Politicians have found it easy to shift blame up and down the council structure for the closure, with the central property division owning the building, the library itself run by the local Perry Barr Constituency Committee and the central library service.
Immediate losers under the plan could be the ten constituency chairmen who are paid a £5,000 annual responsibility allowance.
