Birmingham City Council 'effectively bankrupt'

In their statement, council leader John Cotton and deputy leader Sharon Thompson said the authority was also facing financial pressures due to problems with the implementation of its Oracle IT system.

Intended to streamline council payments and HR systems, the flagship system was expected to cost £19m but after three years of delays it was revealed in May it could cost up to £100m.

Jesus, it's like building an airport in Berlin.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The local authority - the largest in Europe - has issued a Section 114 notice preventing all but essential spending to protect core services.

Such a notice, issued in the past by councils including Croydon and Thurrock, means a local authority has judged itself to be in financial distress and can no longer balance its budget.

Opposition leader, Robert Alden, Conservative, said the council had "failed to show the proper speed and urgency needed to tackle equal pay".

"Like local authorities across the country, it is clear that Birmingham City Council faces unprecedented financial challenges, from huge increases in adult social care demand and dramatic reductions in business rates income, to the impact of rampant inflation," Mr Cotton and Ms Thompson said, adding local government faced "a perfect storm".

The statement continued: "We implemented rigorous spending controls in July, and we have made a request to the Local Government Association for additional strategic support.

The leaders' statement said: "The council's senior officers and members are committed to dealing with the financial situation and when more information is available, it will be shared."

The original article contains 766 words, the summary contains 182 words. Saved 76%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

They need to reverse the Thatcher era policy that was forcing councils to invest their money iirc