The petition is presented on behalf of the campaign group ‘Brum Rise Up’ (a collective, instigated by People’s Assembly Against Austerity, of Birmingham residents, campaigners and trade unions opposing the cuts to public services, amenities, and valuable cultural assets in the City) and Birmingham residents, following the recent ‘bankruptcy’ and statutory intervention at Birmingham City Council.

Budgets for our essential services are being slashed, including but not limited to - Adult Social Care, SEND home to school Transport and Homeless services. Closures are planned for Libraries, Youth Centres and Day Centres for adults with additional needs. Funding for Arts and Culture is being cut by 100%. Key assets are being sold, forever removing them from our LA control.

A recent Audit Reform Lab report into Birmingham City Council’s bankruptcy raises serious issues with the intervention and the cuts mentioned above - suggesting there were “a catalogue of errors in the run-up to and following Birmingham City Council’s financial collapse” and that the intervention could be restructured. Such an approach could avoid tens of millions of pounds of unnecessary cuts and hundreds of millions of pounds of unnecessary asset sales.

Taking into account the huge, long term and devastating impact of the cuts, and the queries raised in the above report, the petitioners request the House of Commons hold a debate, including the possibility of a WestMinster Hall Debate, on this issue with a view to -

Urge the Government to undertake an independent review into the section 114 notice and the causes of it, specifically the role of Oracle and austerity.
Urge the Government to undertake a re-evaluation of the initial plan by the commissioners to fully assess the impact of the cuts on the statutory responsibilities to the most vulnerable. Also to assess the impact on other services and amenities that residents rely on and use to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being.

The petitioners further request the House of Commons consider carefully the findings of the cross party report ‘Financial Distress In Local Authorities’ such as -

-“the amount of funding available to local authorities has not kept pace with increased demand and inflationary pressures on statutory service delivery.”
-“The Local Government Association (LGA) estimates that local authorities face a funding gap of £4 billion over the next two years to maintain services at current levels.”

The petitioners request the House of Commons ensures the Government implements the recommendations of the above report such as -

-“include additional funding in the local government finance settlement for 2024–25 to ensure local authorities bridge their estimated £4 billion funding gap.”
-“implement the Fair Funding Review and business rates reset as soon as possible, as the quickest way of restoring the link between funding and need”.

The petitioner's also request that the House of Commons urge Government to -

-Reconsider the role of the commissioners and their involvement in the process, particularly due to the cost of their intervention.
-Review the money paid to Birmingham and restore the Central Government grant to account for the 40% cuts made in recent years.
-Stop the cuts in Birmingham while the above takes place.