Birmingham City Council has been accused of 'unprecedented levels of financial incompetence' following a third 'rare' auditor warning in four years.

The opposition Conservative group has issued scathing criticism of the Labour-run authority following the latest section 24 notice arguing that it calls into question whether Ian Ward is the 'right man' to lead the council.

The notice was confirmed by finance and governance director Clive Heaphy as he addressed the Resources Committee last week (Thursday, March 21).

Coun Ian Ward

The warning, made under the Local Audit and Accountability Act, makes two statutory recommendations to the council, one of which is understood to be around the management of the waste service following the latest industrial dispute.

It will be discussed in more detail at Tuesday's Audit Committee while a wider debate will be had at the April 2 full council.

Cllr Rob Alden ( Erdington ), leader of the Conservative group, said: "These reports are supposed to be very rare, only a handful of councils have ever received one and yet under the financial leadership of Cllr Ian Ward, Birmingham has now had three.

"This isn’t just some dull piece of accountancy practice from obscure legislation, it is a serious warning about inadequacies in the way the council is looking after the billions of pounds of money entrusted to it by taxpayers."

Tory leader Coun Robert Alden
Tory leader Coun Robert Alden

He pointed out that the notice came at a time when residents' council tax bills were increasing adding: "They have every right to ask how a man who has presided over what now amounts to unprecedented levels of financial incompetence can feel he is the right man to continue to lead decisions on how their hard earned money is spent.”

The comments were echoed by deputy group leader Debbie Clancy (Longbridge and West Heath) and shadow finance and resources chief Cllr Meirion Jenkins (Cons, Sutton Mere Green), the latter of which argued the council 'lurches from crisis to crisis' under Labour and 'simply cannot be trusted with public money'.

The council is working up a formal response to the report and it is understood that bosses may even challenge certain aspects of it.

Birmingham Council House, HQ of the city council

In the meantime they issued a statement which said: “The council is continuing to work hard to deliver its priorities for the citizens of Birmingham and to ensure that the city council is put on a robust financial footing.

"The savings plan for 2019/20 and beyond must be seen in the context of the city council having had its funding reduced by £690m since 2010 but we are confident that we can deliver these savings.

“While we know there is still some way to go, the report acknowledges that progress has been made in the last 12 months in our financial management and our commitment to being transparent about how we spend our money.

"The report also highlights ‘encouraging’ progress in areas such as children’s services, workforce strategy, service improvements and a strengthened management team.

The statement then referred to the Birmingham Independent Improvement Panel, which was set up in the wake of the damning Kerslake Report in 2014, stepping down at the end of the month and added: “As the Birmingham Independent Improvement Panel steps down and we continue our journey, we will remain focussed on providing the best possible outcomes for our citizens.

"We have made a number of steps towards modernising and improving the way we provide services for residents and are already delivering on our commitments.

"We acknowledge the impact on citizens and businesses of the recent industrial action in the waste service as well as the cost and the council remains committed to delivering improved waste services.

“We know that achieving this will require rigorous monitoring and vigilance and the council will be actively working with audit, overview and scrutiny and external peers to ensure our improvement is sustainable.”