Top Birmingham City Council Stories
Accountability counts above all (Guardian) Faced with severe criticism on all fronts, Birmingham children’s services turned to external consultants for help. Six months on, service delivery and staff morale are showing significant improvement.
£550m Martineau plan delayed for five years (Birmingham Post) A £550million scheme to transform part of Birmingham city centre has been mothballed for five years, it has emerged.
Glitz planned as US athletics sign to city (Birmingham Post) A deal to bring the American athletes to Birmingham ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games will be signed with appropriate glamour this week.
Capita eyes new council targets (Birmingham Post) Outsourcing firm Capita may take responsibility for delivering another chunk of Birmingham City Council services by assuming control of parts of the local authority’s planning and regeneration functions.
Council loses bid to evict tenants after homes error (Birmingham Post) Birmingham City Council has lost its case to evict 12 tenants who it said had been given their homes ‘unlawfully’.
Regional Headlines
Trinity sheds 82 newspaper jobs
Eighty-two jobs are to be lost and a daily newspaper will be printed weekly, Trinity Mirror Midlands has announced.
Strong sales rise boosts Cadbury
UK confectioner Cadbury has reported higher-than expected sales for the third quarter of the year, raising pressure on would-be US suitor Kraft.
‘Admirable’ if gold haul remained
It would be “admirable” if the haul of Anglo-Saxon gold, recently unearthed in Staffordshire, could remain in the West Midlands, the government has said.
Woman and child cut free from car
A 21-year-old woman and a four-year-old girl had to be cut free from their car when the vehicle became wedged under a refuse lorry in a collision.
National Headlines
Swine flu vaccination under way
The first vaccinations in the UK-wide programme aimed at combating the spread of swine flu are to take place later.
Final attempt to halt post strike
Discussions between Royal Mail and the postal workers’ union are set to resume later in a last-ditch attempt to avert two planned 24-hour strikes.
BAA agrees Gatwick airport sale
BAA has agreed to sell Gatwick, the UK’s second busiest airport, to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for a fee of £1.51bn.
Governor warns bank split needed
Reforming UK banking through regulation is not enough and a fundamental rethink of how banks are structured is needed, the Bank of England governor has said.
‘Tough measures’ to cut UK debt
The UK’s spiralling debt will lead to tax rises, spending cuts and delayed retirement far beyond what is being discussed, a think tank has said.
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