A fair deal and transparency - for all

FIRST off, the bad news. Bills for this year’s Council Tax have been dropping on to doormats in households across the region, with an increase in every part, from the council to the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

- ANDY PHILLIPS

Now for the good news: We’re not in Birmingham.

I don’t mean that generally, as a general denigration of the Midlands’ largest city, but only say it because if we lived in Brum, our council tax would be going up by a whopping 21% over the next two years, due to a combination of falling revenue from Whitehall, the belated compensation over a historic gender pay gap, and the mishandling of a new IT system.

This rise is not a way of managing to balance the books while looking after vital services, but comes along with a £300m programme of cuts and sell-offs of council assets.

It is an extreme case, but residents in Birmingham are experiencing a heightened version of the changes which are affecting councils across the country – and residents too.