Government austerity measures blamed as Birmingham City Council chief quits
The chief executive of Britain’s biggest local authority is to leave his post as the council grapples with a multi-million pound budget black hole.
Mark Rogers is stepping down from his £180,000-a-year post with Labour-led Birmingham City Council just months after the authority was told it would need to plug a funding gap of up to £49 million.
Mr Rogers’ departure comes after a Government-appointed committee said the authority faced “a mammoth task” to put its finances back on an even keel.
The same committee said in its report in November last year the council had failed to control spending despite senior managers including Mr Rogers being warned over the issue in 2015.
Last month, amid protests from adult social care and disability groups about proposed council cuts, Mr Rogers blamed Government austerity for the need to slash services.
He said: “We recognise this isn’t the city council’s fault, it’s the consequence of austerity.”
In January he also called on the Government “to re-imagine the leadership” in health and social care “because what we presently have is clearly not working well enough for anyone”.
The council faces the prospect of finding another £78 million in cuts by April 2018, on top of its own planned savings, with Birmingham councillors set to vote on the 2017/18 budget at the end of the month.
Two years ago following the alleged “Trojan Horse” schools scandal, the damning Kerslake Report into the council’s operation identified serious failings but concluded the authority should not be broken up.
Instead, an independent improvement panel was set up to oversee a long term shake-up of working practices and management but recently warned the pace of change was still too slow.
Mr Rogers joined the council from neighbouring Solihull council in 2014, while Birmingham was in the grip of the alleged Trojan Horse plot and trying to overhaul a failing children’s services department.
In a statement released through the council’s website on Sunday, Mr Rogers said: “Birmingham City Council has been on a challenging journey of improvement and reform over the past three years and I am hugely proud of the team I have worked with to deliver much needed changes in culture, practice and performance.
“I leave the council in a much stronger position than when I joined it and, with the proposed budget and transformation plans set out for the next two years, now is a good time to pass on the baton.
“I look forward to my colleagues future successes as I know that they can build on firm foundations and continue the modernisation journey we have started together.”
Council leader John Clancy said: “I’d like to thank Mark for his hard work and commitment over the past three years during what has been the most difficult and challenging of times for Birmingham City Council.
“I wish Mark all the very best for the future.”
Andy Street, the Conservatives’ West Midlands’ mayoral candidate, tweeted: “Sorry to hear @MKMRogers will be leaving Birmingham.
“An architect of devolution, a unifying force in WM (West Midlands) and a truly honourable man.”
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