The leader of Birmingham City Council has been criticised for being on holiday in New York while his authority declared effective bankruptcy, putting vital services at risk.
John Cotton was reportedly in the Big Apple for his 50th birthday when the local authority issued a section 114 notice – meaning it cannot balance its books.
The Labour leader was not present at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday where the announcement on the government body’s financial woes was made and gave a Zoom interview to the BBC later that day with a white background.
Council leader John Cotton gave a video interview with BBC Radio West Midlands on Tuesday with his background blanked out— (BBC)
Instead, deputy leader Sharon Thompson addressed the meeting and told councillors that the section 114 notice was a “necessary step as we seek to get our city back on sound financial footing”.
A section 114 notice means that a local authority cannot meet its current financial obligations so suspends all new spending, with the exception of its statutory services, which are primarily adult and child social care.
Mr Cotton later gave an interview with BBC Radio West Midlands but with the background of his video call blanked out so it was not clear where he was.
He told the broadcaster the council would “continue to deliver on essential services like children’s safeguarding and social care, social care for adults, education, waste collection, road maintenance and library services”.
Tory and Labour sources told The Independent it understood that the council leader was in New York for his birthday.
Birmingham City Council has blamed its financial problems on £760m of equal pay claims, the expenses of a new IT system, and years of funding cuts by successive Tory governments for its financial woes. It has an in-year financial gap in its budget of £87m.
As The Independent reported on Tuesday, residents could face sweeping cuts to services and a rise in council tax.
Birmingham City Council has said it does not have the money to balance its budget (Phil Addis/PA)— (PA Archive)
Furious residents have called for Mr Cotton to step down. One said on social media: “Labour promised start of a ‘Golden Decade’ for the people of Brum, post Commonwealth Games.
“What they’ve delivered is a Golden Shower of rain on the people of this great city. @BrumLeader Cllr. John Cotton, must do the decent thing and step down, after he comes back from HOLIDAY.”
West Midlands mayor Andy Street said of Birmingham City Council’s financial issues: “This is a very bad situation, a very concerning situation for people relying on services, and those who’ve been accountable for running the council do need to be held to account as to why this has happened.”
He told BBC Radio West Midlands on Wednesday: “The forward-looking part of it is me giving my personal commitment, indeed, I use the word promise, that I will do whatever it takes to protect the services and interests of citizens in Birmingham and of course, to continue to make the wider progress that Birmingham has made.
“Irrespective of what has happened, we’ve got to continue.
“The notion of leadership is you have to be responsible for the decisions that you’ve taken, you have to make sure that you understand sufficiently the details of technically good decisions.
“There is a formal role for the opposition of course to challenge, to actually say ‘How was this happened?’, but there will also need to be a proper governance involving government officials as well to say ‘What has gone on here?’
“So there will be a number of ways in which this is scrutinised as to how on earth as this happened.”
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “Councillor Cotton is away on a long-standing family engagement but has been working around the clock since the Section 114 Notice was published.”
Birmingham City Council is just the latest authority to issue section 114 notices in recent years following Woking, Thurrock, Slough and Croydon.
