Updated 11:18am 11 February 2012:

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Paul Dale

Paul Dale

Alert over healthcare plans in Birmingham schools

City council officials said they have agreed to review the comments and claim to have held an “amicable” meeting with the worried heads.Read

Birmingham City Council leader Whitby slams BBC over job cuts in Brum

CITY council leader Mike Whitby has slammed the BBC for its “appalling” treatment of Birmingham following the corporation’s decision to axe 150 jobs at its Mailbox headquarters. Read

Birmingham libraries to escape closure but hours will be cut

ALL of Birmingham’s 39 community libraries will remain open despite harsh Government spending cuts, the city’s leisure chief vowed.Read

West Midlands pensioners win free rail and tram travel pledge

BIRMINGHAM’S public transport chief has poured cold water on suggestions that pensioners might have to pay for rail and tram passes which are currently free.Read

Pensioners may have to pay for rail and Metro travel

MIDLAND pensioners may have to pay £25 a year for rail and tram travel which is currently free.Read

32,000 Brummies did not pay council tax this year

A STAGGERING 32,000 residents failed to pay their council tax bills this year, landing Birmingham City Council a further £25 million black hole in its finances.Read

Birmingham City Council faces unequal pay claims runnning into tens of millions

BIRMINGHAM City Council may have to pay compensation running into tens of millions of pounds to cooks, cleaners and care staff after losing a groudbreaking equal pay case.Read

Birmingham strikes: I won't appeal to teachers - Coun Les Lawrence

THE Tory politician in charge of Birmingham’s schools is refusing to call on teachers not to walk out on strike tomorrow.Read

Joseph Rowntree Foundation report: Aston white community feel snubbed and ignored

A WHITE working class community in Birmingham feels its rights are being harmed by “political correctness”, according to research published today.Read

Underground car park plan for Birmingham's Eastside and High Speed Two station

ENGINEERS are investigating the possibility of building a vast underground car park close to Birmingham’s planned high speed rail station.Read

Erdington residents oppose plans for housing estate on disused playing fields

AN attempt to build a housing estate on disused Birmingham playing fields has infuriated local residents.Read

6,600 children acting as full-time carers for their parents in Birmingham says ciy council

AT least 6,600 children in Birmingham act as full time carers for their parents or relatives, according to shocking new figures.Read

Jesus Army bid for Jewellery Quarter drop-in centre set to collapse

PLANS to open a Jesus Army drop-in centre for prostitutes and drug addicts in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter are on the brink of collapsing.Read

Birmingham City Council bailiffs 'worse than loan sharks'

BAILIFFS being employed by Birmingham City Council “use scare tactics worse than loan sharks” to demand money owed to them, a councillor has claimed.Read

Plans for Jewellery Quarter drop in centre for drug addicts set to be approved

The proposal to convert offices in Lionel Street into a church, meeting rooms and cafe resulted in objections from the owners of up-market bars, restaurants and hotels who fear their businesses will suffer from an increase in anti-social behaviour.Read

Police pledge on more Bimingham riots arrests

POLICE are set to carry out another swathe of arrests as the search continues to bring to justice thugs involved in the Birmingham riots.Read

Rich need to dig deeper to fund cluture, minister warns

RICH people will have to dig deeper into their pockets to help fund arts organisations in Birmingham, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has warned.Read

MP John Hemming speaks after wife's kitten theft

BIRMINGHAM MP John Hemming has revealed his hopes that his wife Christine will avoid jail for stealing a kitten from the home of his mistress.Read

Special report: Frosts on the way... with happy memories from the 1960s for one Birmingham couple

ONE night back in 1960 certainly proved to be an enchanted evening for Ivor Smith and Pamela Voake after the couple’s eyes met for the first time at a dance in Birmingham.Read

Engineers battle to frost-proof central heating boilers in council houses before winter sets in

ENGINEERS are in a race against time to frost-proof thousands of Birmingham central heating boilers before the winter sets in.Read

Author Profile

Paul Dale has been writing about local government in the West Midlands for more than 20 years. The Post's public affairs editor, he is a previous political editor of the Coventry Evening Telegraph and Local Government Correspondent of the Oxford Mail.