Updated 3:53am 27 November 2009:

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Paul Dale

Paul Dale

Council £73.5m adrift in swimming provision

PLANS for Birmingham’s biggest sports investment for decades, including a 50m Olympic-size pool, were struggling to remain afloat today after council leaders admitted they were £73.5 million short of the money needed.Read

Double Deutsch! Solihull to host rival to Birmingham’s Christmas German market

By Paul DaleRead

Birmingham social services report: MP calls care bosses to account

THE bosses of Birmingham’s damned social services department were today challenged to consider their positions by an angry MP.Read

THE bosses of Birmingham’s damned social services department were today challenged to consider their positions by an angry MP.

Khalid Mahmood threw down the gauntlet to Tony Howell, the strategic director for children, young people and families, and Tory cabinet member Les Lawrence.Read

THE bosses of Birmingham’s damned social services department were today challenged to consider their positions by an angry MP.

Khalid Mahmood threw down the gauntlet to Tony Howell, the strategic director for children, young people and families, and Tory cabinet member Les Lawrence.Read

CHILDREN’S social services in Birmingham are riddled with poor practice, unfit for purpose and failing youngsters most in need of help, a damning report revealed today.

A hard-hitting city council scrutiny inquiry exposed poor management, a lack of accurate information about children in care and the use of “unqualified staff” to screen referrals of young people at risk of sexual or physical abuse.Read

CHILDREN’S social services in Birmingham are riddled with poor practice, unfit for purpose and failing youngsters most in need of help, a damning report revealed today.

A hard-hitting city council scrutiny inquiry exposed poor management, a lack of accurate information about children in care and the use of “unqualified staff” to screen referrals of young people at risk of sexual or physical abuse.Read

Birmingham could get new forest of a million trees

The proposals are the ideas of former city regeneration boss Clive Dutton.Read

Birmingham MP John Hemming forced to apologise for criticising businessman opposing new Swan shopping centre superstore in Yardley

BIRMINGHAM MP John Hemming has issued a public apology after criticising a businessman.Read

Birmingham homes in demolition warning

ENTIRE streets of crumbling houses in Birmingham may have to be demolished in a repeat of the slum clearances of the 1960s, a city councillor has warned.Read

Public banned from getting paper copies of city council reports

THE tiny band of public-spirited citizens who bother to attend Birmingham City Council meetings are finding life even more difficult – after officials banned them from having copies of agendas and reports.Read

Birmingham City Council's debts hit £26million - and the true figure could be even worse

THE huge debt racked up by Birmingham City Council has jumped by nearly a third during the summer to hit £26 million.Read

Football's great and good in special tribute service to Sir Bobby Robson

FANS were today joining the elite of European football in giving thanks for the life of former West Bromwich Albion favourite and England manager Sir Bobby Robson.Read

Birmingham City Council's debts hit £26million - and the true figure could be even worse

THE huge debt racked up by Birmingham City Council has jumped by nearly a third during the summer to hit £26 million.Read

Voting fraud probe after Sparkbrook by-election

POLICE are investigating the worst outbreak of suspected voting fraud at a Birmingham City Council election for five years.Read

Voting fraud probe after Sparkbrook by-election

POLICE are investigating the worst outbreak of suspected voter fraud at a Birmingham City Council election for five years.Read

Private firms have been shortlisted for a contract to take over Birmingham Council’s meals on wheels service

SIX private firms have been shortlisted for a contract to take over Birmingham City Council’s meals-on-wheels service.Read

Thousands in Birmingham caught fiddling council tax benefit claims

A huge financial probe has discovered that one in five claims for single person discounts was false.Read

One-fifth of Birmingham City Council’s cash pays for its record £2.4 billion debt

BORROWING by Birmingham City Council has more than doubled in five years to stand at a record-breaking £2.4 billion.Read

THIRTY thousand people in Birmingham have been caught fiddling council tax benefit claims, it was revealed today.

A huge financial probe has discovered that one in five claims for single person discounts was false.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.

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